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A British businessman is back in the arms of the daughter-in-law lover he had been accused of trying to drown in a Florida swimming pool, the Mail can reveal.
Mark Gibbon, 62, was freed by a US court this month after a plea deal in which he admitted one count of battery against Jasmine Wyld, 33, mother of his two grandchildren and former partner of Gibbon’s son Alex.
The bizarre case dates back to last August when the couple – who got together after she had previously been engaged to his son – became embroiled in a drunken row over Gibbon’s will in the pool of a luxury resort in Florida.
Gibbon was said to have pushed his lover Ms Wyld’s head under water multiple times and gave her scratches and bruises at the Solterra Resort in Davenport before her nine-year-old daughter intervened, according to police reports.
But after Ms Wyld pleaded for her ‘best friend’ Gibbon to be released, claiming she had ‘no fear’ of him, he was allowed to travel home to Buckinghamshire, where he runs a successful lighting business which has involved him working with Ed Sheeran.
This week the Mail has learned that hairdresser Ms Wyld has visited Gibbon’s £800,000 semi-detached house in Beaconsfield which is just a few minutes drive from her own terraced home.
Gibbon, meanwhile, was counting his lucky stars not to have faced a jail sentence of up to 15 years.
‘Mark’s been back for a little while now, but he’s been keeping his head down and has resumed his business as a lighting engineer,’ a source said.
‘Jasmine has obviously forgiven him and he’s grateful that she played such an important role in securing his freedom.’
The legal matter in Florida was resolved on November 7, according to documents seen by the Mail.
Gibbon was originally charged with second degree attempted murder but it was downgraded to battery by strangulation.
He was released on $25,000 bail which was waived upon the resolution of the case.
According to the plea form, Gibbon admitted the single count of battery as part of a plea deal arranged with prosecutors.
The charge is a misdemeanour as opposed to a more serious felony of battery by strangulation which he had been charged with.
The documents state: ‘Passport to be released to defendant per court. Court directs (security) to release passport to defendant.’
He faced $1,308.68 of court costs.
Had Gibbon’s original case continued he could have faced up to 15 years in jail.
At the time the Polk County Sheriff’s office said in a statement: ‘Gibbon is accused of pushing and holding the victim’s head underwater multiple times, preventing her from breathing.
‘The victim’s nine-year-old daughter jumped into the pool in an attempt to stop Gibbon from drowning her mother.’
Grady Judd, the County Sheriff, said: ‘We expect vacationers to behave while they visit with us. Because Mr Gibbon couldn’t control his anger, he may find himself spending a lot more time in Florida than he had anticipated.’
But the case was thrown into doubt during a subsequent hearing when mother-of-two Ms Wyld begged prosecutors to free her partner, calling him ‘a good man’ who ‘adores his family’.
She said: ‘I have complete trust in him. He’s my best friend.’
Prosecutors told the Daily Mail that Ms Wyld, who would have been the key witness had the case gone to trial, wanted it dropped so Gibbon could be with her in the UK.
Officials from Polk County said that she reassured them that she ‘had no fear of him’, referring to Gibbon.
In a statement, prosecutors from Polk County said: ‘The defendant in this case was charged with battery for repeatedly dunking the victim’s head below water in a swimming pool during an argument.
‘The victim was consulted regarding the resolution of this case. The victim informed our office that she felt the defendant had been punished enough and she desired that he be allowed to return to England and have contact with her and her daughter.
‘She had no fear of him. The defendant completed and anger management course and was adjudicated guilty of battery.’
Asked about the situation at home in the UK, she said news of their relationship had been made public ‘to the entire world’ and so had come to the attention of the authorities in Britain.
She told the court: ‘Back here in England, what we call social services have contacted me and there will be involvement with the social services here in the UK.
‘I don’t know the rules as of yet as I’ve not met with the lady that’s going to come round and talk to me.
‘Obviously this case has hit England and it’s been made public knowledge to pretty much the entire world.’
Ms Wyld had been engaged to Gibbons’s son Alex, 34, but they split in 2021.
In February last year, Alex was sentenced to two years in prison after he drove a Porsche towards his father during an argument.
Sources have told the Daily Mail that Alex caught Ms Wyld in his father’s bed while they were still together, sparking a ‘massive row’.
As a result father and son no longer speak.
One source said ‘There have been a number of issues within the family.
‘He (Alex) feels an awful betrayal at how his dad has struck up a relationship with the mother of his two children.
‘Mark and Jasmine do an awful lot together and they go away on holiday with the children a couple of times every year.
‘She is always round at his house. She has a place of her own, but she’s nearly always in Beaconsfield with Mark.
‘I don’t know for sure what happened on this holiday and why Mark has apparently tried to drown her. But I have been told that Jasmine was unhappy that they have been in a relationship for a few years and she is not named in his will.’
