A British family traveled to Florida for a multigenerational luxury vacation, but instead of heading home with a lifetime of memories, one of them is facing attempted murder charges. Mark Raymond Gibbon of Beaconsfield, England, was with his daughter-in-law, Jasmine Wyld, and her 9-year-old daughter at the Solterra Resort in Davenport when the two adults reportedly began to argue. The disagreement escalated, and police say Gibbon tried to kill Wyld.
According to an incident report obtained by People, Gibbon, 62, and Wyld, 33, allegedly began arguing about the elder’s will, and the situation escalated physically. Wyld accused Gibbon of pushing her down and holding her under the water. When Wyld’s 9-year-old daughter saw her mother in the pool, she reportedly tried to get her grandfather off of her.
A witness told police they saw Gibbon push the child away and once again put Wyld’s head under water. Per a new release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, “The victim stated that Gibbon only stopped after a pair of sisters from Ohio who were vacationing next door said that they called the Sheriff’s Office.”
A female witness told police that she feared for Wyld’s safety and called 911 as the situation escalated, according to the incident report. The bystander said she saw Gibbon push Wyld under the water and scratch her chest. She worried the mother “could have been drowned in this incident.”
“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,” Sheriff Grady Judd shared 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.”
Per police, Gibbon allegedly admitted he put “her under the water a few times” but claimed he never intended to hurt her. He is being held in the Polk County Jail without bail on a charge of felony attempted second-degree murder and two counts of battery.
