When Laura Roberts turned on the news, she was horrified to see the face of her abusive ex, Gavin Plumb – and she was even more horrified to hear he had been arrested for plotting to kidnap, rape and murder TV presenter Holly Willoughby.
Laura, 38, says, ‘Gavin Plumb was controlling and violent in our relationship so I know he is more than capable of following through with his sick plans. I am so relieved he was caught. My heart goes out to Holly. I’m so sorry that she has had to go through this hell. If I ever met her, I would give her a hug.’
Laura met Plumb when she was 12 and he was 11. She says, ‘Gavin went to school with my sister, and he was a sweet, chubby, kind little boy and we became friends.’
When Laura, who lives in Great Yarmouth, was 19, they got into a relationship – but just eight months in, Plumb started controlling her. Laura says, ‘Gavin started guilt-tripping me into spending time with him instead of my friends or family, I wasn’t allowed to spend any money on myself or anybody else without spending it on him too. He’d make me feel bad about myself, telling me that no one else would want me. He made me feel like I needed him.’
Then Plumb became violent, hitting and kicking her. Laura says, ‘As I’d cower in the corner, he’d stand over me, smirking and laughing. I called the police multiple times, but didn’t press charges. I felt like I could never leave Gavin – I was trapped.’
In 2006, Plumb was arrested again. He’d been accused of trying to abduct two air hostesses on two separate occasions. Laura explains, ‘I was shocked, but Gavin insisted they were lying, and I loved him so I believed him.’
Plumb was charged and held in prison on remand and, the following March, he received a suspended 12-month sentence.
In December that year, Laura gave birth to a son. But Plumb’s violence got worse, and Laura didn’t want his influence on her baby’s life, so turned to her family and the police for help and she escaped.
Laura says, ‘Shortly afterwards, I discovered I was pregnant again and in November 2008, our daughter was born. When she was two weeks old, Gavin was arrested again for another crime and put on remand in prison. He’d been accused of holding two 16-year-old girls at knifepoint in the shop where they worked and he was a security guard. He’d allegedly held them in the storeroom and started to tie one of them by the wrists, but the girls escaped and raised the alarm.
‘Again, Gavin denied it and I desperately tried to believe him. When his trial started the following year, I attended every day and it was immediately clear that the girls were telling the truth. Gavin was a lying and sadistic monster, and he was found guilty of attacking the girls and sentenced to 32 months in prison. I was horrified. I never wanted to see him again and I certainly didn’t want him around my children so I got an injunction, molestation order, and a prohibited steps order.’
Plumb served just half of his sentence and upon his release in 2010, he tracked down Laura and threatened to take the children. Laura says, ‘I was terrified. I moved from Essex to Great Yarmouth for a fresh start. By then, I’d had two more children with a new partner. I didn’t hear anything for years, but then last June, Gavin tracked me down again and travelled 100 miles to Yarmouth. I didn’t see him, but he sent me vile messages on Facebook. One read, Watch your back. He also threatened to hurt our kids. The police arrested him but let him go and I feared what he might do next.’
Then, last October, Laura received a text from a friend. She explains, ‘It read, You heard about Gavin? It’s all over the news. Turning on the TV, my stomach churned when I saw Gavin’s face appear. He’d been arrested and charged for allegedly plotting to kidnap, rape and murder Holly Willoughby. When his trial started this July, I followed it in the media.
‘Gavin had plotted to kidnap, rape and kill Holly and went online to encourage others to join him. He’d written in an internet chat room called Abduct Lovers, The fantasy isn’t enough anymore. He’d found out where Holly lived with her husband and children and bought a kidnap kit which included handcuffs, 400 metal cable ties, leg shackles, a pocketknife and bottles of chloroform.
‘He talked about places where Holly would be kept and repeatedly raped and abused by him and asked others if they were prepared to join in. Gavin was caught after he unknowingly revealed his plan to a man he hoped would join him – who was actually an undercover police officer in America. Gavin’s defence was that this was just fantasy and that he never had any intention to turn it into a reality – but I didn’t believe that at all.’
Plumb tried to blame his despicable actions on Laura, telling the court that their ‘extremely toxic’ relationship was to blame for his attempts to kidnap the two air hostesses and that his attack on the teen girls was a ‘cry for help’ to escape from Laura.
After the seven-day trial, Plumb was found guilty of soliciting murder, incitement to kidnap and incitement to rape and he was sentenced to life with a minimum of 15 years.
Laura says, ‘I feel ashamed for Gavin and for what he has done. I hope poor Holly is able to move on from this. They should throw away the key. Monsters like Gavin will never change.’
