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
Sabrina Hsu
I knew Gianni Versace was dead but I had no idea he was murdered. Reading the title my first thought was that it was some kind of crazy fan who killed him, but it turned out not being like that at all. If Andrew Cunanan hadn’t met Gianni Versace at that club that night, then maybe Cunanan wouldn’t have ended up at his house that day and killed him. It’s sad how one little thing like that can end someone’s life. Thankfully that houseboat owner found him, otherwise who knows how many more deaths Cunanan might have caused.
Tyanne Pearcy
Versace is obviously a well known product but I never knew when or why he died. However, I heard of Anthony Cunanan due to a segment on a television network on the murder of Gianni Versace. The story correlated just as it does in this article. His dad leaving his mom and him as a child clearly correlated to his violent behavior towards men. His murders were different because its a man killing other men when usually it would be a man killing women. His decision to randomly kill Versace just shows how he wanted any type of attention no matter what it looked like.
Dylan Coons
definitely an interesting article on the murders of Versace. Whenever I hear about his murder, You never learn much about the killer. Just Versace’s life. I never knew that Cunanan was so hungry for attention or that he was a serial killer. I thought Versace was his only victim. This was a great choice and was very well written. Good job!
Rebecca Campos
Andrew Cunanan was obviously a disturbed individual. It’s unfortunate that he had such a hard life starting at such a young age, and its even more saddening that he was never able to get past those hard times. The life he led was one of destruction and violence. The fact that it led to one of the most iconic fashion designers was tragic as well. It seems like he was so easily able to gain access to Gianni Versace showing the lack of security during this time as well. The article was definitely informative and educated about quite possibly one of the most gruesome murders I’ve ever heard of.
Jennifer Salas
I Knew Gianni Versace was successful business man, but I never knew about his assassination. Gianni Versace Seemed to have everything Andrew Cunanan wanted success, fame, and fortune I believe Andrew envied Versace and that motivated him to murder Versace.Today Versace is still a well known brand and it makes me wonder what ideas would Gianni Versace would have come up with today.
Bictor Martinez
I am very aware of the brand Versace however, not about the tragic story of its owner. Cunanan’s way of getting attention was not a smart one, but one that cost him his own life. Murdering other humans for one’s attention is extremely wrong. Versace was doing very well for himself in which he could’ve done much more in his lifetime. In the day that Versace got shot, he had just gotten back from his run and I could tell that he was feeling good about himself because of his brand and exercise, but to get shot by a man who isn’t is tragic.
Bictor Martinez
I am very aware of the brand Versace however, not about the tragic story of its owner. Cunanan’s way of getting attention was not a smart one, but one that cost him his own life. Murdering other humans for one’s attention is extremely wrong. Versace was doing very well for himself in which he could’ve done much more in his lifetime. In the day that Versace got shot, he had just gotten back from his run and I could tell that he was feeling good about himself because of his brand and exercise, but to get shot by a man who isn’t is tragic. This article helped me to better understand the life behind the brand Versace.
Alexandra Rodriguez
Cunanan’s attention seeking personality ultimately led to his perish, however like the article said his life ended with a “bang”, which is something I assume he would have wanted. However, I never knew that the designer of Versace was male, or murdered. It is incredible how such successful men were fooled into letting a conman into their life, especially when they are the most likely to be targeted by those individuals. Another thing I found interesting was Cunanan being gay. It explains how he was able to make these successful men vulnerable to him, as well as giving him a specific target type.
Kristy Feather
As someone who does not stay up to date with the fashion world, I at first wasn’t surprised that I didn’t hear about Versace’s murder, but once I realized it was done by a serial killer I was shocked I hadn’t heard of this case before. I thought this article did a great job of introducing Cunanan, but I feel like there could have been more details about each murder. If he was a serial killer I think discussing his motives beyond just his APD would really help to illuminate him as a killer.
Eric Ortega Rodriguez
Wow, this was a very fascinating article. I have known about Versace and its products for a while now but never knew about the person behind the brand, Gianni Versace. Nonetheless did know that he was murdered by Andrew Cunanan. I find it sad how Cunanan committed so many before ultimately killing his last victim. I also find it sad because the article makes it seem that Cunanan’s actions might have been done since he wanted attention, which might have been the case. Overall, this was a well-written article with an excellent topic selection.