Friday, August 8, 2025 - A British tourist, 62-year-old Mark Raymond Gibbon, has been arrested and charged with attempted second-degree murder after allegedly trying to drown his daughter-in-law during a family vacation at a Florida resort.
The incident occurred on Sunday evening at the Solterra
Resort in Davenport, Florida. Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office
responded to reports of a violent disturbance in a backyard swimming pool.
According to the sheriff’s statement, the altercation began
as an argument between Gibbon and his 33-year-old daughter-in-law, reportedly
over his grandchildren. Witnesses and the victim told deputies that Gibbon
became physically aggressive and repeatedly pushed the woman's head underwater,
preventing her from breathing.
In a desperate attempt to intervene, the woman’s 9-year-old
daughter jumped into the pool to save her mother. Gibbon reportedly ceased the
attack only after two women in a neighboring vacation home shouted that they
had called the police.
Gibbon, a resident of Beaconsfield, England (approximately 25
miles west of London), was arrested on the scene and taken to the Polk County
Jail. He now faces charges of battery and attempted second-degree murder.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd addressed the case in a
statement:
“It’s great that Polk County draws visitors from all across
the world, but we expect vacationers to behave while they visit with us, just
as we expect our lifelong residents to do the same. Because Mr. Gibbon couldn’t
control his anger, he may find himself spending a lot more time in Florida than
he had anticipated.”
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