Savannah mother honors late daughter’s 19th birthday with a billboard memorial

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A billboard near the Hyundai AutoNation on Abercorn Street displayed the image of a young girl who would have turned 19 today, February 15th.

Desaray Gilliard was 15 years old when she was killed at a Savannah housing complex.

Nearly four years later, no one has been arrested in her death.

Each year on her daughter’s birthday, Detraya Gilliard creates a visual memorial, placed on a billboard to celebrate Desaray’s life and keep her memory alive in the community.

See coverage from 2024: www.wtoc.com/2024/02/15/remembering-desaray-gilliard-mother-who-lost-daughter-gun-violence-speaks-out/

See coverage from 2025: www.wtoc.com/2025/02/15/savannah-mother-remembers-daughter-killed-2022-shooting-desaray-gilliard/

2026 marked another annual tribute, along with a refreshed memorial at Yamacraw Village, where Desaray was killed.

“Desaray exuded love, kindness, warmth, compassion,” Detraya Gilliard said. “She was just a sweet girl who loved helping others. She gave so much of herself and didn’t look for anything in return.”

Desaray was a high school student who planned to attend Ohio State University when her life was cut short.

“19 years ago on this special day, the Lord blessed me with a beautiful, brilliant, remarkable, amazing, extraordinary daughter. And I am thankful that for 15 glorious years, she brought this wonderful light into my life. And it’s also rather fitting and appropriate that she was born a couple of hours after Valentine’s Day. I remember 10 o’clock Valentine’s Day night, I started going into labor. And then a couple of hours later, close to 1 a.m., Desaray made her triumphant debut into the world. Desaray exuded love, kindness, warmth, and compassion,” said her motheR, Detraya.

Her mother described her not just as a daughter, but as her best friend.

“She didn’t help others because she was looking for that to be reciprocated,” Detraya Gilliard said. “She did it because she loved helping others. So I just want people to know how special she was.”

Despite the passage of time, Desary’s case remained unsolved.

See previous coverage: www.wtoc.com/2025/05/06/15-year-old-girls-death-yamacraw-village-remains-unsolved-community-gathers-three-years-later/

Her mother continues to honor her legacy, hoping that Desaray is looking down at the billboard on her birthday each year.

She continued, “I went out to Greenwood Cemetery, where Desaray is interred, and I took roses and balloons out there to her. It was bittersweet to me because I don’t get to hug and kiss my daughter.”

“I don’t get to partake in all the activities I know we would have enjoyed on her birthday. Desaray and I would have been somewhere in Miami, living it up, just enjoying her special day...” said Detraya.

Desaray’s memorial at Yamacraw Village, her mother hopes to make permanent. The housing complex is set for demolition, and she doesn’t want Desaray’s memory to be forgotten there.

Detraya has reached out to multiple Savannah city officials with no response... Dissapointing she says, but hasn’t deterred her mission.

“I’ve reached out to the powers that be in Savannah about, ‘hey, can we work on something to preserve this memorial site to commemorate what happened to Desaray and the countless others who lost their lives to gun violence in Yamacraw,’” said Detraya.

With her late daughter’s birthday now behind her, she hopes people in the community also continue to uphold Desaray’s memory.

“I’m just glad that I’m able to do these grandiose things for her on her birthday, and I know Desaray is looking down, saying, ‘Look at my mom go, look at how she’s representing me. I’m an army by myself when it comes to upholding my daughter’s memory, and I’ll always continue to do that,” said Detraya.