A British businessman who had been accused of trying to drown his daughter-in-law lover was so desperate to get back to the UK to see her that even his own lawyer joked about it, The Daily Mail has learned.
Wealthy Mark Gibbon was in a relationship with Jasmine Wyld who had previously been engaged to his son when their furious argument in a Florida swimming pool led to his arrest initially on attempted murder charges.
And when he appeared in court on the reduced charge of battery – which he had admitted – Gibbon’s own lawyer quipped that he was so keen to get back to Britain to be reunited with her that ‘he wants to be deported’, provoking laughter.
Audio of the extraordinary courtroom exchange emerged today as pictures showed that Gibbon and Ms Wyld have fully patched things up – as both were pictured walking their dog at the home they once again share.
During the Florida court hearing last month Gibbon’s lawyer Kevin Cox had reduced the court to audible laughter which even the 62-year-old defendant joined in with.
The remark by Mr Cox came during the four-minute hearing in Polk County on November 7th during which Gibbon, a wealthy lighting engineer from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, who has previously worked with Ed Sheeran, meekly entered his guilty plea to two counts of battery.
The plea deal brought to an end the criminal case in Florida and meant he was finally able to return to Britain where the Daily Mail has previously revealed he is back in the arms of Ms Wyld, 33.
Gibbon had been arrested in August when the pair got into a drunken row at the luxury Solterra Resort in Davenport, Florida and he put her head under the water multiple times until her nine-year-old daughter intervened.
Gibbon had been in prison ever since and was originally charged with second-degree attempted murder – a charge which could have seen him jailed for 15 years – which was later downgraded to battery by strangulation.
The case ended in a plea deal after Ms Wyld told prosecutors she did not feel in danger when she was around him and that he had been ‘punished enough’.
During the four-minute hearing Mr Cox told the court that Gibbon was going to admit two misdemeanours.
He said: ‘As you recall Mr Gibbon is from the United Kingdom so deportation doesn’t really apply but he’s going to be going back to England.
‘One of the conditions you have on him is that he could not have his passport. I would ask that his passport be released to him and any other belongings at the jail so he can go back home.’
Prosecutors did not object and Judge Michelle Pincket asked Gibbon to raise his right hand and swore him in.
Gibbon said: ‘I do’ when asked if he would tell the truth.
The judge read through a series of procedural questions to ensure that Gibbon was competent to make his plea and had not been coerced into it.
Gibbon could be heard responding ‘yes’ to each question.
Judge Pincket said: ‘You understand that if you are not a US citizen this plea could cause you to be deported?’
Gibbon replied yes.
Amid laughter in court, Cox said: ‘He wants to be deported to England, judge.’
The judge asked Gibbon to enter his plea to the two counts of battery and said: ‘No contest.’
‘No contest’ is a US legal term where a defendant accepts punishment as if guilty but does not technically admit guilt, something that is common in plea deals.
Judge Pincket said: ‘I adjudicate you guilty and sentence you to time served.’
The judge fined Gibbon $1,308.68, of which $151 went to a rape crisis fund and $201 of which went to a domestic violence fund.
Judge Pincket told Gibbon that he could set up a payment plan to pay the fines, but added: ‘I’m sure you’re not going to do, but you could.’
After being released Gibbon did indeed return to the UK and the Mail reported last week that hairdresser Ms Wyld has visited his £800,000 semi-detached house in Beaconsfield, which is just a few minutes’ drive from her own terraced home.
Ms Wyld had been engaged to Gibbon’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.
A source said last week that Gibbon feels lucky he avoided jail time.
‘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.
