A model suffered horrifying final moments after her tragic final act which saw her face her murderer face to face. 26-year-old Desiree Gibbon was discovered dead with her throat slashed and spine severed at a Jamaica tourist hotspot. To this day the murder remains unsolved, nearly 10 years after her almost decapitated body was abandoned in roadside bushes.
Final Moments and Disappearance
Her devastated mother, who said Desiree "was beaten and had her throat sliced open", has never stopped continued battling for justice. Desiree, nicknamed Desi, from New York City, was living at her grandmother's hotel in Montego Bay when she disappeared.
Following a Thanksgiving meal with relatives on November 27 2017, the model and budding filmmaker told the hotel security guard she would return shortly as she left her accommodation at 11.27pm, reports The BBC. This normal exchange was her chilling final interaction with another human, and the last time her family would know she was alive.
Discovery and Family's Grief
For two days, friends and relatives lived through hell as they searched for Desi until her lifeless, blood-drenched body was found at approximately 7.30am in a hedgerow four miles away. Officers were called to the location in Anchovy town by locals who discovered her corpse which was "caked in blood", Loop Jamaica reported.
Her grieving mother Andrea Cali-Gibbon told the Daily News: "We were very close, so you can imagine, when I got the news, 'devastated' doesn't begin to describe it... The brutality is what killed me." She added: "She was beaten and had her throat sliced open... She was a tough cookie. I know she fought until she drew her last breath. I know she did. And I'm certain that her last thought was 'Will my mom be OK if I don't make it?'"
Renewed Fight for Justice
She told ABC New York: "She never travelled by herself. She didn't leave the hotel by herself. She always left with somebody. They would take a car service provided by the hotel and the same driver would take them and drop them and bring them back."
With those responsible still not facing charges over Desi's death, Andrea has kickstarted fresh efforts to fund legal action. A GoFundMe campaign was established in 2021 month targeting $100,000 (£72,000) to strengthen the investigation, only $4,000 was raised.
The fundraising page states: "Désirée was murdered in Montego Bay on Thanksgiving of 2017. We still have no answers and continue to fight the Jamaican government. We need Justice for Désirée. Please help us get answers."
"Sadly nothing is for free especially on a poor island where people will not talk without being paid off. They do not value life there," she alleges. "There was over 1600 murders in 2017 in Jamaica. We just cannot move forward until those responsible for killing Des are brought to justice. Thank you to all who join us in this fight. 1LIFE".
One contributor said: "It is so unfair to the family for the Jamaican authorities not to give this the due diligence for justice that they would give to their own. To her Mom: I pray that you will find justice for your beautiful daughter Desiree." Another added: "This family deserves justice."
