Police searching for person of interest in Jamaica murder case

Investigators trying to solve the brutal murder of a New York woman in Jamaica say they have identified a person of interest and are searching for him, the New York Daily News reports.

Police met with Gibbon’s parents on Saturday and said they are looking for a man called Rasta, according to the newspaper.

The parents talked with authorities in a meeting that lasted 90-plus minutes at a family guesthouse in Montego Bay.

Gibbon’s father, Gairy Gibbon, told investigators he was heartbroken.

“I would have preferred if it was me who died and not her,” Gary Gibbon said.

“I loved her very much. The kind of love I had for this child, it pains me to know that she died like this.”

Gibbon’s mother, Andrea Gibbon, said she was encouraged by investigators’ work on the case thus far, but she believes the FBI should step in.

Fight for justice

Police say Gibbon had left a guesthouse run by her family on Thursday night with two phones — one for Jamaica, the other for the US — but without cash or identification. The phones have not yet been found.

Police are also still looking to speak with people whom Gibbon encountered on her trip. Authorities suspect that Gibbon placed her trust in the wrong people.

Gibbon had arrived on the island in late October to bartend and planned to come back to Queens on 30 November.

She was a model and aspiring actress with a degree from West Virginia University and had been saving money to return to school for documentary filmmaking.

Gibbon’s dad said he would fight to bring justice for his daughter.

“When she was born, I always looked at her as such a special girl,” he said. “She was a genuine person with a good heart.”

An autopsy of Gibbon is scheduled for this coming week.