EXCLUSIVE
Detectives investigated whether TV presenter Erin Jayne Plummer’s husband was involved in her death after they were alerted their marriage had been in trouble, Daily Mail Australia can reveal.
Studio 10 star and mother of three Erin, 42, was tragically found dead at the base of Manly Cliffs on Sydney’s northern beaches after taking her own life in May 2022.
On Sunday, the body of her husband Alan Plummer, 49, was found at the foot of a cliff at nearby Freshwater Beach after he failed to meet a friend for a swim.
The double tragedy has left the couple’s three daughters, aged 18, 15 and 11, orphaned.
Erin’s death was said to be a heartbreaking suicide, but Daily Mail Australia can now reveal to investigating detectives whether her husband had played any role in the death.
During the New South Wales state coroner’s inquest into the tragedy, police were told she confided to friends that she was a victim of domestic violence and coercive control.
A close source told Daily Mail Australia that Plummer was planning to separate from her husband, but her requests for her to leave their home in Freshwater were ignored.
“She was going to therapy to leave him,” the source said.
‘People saw her that morning (the day she died). I was going to a therapy session that day.’
Erin Jayne Plummer and her husband were all smiles on social media, but sources say that behind closed doors, she had confided in loved ones that she was being emotionally abused.
Plummer was found dead on Freshwater beach (pictured) on Sunday morning.
The source, who is familiar with the investigation, told Daily Mail Australia that detectives ruled early in the investigation that his death was not suspicious.
But his loved ones hoped the investigation would delve into other factors, including marital problems, that triggered the deterioration in his mental health that led to his death.
Daily Mail Australia understands the coroner’s matter regarding Erin ended earlier this year.
The coroner’s office said Wednesday it could not comment on the outcome due to “the complexity of the matter and the report of Alan Plummer’s death.”
A source familiar with the family’s situation said she had told friends that her husband was controlling and that she suffered mental abuse.
They said Plummer had serious mental health problems and had previously attempted to end his own life. Some cases had led to him spending time in psychiatric wards.
He was also dealing with long-term medical issues, including heart problems.
The source said Plummer had distanced himself from his wife’s friends and loved ones after her death.
Court records obtained by Daily Mail Australia also show Plummer took his wife’s family to the Supreme Court in February last year after she named them beneficiaries of her will.
The outcome of the court matter, which ended in January this year, remains confidential.
The Plummers are pictured on their wedding day.
The two tragedies have left the couple’s three children without parents
Erin was a beloved Studio 10 host whose talents extended far beyond the television screen.
The alarm was raised by his friend about Mr Plummer’s death when he failed to turn up for a swimming competition scheduled at 6.30am on Sunday morning.
A lifeguard found him dead an hour later.
The tragedy comes just two months after Plummer sold the family home in Freshwater, which he bought with his wife 22 years ago, ahead of a scheduled auction.
The house was sold for an undisclosed sum after his eldest daughter revealed her plans to spend a gap year abroad after completing her HSC.
Plummer intended to move with her 11-year-old son to Queensland to be closer to her middle son, who is studying there on a sports scholarship.
His wife first came to prominence at a young age when she was discovered on Sydney’s Manly Beach and cast in a tourism campaign that aired on NBC in the United States.
But it was her role as a television presenter, presenting advertorials, for which she became best known.
During her career, she appeared on Studio 10, TVSN, Mornings with Kerri-Anne and The Morning Show, earning her the nickname ‘The Danoz Girl’ as she painted everything from massage chairs and exercise shows to jeans. slimmers and steam mops.
She also did countless voiceovers for television and worked as the host of Aerobics Oz Style for six years.
The aerobics instructional television series, which aired from 1982 to 2005, had a global audience of 40 million people in more than 80 countries at its peak.
In addition to her television career, Erin was an accomplished synchronized swimmer who represented Australia at three world championships and won 11 national titles.
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