Inset: Mark Gibbon (Polk County Jail). Background: Solterra Resorts in Davenport, Florida, where Gibbon allegedly tried to drown his daughter-in-law (Google Maps).
A 62-year-old man from England, who was on holiday in Florida, avoided jail time after attempting to drown his daughter-in-law during a dispute over his will. The incident occurred earlier this year.
Mark R. Gibbon was released by Polk County Circuit Judge Michelle Pincket after he admitted guilt to a charge of battery and an additional lesser charge. This decision came earlier this month, as noted in court records.
Originally, Gibbon faced a charge of attempted second-degree murder, but this was dismissed through a plea agreement. In addition to his release, he was ordered to pay fines and fees totaling $1,308.68.
The altercation took place on August 3 at Solterra Resort in Davenport, Florida, a location just under 10 miles from Disney World, as previously covered by Law&Crime.
Polk County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 5:19 p.m. report of a “disturbance” at the resort’s backyard pool, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
Witnesses recounted that Gibbon, hailing from Beaconsfield, England—approximately 25 miles west of London—was repeatedly pushing the 33-year-old woman underwater during their heated argument. The family was on vacation when the quarrel erupted over the “stipulations of his will,” as described in the arrest affidavit.
Gibbon allegedly “pushed her under the water and held her down multiple times,” the complaint stated. She reportedly tried to get away, but he kept shoving her back down.
“She advised that she could not breathe and believed that she was going to drown,” deputies wrote. “[The victim] advised that she had to fight Mark in order to get away from him and from under the water but he kept pushing her back under.”
It was at this point that the victim’s 9-year-old daughter saw what was happening and “jumped into the pool” to her mother’s defense, according to cops. The girl tried to get him to stop, but Gibbon allegedly pushed her away.
The victim saw some neighbors and yelled at them to call 911. Gibbon allegedly stopped when the neighbors said they were calling the sheriff’s office.
Deputies arrived on scene and took Gibbon into custody. After receiving his Miranda warnings, he allegedly admitted to pushing his daughter-in-law underwater but said he did not intend to drown her. He claimed they were drinking when they got to talking about the will and she slapped him, which is what he said set off the skirmish.
The daughter-in-law reportedly suffered a couple of scratches.
“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,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at the time.
