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Model and aspiring filmmaker Désirée “Desi” Gibbon was killed in a horrifying attack in Jamaica, with her body later discovered with severe injuries including a slashed throat and a severed spine. Nearly a decade after her death, the case remains unsolved, leaving her family still searching for answers and justice.
Gibbon, 26, from New York City, had been staying at her grandmother’s hotel in Montego Bay when she disappeared in November 2017. Her mother, Andrea Cali-Gibbon, has continued to campaign for justice, describing the violence inflicted on her daughter as devastating and saying she believes Desi fought for her life until the very end.
After sharing a Thanksgiving meal with relatives on November 27, 2017, Gibbon told a hotel security guard that she would be back shortly. She left the accommodation at around 11.27pm. It was the last known interaction she had with another person and the final moment her family knew she was alive, according to reports.
When she failed to return, friends and relatives began desperately searching for her. For two days, the family endured an agonising wait before her body was discovered at around 7.30am in roadside bushes approximately four miles from the hotel.
Local residents who found the body alerted police, who went to the scene in Anchovy town. Reports described Gibbon’s body as being covered in blood, while the extent of her injuries pointed to an extremely violent killing.
Her mother later spoke publicly about the devastating loss, saying she and Desi had been extremely close. Andrea said the brutality of the killing was particularly difficult to comprehend and recalled her daughter as someone strong and determined.
“She was beaten and had her throat sliced open,” Andrea said, adding that she believed her daughter continued fighting until her final breath. She also said she believed Desi’s final thoughts may have been about whether her mother would be okay if she did not survive.
Andrea also explained that her daughter normally did not travel alone. According to her, Desi usually left the hotel with other people and relied on a car service arranged through the accommodation, with the same driver typically taking guests to their destination and bringing them back.
Despite the passage of almost 10 years, no one has been charged in connection with Gibbon’s murder. Her family has continued to push for renewed investigative and legal efforts, hoping that additional resources could help uncover what happened and identify those responsible.
A GoFundMe campaign was launched in 2021 with a target of $100,000, or around £72,000 at the time, to support efforts to pursue answers and strengthen the case. However, the fundraiser reportedly collected only around $4,000.
The fundraising appeal said Desi was murdered in Montego Bay during Thanksgiving in 2017 and that her family was still waiting for answers. It called on supporters to help the family continue its fight for justice.
The campaign also highlighted Jamaica’s high murder rate at the time, noting that more than 1,600 killings were recorded in the country during 2017. The family has argued that Desi’s case must not be forgotten and that those responsible should ultimately be held accountable.
Messages from supporters on the fundraising page expressed sympathy for the family and frustration that the case had remained unresolved for so long. One contributor said the family deserved a full effort from authorities to obtain justice, while another simply wrote that Desi’s family deserved answers.
For Andrea and her family, the search for justice has continued long after the initial shock of Desi’s death. With no confirmed killer facing charges, the unanswered questions surrounding the young model’s final hours remain a painful mystery.
