The man accused of a plot to kidnap, rape and murder TV star Holly Willoughby has told court that he’s unable to stand.
Security guard Gavin Plumb, 37, begun giving evidence at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday morning (June 28). He is accused of trying to arrange the “sexually motivated” murder of the ITV presenter.
He is charged with and denies soliciting murder and incitement to kidnapping and rape last October in Harlow, Essex. Plumb entered the witness box in court on Friday to begin giving evidence in his own defence but claimed he was unable to stand up.
Asked by the judge if he could stand to give his evidence, the overweight defendant replied: “I won’t be able to.” He appeared in a grey tracksuit top, dark jogging bottoms and black trainers.
(Image: ITV)
Plumb told the court that being overweight has negatively affected his mental health. He said: “From the age of 13 onwards my weight began to fluctuate.
“Being a 13-year- old you are supposed to be active, playing football and things like that that but I struggled with and it really badly affected my mental health. It was something that just constantly put me down personally, I was not able to go and do what my friends and brothers were doing.”
Asked if he had any girlfriends at that time he said: “I was regularly in the friend zone, nothing more.” His defence barrister Sasha Wass KC asked “Did you want more?”, to which Plumb replied: “With a couple, course.”
(Image: PA)
Plumb claimed he had a girlfriend when he was 18 but it was “extremely toxic”. He said: “It was extremely toxic there was constant arguments.”
Asked how it affected him, Plumb claimed: “It was a massive, I do not want to be in a relationship with other people. I was constantly put down and told I was not good enough.”
Plumb’s weight was also brought up in court on Thursday. Ms Wass questioned an undercover cop who discussed and revealed the alleged murder plot. He told jurors he was looking for instances of kidnapping and other crimes in his role.
(Image: PA)
The witness, who used the alias David Nelson and appeared in court via video link from the US, claimed he came across Plumb in an online group called Abduct Lovers. He told jurors that he’d seen a post from Plumb which caused enough “concern” to message Plumb privately.
Ms Wass quizzed the undercover officer on the credibility of Plumb’s alleged plot given that he is “significantly overweight”. The alleged plot involved breaking into Willoughby’s home and jumping over a wall to escape.
Ms Wass asked the officer: “You are looking at a picture of a man who’s significantly overweight (Plumb).” The officer replied: “I would say that’s rather subjective.”
Ms Wass said: “Really?”. The officer continued: “I can see he’s significantly overweight, by whose terms?”
Ms Wass asked: “Knowing what he looked like and the state of his dimensions, did that plan – or what was said about that plan: jumping the outer wall – cause you to re-evaluate the credibility of this plan?” The officer replied: “No, it did not.”
The defence barrister described Gavin Plumb as “enormous”, saying he was “in the region of 30 stone”. She continued: “His size and girth affected his mobility to an extent.”
Detective Constable William Belsham said there was “not a spring in his (Plumb’s) step but he could walk fine from the video I’ve seen”.
The trial continues.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
