41-year-old Tabbatha Kaye Mature was arrested Wednesday for allegedly choking a teenage girl at Disney’s Magic Kingdom who was blocking their view of the nightly fireworks display. The Orlando Sentinel obtained a copy of the Orange County arrest report which stated Mature has been booked on felony child abuse charges. Mature and her family were visiting Orlando from New Baltimore, Michigan.
Blocking their view of the fireworks show
According to the arrest report, Mature and her family were angry that the Teenage Girl and other teenagers from her high school were blocking their view of the nightly fireworks show. They reportedly asked the teens to sit down or move away, but allegedly they refused to do so. This led to Mature becoming very aggravated, after which the girl and her friends decided to leave. However, as the teenage girl walked away, she reportedly told Mature that she and her family could take their spot. The girl told a deputy from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department that Mature’s response to that statement was to wrap both of her hands around her neck and start squeezing.
When the teenage girl started screaming, Mature reportedly let go of her neck and told the teenager that she doesn’t want to “mess with her.”
Teenage girl had no visible injuries but pressed charges
The New York Post quoted the arrest report which said while the teenage girl had no visible injuries after she contacted her mother to tell her of the incident they decided to press charges against Mature. Mature was then arrested and booked at the Orange County Jail, where she was later released on $2,000 bail.
Mature’s lawyer says she didn’t do it
In a later report by the Orlando Sentinel, a lawyer acting for Mature now wants the charges dropped, saying this isn’t what happened. Adam Chrzan said the fight was primarily between Mature’s 17-year-old daughter and the teenage girl.
He went on to say there was no physical fight, just that there was a request for the students to sit down or move away, and things went on from there.
According to Chrzan there are other witnesses that the deputies did not speak to who tell a different story but gave no more detail. Chrzan explained that Mature has never been arrested before and that she is a decent person and said the whole incident has been a complete shock to her. Chrzan says they intend to “vigorously defend her” against the teenager’s allegations.
According to the New York Post when they contacted a Disney spokeswoman for comment, they were referred to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.