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Versace had a longtime boyfriend, Antonio DAmico. Cunanan's third murder in a spree that spanned Minneapolis to Miami was not immediately linked to him by authorities. "I'd say it's highly probable that he knew Miglin," said McCrary. Miglin, 72, invites him into his Gold Coast home while his wife is away on a business trip. From there, Cunanan drove off in Reese's truck. "I lived the life of a fairy princess and I had a prince for 38 years, and then one day my prince went to war and didn't come back," she said. It premieres Wednesday. The 72-year-old was reportedly cleaning a garage behind his home when Cunanan attacked. Miglin had suffered multiple blows to the chest. On July 10, Versace arrived in Miami to stay at his opulent mansion in the South Beach area. The answer is no. The investigation into Versaces murder ended July 23, 1997 eight days after the designers death when Cunanan apparently shot himself to death on a boat house, about two miles away from Versaces house in Miami Beach. The fashion designer was returning home from his morning walk to the News Caf, where he went to purchase magazines, when a man approached and fired two shots into his head. Episode 3 of The Assassination of Gianni Versace tests whether well still be interested in the series without its title character, who is largely absent from the action. "We were discussing Marilyn's fundraising at the Drake, which was very successful, and that they were planning to go to Israel and name a wing in her honor, and he was looking forward to that.". So I understand it is their choice. Days later, Cunanan shot and killed his former lover David Madson, 33, and dumped his body near a lake in Minnesota. Instead, she took care of Miglin's 98-year-old mother and brother-in-law, who was very close to Lee, the fourth of seven children. The American Crime Story episode scheduled to air next week will follow Cunanan as he kills two men in Minnesota before killing Miglin. Scenes for American Crime Story were filmed in September outside 2104 N. Fremont St., in Lincoln Park. But where the television series begins to diverge from some reports is in what relationship Cunanan had to the Miglin family, if any. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. He began his career selling premixed pancake batter out of the trunk of a beat-up old car, Marilyn Miglin says at the fundraiser on American Crime Story. She goes on to mention that Miglin built the Chicago Bar Association building (he developed it with business partner J. Paul Beitler in 1990). Shortly after Miglins murder, Cunanan became the 449th fugitive listed on the FBIs Most Wanted list. Today, she still works as a beauty authority, author, and speaker, appearing monthly on the Home Shopping Network to promote products such as her signature fragrance Pheromone, according to her website. He then smashes Miglins head with a block of concrete before inflicting worse injuries, including throwing a concrete block on his chest. Simpson told the paper that producers also studied FBI records and witness accounts. He also appeared to have been tortured with a screwdriver. It appeared that Cunanan went into Miglin's kitchen following the murder, made himself a ham sandwich, and shaved before taking off in his new getaway vehicle. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital CHICAGO (CBS) -- On May 4, 1997 - 25 years ago Wednesday - Chicago real estate magnate Lee Miglin was found brutally murdered under a car in the garage of his Gold Coast mansion. By the next night, authorities had positively identified Cunanan, and said he had committed suicide. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Later, Cunanan goes on a date with Versace to the San Francisco Opera, where the designer is working on Capriccio. On the show and in real life, the Jeep provides a break in the case as a Chicago police officer notices the windshield is covered in parking tickets. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. The red Jeep he drove to Chicago was found parked two blocks from the developers house. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. He had been bound with duct tape, stabbed more than 20 times with a screwdriver and had his throat cut open with a hacksaw. He and his wife Marilyn lived in the Chicago area. Moreover, the crime scene showed . Instead, he was targeted by a lone gunman who wasn't out to rob his victim, but rather fired at point-blank range before running off. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. But some bizarre details about the crime scene began to emerge. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Designer Gianni Versace appearing at a fashion show. Cunanan's string of murders ended on July 23 of that year with his suicide by firearm. He built the garage specifically for he and my mom to use and for her to use for the rest of her life," Duke Miglin said. A knife is stuck in a ham on a desk. "There was no relationship whatsoever," Duke said. He killed William Reese, a 45-year-old. Former U.S. naval officer Jeffrey Trail had become friends with Cunanan in San Diego in 1991, while Trail was stationed there. The program recruited 200 of Chicagos most successful women and had them serve as mentors for young women across a variety of professions. And I still don't.". Cunanan's motivations are similarly mysterious, try to pawn one of Miglin's coins in Miami, of friend Jeff Trail and ex-boyfriend David Madson. What the executive producers told me at the 2018 TCA Winter press tour is that they tried to do justice to the victims as best they could based on the differing statements and accounts. Both companies still exist in some form today. Here's what we know about Miglin and his family. Police believed Miglin had been murdered between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. the day before. ''He was a very visible person, not a recluse, not a shut-in.'' In fact, the series depicts Miglin as being a closeted homosexual who hires Cunanan as a sex worker. But while the pair did meet in San Francisco, according to Orth, it played out quite differently than the series depicts: To confuse things further, the above version of events is the one we see Cunanan describe to friends in the series, but not the one we actually see play out onscreen. Twenty years after the murder, Cunanans motive is still unclear. "We don't know what happened over that weekend with Lee Miglin, and there are conflicting statements, so it was a real challenge for us to decide: what do we feel is authentically true, what do we believe to be true, and how can we do justice to these characters?" His wife, Marilyn, first became alarmed when Lee didnt show up as planned to meet her at the airport, and alerted police when she returned home to find their gate unlocked and the kitchen in disarray. His watch had stopped at 9:55 pm, which investigators believed was the time of his killing on Sunday, April 27. Another man, Jeffrey Trail, 28, had been found beaten to death with a hammer and rolled in a carpet in Madson's apartment on April 29, 1997. Cunanan then came to Chicago and brutally murdered Miglin. Andrew Phillip Cunanan (August 31, 1969 - July 23, 1997) was an American serial killer known to have murdered five people, including Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace and Chicago real estate developer Lee Miglin, during a three-month period in mid-1997. Trail had been beaten to death with a claw hammer, and his body rolled up in a rug. So far, they have refused. The only evidence there is points toward Cunanan killing Miglin for his car and his money, even if that means there is a lot left unexplained about the murder itself. According to ABC-7 Chicago's recent look back at Miglin's death on the 20th anniversary of the murder, Cunanan covered Miglin's head and face with tape, tortured him with a screwdriver and. Detectives had said Cunanan murdered Miglin in a crime of opportunity because he needed Miglin's car. Cunanan would then travel to Miami before shooting Gianni Versace on the front steps of his mansion on July 15, 1997. That is pure speculation, however, as is the scenario presented in The Assassination of Gianni Versace. Heres what to know about suspected serial killer Andrew Cunanan: Hours after Versaces shooting death, authorities identified Andrew Cunanan as the prime suspect. Kate Middleton Makes the Case for Houndstooth, Prince William & Kate Middleton Visit Wales, Courteney Cox Hasn't Read Prince Harry's Memoir, Historic Photos of King George VI's Coronation. Cunanans killing spree began in late April 1997 when he used a hammer to fatally beat Jeffrey Trail, a 28-year-old former naval officer he knew, in Minneapolis, for reasons that remain unclear, the FBI said. 25 years ago: Andrew Cunanan's murder spree takes Lee Miglin's life. "American Crime Story" executive producer Brad Simpson told the Chicago Sun-Times that he and his team came to the conclusion that Miglin and Cunanan knew each other because all of Cunanan's attacks were "targeted and specific" except for the one on William Reese. Madson was described an intelligent, handsome, young man with a promising future; he was the entire package. "We don't even think about it," said Marylin. All this actually happened. ", "In the Miglin case, this was such a horrible crime. "The problem in this case is the only person who knows or the only people who know are dead," Schlesinger said. On Friday, May 9, he shot and killed cemetery caretaker William Reese in rural Pennsville, New Jersey in order to steal Reese's red Chevrolet pickup truck. Per Orth, Cunanan considered Trail to be his best friend, and referred to him as my brother." Long Waits, Short Appointments, Huge Bills. As CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reported from Miami, police quickly dismissed the idea that Versace's murder was a random act. Check out Romper's new video series, Romper's Doula Diaries: Watch full episodes of Romper's Doula Diaries on Facebook Watch. He left no suicide note or explanation for his crimes. The pair engage in an intimate conversation onstage after the show. Cunanan had reportedly been living in Miami Beach for two months prior to killing Versace. Miglin was Cunanan's third victim (out of what would become five total), and the show bluntly depicts the way Cunanan bound him with tape and brutally tortured and murdered him in Miglin's garage while his wife, Marilyn, was out of town on business. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. Marilyn Miglin called the police around 8 a.m. that Sunday, after discovering a 9 mm handgun in the bathroom. Tuesday night, however, an officer started writing a third parking ticket for the vehicle and decided to call in the license plate. Miglin was killed in the garage on May 3, 1997 by serial killer Andrew Cunanan. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. Despite Miglin's wife and their son Duke vehemently denying any previous connection between Cunanan and Miglin, reports from several people indicate Miglin and Cunanan may have been involved on a romantic or even sexual level, according to ABC7Chicago. The Medical Examiner found no defensive wounds on Miglin. Duke Miglin was an aspiring actor in the 1990s, with a role in Air Force One. Although never tested, Cunanan thought he might have AIDS in the late spring and summer of 1997 because of his lifestyle and told friends he was going to kill those with whom he had unprotected. Miglin's family said the same, releasing the following statement after Cunanan's suicide: "(The car) was taken by a complete stranger in a random act of violence who had no connection whatsoever to any member of the Miglin family.". "That's right," Andrew answered. Police also noticed the suspect or suspects had helped themselves to a ham in the refrigerator, and left a half-eaten apple behind, before fleeing in Miglin's Lexus. Copyright 2023 WLS-TV. The show appears to be exploring Cunanan's resentment about his life, as he also struck out at Versace in part because the designer had things Cunanan did not. Cunanan would use that weapon throughout his murder spree. As Chicago Police Superintendent Matt Rodriguez (played on the show by Alex Fernandez) told reporters at the time, there was evidence that the person or persons did in fact avail themselves of food at the victims home and was walking around the apartment. Furthermore, while Rodriguez confirmed that Miglin was tortured before he was murdered, he, like the rest of the police department, remained extraordinarily tightlipped about the case, as the Chicago Tribune put it at the time, just as in the show. Simpson told the newspaper that producers for the true crime series studied Maureen Orth's book, "Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History" and also bringing her on as a consultant. Rodriguez, played by True Detective alum Alex Fernandez, gets a fair amount of screen time on the episode. He had been beaten and stabbed. Schlesinger said there was some speculation that Versace and Cunanan had met briefly at an opera performance in San Francisco but it would have been in passing. Andrew was thrilled and Eli couldn't believe it. And in her Vanity Fair report on Cunanan, she wrote that he was a sex worker. A night later, it remained a mystery who had so brutally murdered Miglin. On the night of May 4, 1997, Andrew Cunanan murdered Miglin and stole his Lexus to flee the scene of the crime. Miglin did in fact come from this background to develop the Bar Association and Madison Plaza buildings with his partner, J. 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