04-08-2025
UK tourist on vacation in Florida charged with trying to drown daughter-in-law in fight at lux resort
An Englishman's getaway across the pond ended with him in a jail cell with an attempted murder charge — after he allegedly tried to drown his daughter-in-law in the pool.
Mark Raymond, 62, from Beaconsfield, England, allegedly held his daughter-in-law's head under water at the luxury Solterra Resort near Orlando — as his terrified 9-year-old granddaughter fought to stop him, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.
'The victim told detectives that she and Gibbon began arguing about his grandchildren,' the office said in a release.
Mark Raymond, accused of trying to kill his daughter-in-law at a Florida resort.
: Polk County Sheriff's Office
Aerial view of Solterra Resort pool and clubhouse.
Google Earth
Raymond allegedly kept shoving his daughter-in-law's head under the water, 'preventing her from breathing,' the sheriff's office said.
The struggle continued even after his 9-year-old granddaughter leaped into the pool to save her mom, according to cops.
He finally released his daughter-in-law after two bystanders called the cops, authorities said.
Raymond has been charged with two counts of battery and one count of second-degree murder.
The alleged crime happened at the Solterra Resort in Davenport, a sprawling luxury getaway that offers private villas — with prices of up to $800 a night.
The resort's massive pool has artificial rock features, a water slide, and a lazy river.
