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.”
