NYC MODEL DESIREE GIBBON'S blood-soaked body was discovered ON AN overgrown local roadway IN JAMAICA NOV. 27, 2017
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO FIND HER MURDERER
Slain Queens woman’s parents ‘completely numb’ as they visit rural Jamaica road where their daughter was found
The parents of a Queens woman slain in Jamaica searched in horror and in vain Sunday for clues on an overgrown road on the Caribbean island where their daughter was found with her throat slit.
The mother of 26-year-old Desiree Gibbon poked through the dense vegetation four miles outside the tourist town of Montego Bay, looking for the Tory Burch sandal that was missing when police found Gibbon.
Her dad tried to determine where exactly Gibbon's bruised and bloody body had been found.
"From where she comes from in New York — where there are lights ... to be left here on some dark road to die like this," the father, Gairy Gibbon, 55, said. "It must be somebody's worst fear, especially if you are a woman, to be up against overwhelming strength."
Gibbon, who grew up in Hollis, had been scouting potential musicians for a friend's record label while in Jamaica. The charismatic actress and model's dreams ended violently, leaving behind a grim mystery for authorities to solve and a killer on the loose. Gibbon's body was found along a rarely traveled road leading to a vacant home.
Her mother, Andrea Cali-Gibbon, was in a state of shock while searching the overgrowth.
"I'm just lost. I'm on auto pilot — going through the motions. Completely numb," said Cali-Gibbon, who works as a nurse.
Jamaica police suspect Gibbon knew her killer. Detectives said they were looking for a man known as Rasta and told the parents they believed Gibbon trusted the wrong people.
"Somebody who knows this terrain would have used it," said Gairy Gibbon.
Gibbon was staying in a guesthouse her grandparents own. Police believe she hit several bars in Montego Bay before her body was discovered on Nov. 25.
She was fully clothed, but her cell phone and the one sandal were missing. She had multiple bruises on her hands and thighs and upper and lower torsos.
Gibbon arrived in Jamaica on Oct. 20, 2017 and had planned to return home in time for Thanksgiving.
"I've realized that I was extremely blessed to be her mother," said Cali-Gibbon, who took 30 seconds to compose herself before speaking. "I've realized she didn't belong only to me, or my husband, or her sisters.
"She belongs to everybody."
The 26-year-old victim's blood-soaked body was discovered in the heavy brush adjoining an overgrown local roadway on Nov. 26 in St. James Parish, Jamaica.
She was on the island trying to earn enough money to pay for film school in Europe, and died just four days before her scheduled return to Queens.
Though police in Jamaica told the Gibbons there was a person of interest in the slaying, no arrests were yet made in the unexplained killing.
Desiree had arrived in Jamaica on Oct. 20, and planned to return home four days after her body was found. The young woman, known as Desi to family and friends, was staying at a local hotel owned by her grandmother.
"She was an adventurous girl," said Cali-Gibbon. "She traveled the world. She wanted to learn something about every religion, every culture. She didn't want to go to the touristy areas of anywhere she went.
More than a year later, her killer remains at large. In late 2018, Andrea contacted renown Private Investigator T.J. Ward to bring her daughter's murderer to justice. We have opened a GoFundMe account to cover the costs of the investigation. Please help by donating today!
