An undercover police officer in the United States who foiled a plot to kidnap, rape and murder Holly Willoughby has described the television presenter’s would-be attacker as “the worst of the worst”.
The detective from Minnesota said he was convinced that Gavin Plumb “fully intended to carry out his plans” after spending less than 48 hours communicating with the Essex-based security guard in an online chat room group called Abduct Lovers.
The detective, who posed as a potential participant in the plot using the alias David Nelson, has revealed that he initially had no idea who Willoughby was and had to google her to discover her popularity in the UK. He said he would have alerted police in Britain regardless of the identity or prominence of Plumb’s intended victim after the obsessed predator sent him images of a “restraint kit” and bottles of chloroform.
“I treat each victim the same in every investigation,” the detective said. “My course of action would be no different.”
Details of Plumb’s plans for Willoughby, 43, were so sadistic and degrading that Nelson, who wants to remain anonymous, has been offered counselling by his police force. Speaking to the media for the first time since the plot was foiled, the detective said he had to “compartmentalise” his undercover work from his family life. “I find it helps to remind myself that this is a job and my purpose [is] to go out to find the worst of the worst,” he said.
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On Friday, Plumb, 37, of Harlow, Essex, was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum sentence of 16 years, after being found guilty of soliciting murder and incitement to kidnap and rape at Chelmsford crown court.
Willoughby, who has three children, aged 9, 13 and 15, has waived her right to anonymity in relation to the rape offence. The judge, Justice Edward Murray, said Plumb posed a “serious risk to women”, pointing out that he had earlier convictions for the attempted kidnap and false imprisonment of four other victims dating back to 2006.
Murray said Plumb’s “depraved and vile” plot has had “life-changing consequences” for Willoughby. The presenter was so distressed after she was informed last autumn about Plumb’s intentions — including a threat to harm her children — that she stepped down as co-host of ITV’s This Morning programme and is believed to have remained at home in southwest London for several weeks.
Willoughby did not attend Plumb’s trial, but following his conviction the presenter said that she will “forever be grateful to the undercover police officer who understood the imminent threat” she faced.
Her saviour, it turns out, worked more than 4,000 miles away from Britain at the Owatonna police department in midwest America.
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‘Nice’: the message that started it all
The municipal force, located 66 miles south of St Paul, the state capital of Minnesota, and Minneapolis, the state’s biggest city, serves a population of 27,000 residents and employs only 36 law enforcement officers.
Nelson, who has more than ten years of policing experience, specialises in infiltrating online chat rooms to help track down child sex traffickers and criminals seeking to hire others for rape and murder plots.
On October 3 last year, Nelson was monitoring activity in a public group called Abduct Lovers on the Kik messaging app as Plumb was trying to recruit a “crew” to help him target Willoughby. Users of the group, which features a profile picture of a distressed blonde woman with a male hand over her mouth, are said by police to be interested in kidnap, sexual violence and torture.
Using the online name BigBear, Plumb posted several images of Willoughby and announced: “I have a shitload of info on her; I know when she does and don’t [sic] have security and that she doesn’t have CCTV at home; what time she gets up in the morning.” Seeking to draw more out of Plumb, Nelson, who said he was based in New York, replied: “Nice.”
Over the next 30 hours, the two men exchanged 300 private messages, even discussing the details of transatlantic flights and possible dates for an abduction attempt.
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10,000 images
The jury at Plumb’s trial was told that he described his plan as a night-time “home invasion” in which he and his accomplices would knock out Willoughby and her husband, Dan Baldwin, 49, with chloroform, before driving the presenter to a remote site to be “repeatedly raped”.
He would then “slit her throat, clear her out and dispose of [the body],” Chelmsford crown court was told.
Plumb sent Nelson footage of a “restraint kit” laid out at his home, which included handcuffs, ankle shackles, a ball gag, rope and metal cable ties. He later sent him an image of two bottles of chloroform.
Nelson, who admits to having the “gift of the gab”, said he was so concerned that by the following day, October 4, he had alerted the FBI’s field office in Minneapolis, who, in turn, contacted Scotland Yard and Essex police. Plumb, a father of two, was arrested at his home in Harlow at 9.45pm. When an officer told him that he was being detained on suspicion of plotting to kidnap Willoughby, Plumb replied: “I’m not gonna lie, she is a fantasy of mine.”
Police later found around 10,000 images of Willoughby on Plumb’s phone, including deep-fake nude photos of the presenter in pornographic poses.
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Fame made no difference
The detective, who gave evidence at Plumb’s trial via video link and with his face obscured from public view, said he would have reacted no differently had Plumb’s intended target not been famous. “The only difference in this case was the realisation of additional media coverage,” he said.
Jeff Mundale, chief of the Owatonna police department, praised Nelson’s “tenacity” in pursuing Plumb. “Our detective was confident that this offender fully intended to carry out his plans,” he said. “I do not recall a single celebrity targeted for such a calculated and heinous crime in my 29-year career.”
Nelson said the time he spends pursuing criminals online varies from one investigation to the next. “In some cases, the elements are established within hours and in others it may take months,” he said. “The Plumb case took two days.”
Describing his commitment to catching criminals, Nelson said: “I miss a lot of ‘firsts’ and time with family. I don’t seek out these cases for overtime or for credit. In order to do this job, there needs to be some calling or motivation in your life.”
Listen to our podcast The Holly Willoughby Trial and a Toxic Online Subculture on The Story from Monday
