Afghanistan war widow Christina Schmid attacked husband in alcohol-fuelled rage
Adam Plumb had his own lucrative business and thought he had met his perfect partner when he fell for the high profile war pension campaigner Christina Schmid
A war widow was caught launching a sickening alcohol-fuelled attack against her millionaire property developer husband.
Adam Plumb had his own lucrative business and thought he had met his perfect partner when he fell for the high profile war pension campaigner Christina Schmid. He initially felt protective for what she had been through but quickly found himself trapped in a 'nightmare' of abuse that left him bankrupt and booted out of their £1.5M dream home.
Schmid was convicted of an assault by beating Adam in December last year and blasted by a judge for 'being the aggressor all along' and taking part in a 'relentless smear campaign' against him. And Adam has now released shocking photos and videos of the incident, highlighting the abuse, attacks and manipulation that he says consumed their fateful marriage.
Schmid, whose army husband died defusing a Taliban bomb, went on to become a 'face' of the war widows left behind after the Afghanistan conflict and met royalty and senior politicians as part of her campaigning. But her reputation was left in tatters when she was sentenced to a 12 week suspended sentence for hitting, kicking and biting Adam at their home.
And Adam, who is currently finalising a divorce from Christina, said after the case he wanted to release the shocking footage to show what Schmid was "really like." He added: "She not only fooled me, but she fooled the nation."
In the videos, which were shown in court, Schmid is seen poking and grabbing Adam while shouting in a "booze-fueled rage." Schmid is then seen cutting her nose with her own nail and blowing the blood into Adam's t-shirt while making a false accusation he had attacked her.
During the incident, filmed on September 17 2023, Adam described Christina "attacking me, hitting me in the balls, kicking me and biting me in the middle of my back." On the footage, Adam can be heard saying “get off me - you are a disgusting woman." Later in the video Adam tells her: “You f***ing bit me. You f***ing b***h. You horrible woman.”
Pictures have also been released by Adam showing a range of bite marks, bruises and scratches from other incidents of 'abuse' also referred to in court. But speaking about the incident leading to her conviction, that he described as his "wake up call", Adam, 44, of Newton Abbot, Devon, said: "She was kicking and scratching me in bed and poking her nails into my back.
"I tried to escape to the walk-in-wardrobe and she came in and cuts her own nose with her fingernail and blows it in my t-shirt. She accuses me of biting her, but just keeps hitting, scratching and then bites me in the back."
Adam says his daughter Elle, now 19, then phoned the police but Schmid continued hitting and scratching him. When police arrived, she then accused him of assault." Adam said the incident detailed in court was the culmination of a troublesome and volatile relationship that began soon after he met Christina in late 2018 while she was grooming his dogs.
He claimed what followed during their five year marriage ruined his entire life - including a hugely successful property business he had built up. Early incidents in the relationship included not being let into the house after work and being forced to sleep in laybys and Airbnbs.
Police were also called on five occasions after he reported abuse - and each time she would throw the same accusations back at him. Adam said problems started early on in the relationship but when they bought an eight-bed detached home together near Ivybridge, Devon, things deteriorated quickly.
Social services then spent four months investigating Adam over his wife's abuse claims without speaking to him. When she was eventually arrested, Adam received an apology and acknowledgment that the accusations were false and he had been the victim. But he said by then the damage had been done.
He added: "She made me feel not good enough and that I should be grateful for her. It was an absolute world of craziness. Police came to the house five times when she was attacking me. Each time she threatened to spread lies and destroy me and my businesses. The police were not supportive to me despite her attacking me.
"I worked really hard to give my daughter stability but now I can not give her anything. I knew if I walked away from the house and life she would destroy it. The only reason it stopped was what happened on September 17.
"There were so many incidents but police told me they were going to protect me now. The police encouraged me to write a statement and that they would protect me, but I was failed at every step. You can see why men don't get help and give up."
Adam said since Schmid had him arrested for false allegations he has never been back to the house and she had been granted an 'occupation order' but she has since built up large mortgage arrears. Adam said "a lot of people" had believed the false accusations that he was an abuser and he said this had "ruined his life."
Adam said he went from "place to place" for two years and didn't want to get into another relationship. But he has now found a happy relationship with his new partner.
He revealed he was made bankrupt over an £8k debt to a school that he had planned to pay back before the next hearing, but claims Christina hid the letter and bragged to her friends that he 'wouldn't be attending'. He added: "I literally have nothing - I now only have adhoc work but used to be on around £300k a year.
"I left my marriage with just the clothes and shoes I got arrested in, I was never allowed back to get anything from my life it was all stolen, sold and destroyed The house that was meant to be our dream home is now £96k in arrears on the mortgage so the home is going to get repossessed at some point in the near future.
"I had a carpentry company with a business partner that had a turnover of £2.5M. We went our separate ways and I started getting into property development. These included turning a care home into flats and some large barn conversions. I had started work on a barn conversion in Devon and she told the bank I was money laundering and that I had beaten her up and abused her.
"It took four months to look into it at a rate of £40k interest a month. I had borrowed £4M but even though they said they could see none of it was true unfortunately I did not have enough money to finish the job due to the amount of interest accrued during the investigation I had given everything in my life to put into that site to make something bigger - but they called in my loans and the bank now owns it."
Adam says he's now trying to move on and said Schmid's exposure in the court had been a relief. "I just feel such utter disgust for what she did. She is a horrible, horrible woman and has ruined my entire life," he said.
"I've never met anyone like her. I just feel wiped out by everything that has gone on. I feel numb and don't want to speak to anyone. While she is still out there she is hell for everyone she meets. She fooled me and she fooled the nation in some respects."
"She even sold Oz's George Cross medal. That is something that you should treasure and not look at it as a monetary thing. I met Oz's family at the last Remembrance and Christina has brought heartache and pain to their family. I am truly saddened for the pain that they have suffered due to her actions and am embarrassed that she was my wife.
Schmid became a figurehead for those bereaved by service personnel after her husband Staff Sergeant Olaf ‘Oz’ Schmid died in Afghanistan in 2009. The mother-of-two had previously become a 'face of the war widows' and campaigned for better pensions for them and higher salaries for those in the armed forces.
She had previously called on politicians to ‘fight as hard as Olaf did’ for peace. Her work on the issues led her to meet with then Prime Minister David Cameron and various members of the royal family - including the late Queen at a private ceremony where she received the George Cross on behalf of her husband who disabled dozens of roadside bombs.
In 2012, Schmid announced she had found love once again with another serving member of the Armed Forces called Mark Clarke, telling the world she had ‘Oz’s blessing’. The pair had posed for a lavish photoshoot with Hello! magazine to announce their relationship. Their relationship, however, broke down, with the couple choosing to go their separate ways in June 2019.
Just over a year later Schmid married her second husband, Adam, a divorced father-of-one in an intimate ceremony at Bovey Castle, Devon. In 2021 they bought a beautiful eight-bedroom detached property in the genteel village near Ivybridge, Devon, set in 5.2 acres.
For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk. If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit** www.aafda.org.uk**.
