On July 15, 1997 Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace’s life abruptly ended with a gunshot on the doorstep of his Miami beach mansion. Many of us know and love the Italian fashion line known as Versace, but most people aren’t aware of the murder of its founder, Gianni Versace. His life was taken by a 27-year-old serial killer, Andrew Cunanan. Cunanan was a desperate man craving attention in all the wrong ways and found that attention by murdering men. 1
Cunanan’s road to murdering Versace began when Cunanan was 19. His father abandoned his family and fled to the Philippines to avoid embezzlement charges. He left his wife and kids broke and alone. Cunanan followed his father to the Philippines. He later returned shocked at the poor conditions his father was living in. Cunanan started spiraling downward. He acted out in hopes of attention, and sometimes he resulted to violence. There was one incident where he shoved his mother so hard he dislocated her shoulder. Later observation of his behaviors suggested he suffered from antisocial personality disorder, which results in a lack of remorse for one’s actions. Cunanan craved any kind of attention he could get. He would do anything to get what he wanted. His spiraling life led him cross country on a murder spree killing without motivation except for the attention he would gain by doing so.2
In 1989 Cunanan dropped out of the University of California, San Diego and moved to the San Francisco area where took on many aliases such as Andrew DeSilva, Lieutenant Commander Andy Cummings, Drew Cunningham, and Curt Matthew Demaris. He made up lies about where his money came from, but, in many cases, he appeared wealthy because he befriended and lived off wealthy older men. He began playing parts in creating violent pornography.3 He was often found at parties and high class clubs, which was how he met the Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace at a San Francisco club. But this life of luxury didn’t last long.4 In 1996 Cunanan broke up with Norman Blachford, who at the time was financially supporting him and his expensive gay playboy lifestyle. Broke, Cunanan, maxed out his credit cards and sold drugs to survive. Not long after that, he got a one-way ticket to Minneapolis to visit a former lover.5
On April 27,1997 Andrew Cunanan committed his first murder, killing Jeffrey Trail, a former navy lieutenant who he had met at a bar in San Diego. His body was found two days later in David Madson’s apartment wrapped up in a rug after being beaten to death. Cunanan had been staying with Madson, one of his former lovers, at the time of Trail’s disappearance. Four days later the second murder was confirmed when David Madson’s body was discovered by fishermen near a lake north of Minneapolis on May 3,1997.6
With the car he stole from his second victim, Cunanan made his way to Chicago where he tortured 72-year-old Lee Miglin to death and left him bound in his house where Marilyn Miglin found her husband on May 4, 1997. Cunanan left Madson’s car in a garage a few blocks from Miglin’s home and murder spree, but not before he took all the money he could find in Miglin’s home and his jade green Lexus. Cunanan had no prior relations to Lee Miglin, and so he was believed to had been in the wrong place at the wrong time when Cunanan found him.7 After this murder, Cunanan was placed on the FBI’s Ten most wanted list.8 Still on the run, Cunanan made his way to New Jersey where he claimed his fourth victim by the name of William Reese. Reese was a custodian and Finn’s Point National Cemetery. He was found in the basement of his office with a gunshot wound to head. Cunanan then dumped the stolen Lexus nearby and drove off with Reese’s red pickup truck.9
Now in Miami, Cunanan left his red pickup in plain sight a few blocks away from Gianni Versace’s mansion.10 After the 50-year-old fashion designer returned from his morning walk, he found Andrew Cunanan at his front steps. Cunanan then shot and killed Versace on July 15, 1997.11 To kill Versace, he used the same gun that he stole from his first victim, Jeffery Trail, and that he also used to murder David Madson and William Reese.12 Cunanan fled the scene and hid out in a nearby house boat to avoid being found. Eight days after the murder of his last victim, Gianni Versace, Andrew Cunanan was discovered by the houseboat’s owner, who then shot Cunanan.13 Andrew Cunanan looked for attention his whole life, and he found it in all the wrong ways, but just like his personality, he ended everything with a bang.
- Gary Indiana, Three Month Fever: The Andrew Cunanan Story (New York: Cliff Street Books, 1999). ↵
- Evan Thomas, and Richard Alleman, “Facing death,” Newsweek (28 July 1997): 20. ↵
- Wikipedia, 2018, s.v. “Andrew Cunanan.” ↵
- Evan Thomas, and Richard Alleman, “Facing death,” Newsweek, (28 July 1997): 20. ↵
- Wikipedia, 2018, s.v. “Andrew Cunanan.” ↵
- John MCormick and Evan Thomas, “A lethal road trip: a gay socialite is suspected of taking off on a killing spree from Minnesota to Chicago to the Northeast,” Newsweek (19 May 1997): 52. ↵
- John MCormick and Evan Thomas, “A lethal road trip: a gay socialite is suspected of taking off on a killing spree from Minnesota to Chicago to the Northeast,” Newsweek, (19 May 1997): 52. ↵
- Andrew Phillips, “The Cunanan enigma: Versace’s killer takes his own life and leaves a mystery,” Maclean’s, (4 Aug. 1997): 32. ↵
- John MCormick and Evan Thomas, “A lethal road trip: a gay socialite is suspected of taking off on a killing spree from Minnesota to Chicago to the Northeast,” Newsweek, (19 May 1997): 52. ↵
- Evan Thomas, “End of the road,” Newsweek, (4 Aug. 1997): 22. ↵
- Evan Thomas, and Richard Alleman, “Facing death,” Newsweek, (28 July 1997): 20. ↵
- John MCormick and Evan Thomas, “A lethal road trip: a gay socialite is suspected of taking off on a killing spree from Minnesota to Chicago to the Northeast,” Newsweek, (19 May 1997): 52. ↵
- Evan Thomas, “End of the road,” Newsweek, (4 Aug. 1997): 22. ↵
110 comments
Alyssa Garza
This article was very interesting and informative, but I would have like to know more about Andrew Cunanan life a bit more. It’s sad to know that all four of these guys were at the wrong place at the wrong time causing their lives to be cut short. In a way it’s sad how Andrew Cunanan died because he didn’t serve his time for the deaths of those four men and no one got to ask him what made him kill besides just for the attention.
Rylie Kieny
I think this is a good story to tell as everyone knows of the brand Versace but many aren’t away of the face behind the brand. I honestly thought the founder was a women, but after reading this I know that I was very wrong. I think at times consumers by things but they don’t know the story behind them. This article does a hood job explaining the death of Giovanni Versace. It scary to think that Cunanan went on to do what many would consider a killing spree. He is a Vile human and although he had a very rough childhood it is not a justification for his actions. He killed innocent People to gain attention, that in the end got him killed.
Megan Copeland
I knew that Versace had been murdered but I didn’t know that it was done by a serial killer. It is crazy how some people don’t understand that these are horrible acts and show no remorse for their actions. I think this was a very good article because you focused on the killers life and went into detail about each one of his murders and tied them together. It is so crazy that it took him to kill 4 people to find out who the killer was.
Daniela Duran
This was a very interesting and shocking article. I am impressed by the chain of murder he created and on how cold-hearted he was to go on killing so many people. However, I am no one to judge, and perhaps his physiological problems that arose from the fact his father abandoned them, were a strong influence as to who he became. I would like to know if he had something specifically against Versace, because I do not think he had a conflict with him in the past. Nevertheless, what he did was astonishing. I really enjoyed reading this article, as it was easy to follow through! I loved how it ended as well!
Martina Rodriguez
So sad to realize how Cunanan’s story started with the abandonment of his father. While this doesn’t excuse his actions you have to wonder how events would be different if his father hadn’t left the family in the way that he did. I’m surprised that he was on the FBI’s most wanted list. I don’t know the criteria for getting on the list, but I didn’t realize Cunanan had met them.
Avery Looney
Before reading this article I knew that Versace was murdered but I never knew the details behind it. I didn’t know who Versace’s murderer was and I had no idea that he was a serial killer. Cunanan had been troubled from the beginning and was a very manipulative person. He would use older men for their money so he could afford his expensive lifestyle. It is sad that he took four innocent lives before he was found. Cunanan caused heartbreak not only to the families of all the victims, but also to Versace’s fans.
Alexandra Lopez
I did not have any previous knowledge about the murder of Gianni Versace but after reading this article I have a better understanding. This article was very informative and had a creative ending to it. The author was unbiased and explained the events in a clear manner. I have always found it interesting to read about the lives of serial killers that made them the way they are.
Enrique Segovia
I was familiar with Gianni Versace being murdered because I had heard of it due to a TV show. However, I was unfamiliar with the murderer, Cunanan, and his obsession for attention by killing men. It is really gruesome how he initiated a killing spree all just because he wanted attention. Sadly, he murdered one of the biggest fashion icons, with whom he got what he wanted (attention). So, I think it is important to note about the backstory of this murderer, or some insight on how his obsession came forth.
Brianna Ford
It is crazy that someone could have that big of an obsession for an individual for so long. You would have figure the obsession would just diminish after a while. It is also sad that Versace died at such a young age and it is frustrating to hear that Andrew got the easy way out and did not face any type of punishment for his actions. Overall this was a very good informative article. I did not know about the owner of Versace and I am glad I read something new and interesting.
Michael Hinojosa
It’s embarrassing for me to say but I actually didn’t know about this murder until I read this article. I had heard of Versace but nothing in-depth like this, just basic things about his personal life and what he did as a fashion designer but I didn’t actually know he was dead. And after reading this article I’m disgusting that the mans murderer only got away Scott free because he passed, so he never had the chance to meet real justice in the world of the living.