A 20-year-old was arrested after an alleged attack at an airbnb rental in The Villages.
A woman at 2110 Estevez Drive in Villa Vera Cruz in the Village of Santo Domingo told Sumter County sheriff’s deputies that she had been “abused” at the residence by Murphy Robert-Glen Palmer. The arrest report identified the residence as an airbnb rental.
The woman claimed that Palmer, who stands 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 185 pounds, “punched her legs with his fists, leaving several small purple bruises,” the arrest report said. She also claimed that he grabbed her left arm and right leg, “digging his fingernails into her flesh and leaving small abrasions on her skin.”
The woman’s injuries “were consistent with her claimed mechanism of injury,” the report said.
Palmer, who was identified by his Michigan driver’s license, denied “battering or grabbing” the woman.
He was booked at about 10 p.m. Monday on a charge of battery at the Sumter County Detention Center. Bond was set at $5,000.
The arrest comes at a time when more and more Villagers are complaining about short-term rentals in The Villages. Residents say the short-term rentals attract people with no long-term commitment to the community. They say that rentals like airbnb bring with them parking problems, loud music and excessive consumption of alcohol. Departing renters often leave trash out days ahead of pickup and the garbage bags are picked at by birds and other animals, leaving behind a neighborhood mess.
This particular airbnb rental is owned by a Pennsylvania couple who purchased it in 2021 for $207,500. They also own a villa in Villa De La Vista West, which also appears to be used as a rental. It was also purchased in 2021.
