26-year-old Desiree Gibbon headed from New York to Jamaica with hopes of finding work as a bartender and saving enough money to attend film school in Europe. The former model’s quest for a better life came to an unfortunate end over the weekend.

Residents of the St James parish town of Anchovy notified police officials after discovering Gibbon’s body along a rural road, reports LoopJamaica.com. Police found Gibbon’s blood caked body hidden in bushes early Sunday (Nov. 26) morning. An apparent victim of a brutal murder, Gibbon was found with her throat slashed four miles from Montego Bay.

The aspiring filmmaker obtained a three month work visa, had been staying at a hotel owned by her grandmother since October 20 and was set to fly back to New York on Thursday, reports the New York Daily News.

Andrea Cali-Gibbon, mother of the former beauty pageant contestant said, “We were very close, so you can image, when I got the news, ‘devastated’ doesn’t begin to describe it,” in a statement to the NYDN. “The brutality is what killed me. She was beaten and had her throat sliced open.”

The mother also believes Gibbon was lured away from her hotel by the person who killed her.

“She didn’t venture out on her own. It was somebody she trusted,” she told NYDN. 

Cali-Gibbon, who described her daughter as “a world traveler who once taught English to kids in Brazil,” gushed over her daughter’s fearlessness. “She was a tough cookie,” she explained. “I know she fought until she drew her last breath. I know she did.”

Gibbon’s grief stricken family created a GoFundMe account in an attempt to cover the costs related to transporting her body back to the US and funeral expenses. So far, it’s raised $18,000 of its $20,000 goal.

Police officials have yet to establish a motive or release details on a potential suspect involved in Gibbon’s tragic death.