Desiree Gibbon, 26, was found dead with her throat slashed and spine severed at a popular tourist destination in Jamaica. The murder remains unsolved nearly a decade after her body was abandoned in roadside undergrowth.
Final moments and discovery
Desiree, affectionately known as Desi, originally from New York City, had been staying at her grandmother's hotel in Montego Bay when she vanished. Following a Thanksgiving dinner with family on November 27, 2017, the model and aspiring filmmaker told the hotel security guard she would return shortly as she departed her accommodation at 11.27pm, according to the BBC.
This exchange proved to be her last known interaction with another person. For two days, friends and loved ones searched for Desi before her body was discovered at approximately 7.30am in a hedgerow four miles away, reports the Daily Star. Police were alerted to the scene in Anchovy town by locals who found her remains, which were "caked in blood," according to Loop Jamaica.
Family's fight for justice
Her 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 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?'"
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."
Funding and ongoing appeal
With those responsible still not facing charges, Andrea has launched renewed attempts to secure funding for legal proceedings. A GoFundMe appeal was set up in 2021 with a target of $100,000 (£72,000) to bolster the investigation, though only $4,000 has been collected.
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 wrote: "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 supporter added: "This family deserves justice."
