A British tourist has been charged with attempted second-degree murder and battery after he allegedly tried to drown his daughter-in-law at a vacation home in Florida, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Mark Gibbon, 62, was vacationing with his family at the Solterra Resort in Davenport on Friday when he allegedly got into an argument with his 33-year-old daughter-in-law at the swimming pool, according to deputies.
Witnesses who spoke to law enforcement said Gibbon tried to drown the woman in the pool.
The sheriff’s office said in a statement that Gibbon and his daughter-in-law were arguing about his grandchildren.
Witnesses told law enforcement that Gibbon’s 9-year-old granddaughter jumped into the pool to try to stop her grandfather from drowning her mother.
According to the sheriff’s office, Gibbon only relented when a witness at the scene told him they’d called the sheriff’s office.
“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,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. “Because Mr. Gibbon couldn’t control his anger, he may find himself spending a lot more time in Florida than he had anticipated.”
Gibbon was arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office. He is from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, which is west of London.
