British man charged with attempted drowning of daughter-in-law on US holiday

Mark Gibbon, 62, allegedly tried to drown the 33-year-old woman after they argued about his grandchildren.

PA Media

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A British man has been charged by US police with the attempted murder of his daughter-in-law after allegedly trying to drown her in a swimming pool while on holiday, local authorities said.

Mark Raymond Gibbon, 62, of Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, allegedly tried to drown the 33-year-old woman after they argued about his grandchildren in their rental home at the Solterra Resort in Davenport, Florida, on Sunday, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said on X.

Officers had responded to reports of a disturbance in a back-yard swimming pool at around 5.20pm local time.

Gibbon allegedly pushed and held the victim’s head under water multiple times which prevented her from breathing, Mr Judd said.

He allegedly only stopped after holidaymakers next door said they had called the sheriff’s office, while the victim’s nine-year-old daughter jumped into the pool to try to stop the incident, the sheriff said.

Gibbon was arrested and taken to Polk County Jail before he was charged with attempted second-degree murder and battery, Mr Judd said.

The sheriff said 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.”