Murder by Design | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] July [Music] 1997 [Music] shot there's something inherently sexy in a Versace
design [Music] there is a flamboyance that is contained and [Music] controlled the clothes we were sent a
message about how the world perceives us it's as a real wow factor I'm Tim gun and I am the mentor on Project Runway
the Versace customer was not faint of heart one of the most iconic Versace pieces was the Gown that he made made
for Elizabeth Hurley two stars were born with that dress Princess Diana wanted a
whole new look for the world and Courtney loved it also I mean he took her from trashy to sophisticated
Versace helped put Miami on the international map my name is Tara Solomon and I am the
Miami Herald's former nightlife corespondent verace brought his entire world of fabulosity
and while he may have had homes all around the world he came to Miami Beach to relax do you remember where you were
when you heard that Versace had been murdered oh I remember profoundly I opened up my computer and it flashed
before me that johanny versan had been murdered I was stunned When Versace was killed there
was pure pandemonium on that particular morning johni Versace decided to go over
to News Cafe and it was on his return home approaching the door he was he was shot
and killed and all of a sudden we hear bang bang Two Shots yes please immediately please do you
remember where roughly he was he was right right here and there was obviously blood yes plenty of
blood and if you mention Johnny Versace um people still don't remember those names
of the first few people that were killed there was uh the homicide of Jeff Trail and David
Matson there was the murder of Lee migland then there was the murder of William Reese we have what we typically call a
spre killer this wasn't a halfhazard crime Mr Versace was [Music] [Music] targeted
world famous fashion designer Johnny Versi fatally shot Gunn down outside his mansion in Miami Beach FL turned into a
gruesome crime scene early this morning 5 days before he was murdered Johnny Versace and his partner Antonio
Deo had arrived at kasak kazarina their lavish Miami Beach Retreat they'd been in Paris and New York Versace could not
have known it but his killer was already in town the 911 call came in about 8:45 the
morning of July 15th 1997 just as Carlos Nora then a lieutenant with the Miami Beach Police
Department was heading to work I drove over to the scene and encountered an area just flooded with
police officers there was uh evidence at the front steps there was blood there was uh
clothing Giani Versace was an icon you have a world-renowned fashion designer celebrity who was tragically killed this
was all Hands-On deck yeah you don't want to screw this case up exactly it all happened in broad
daylight Versace had gone out alone to a local cafe to buy magazines and then he
walked home as he was putting the key in the door lock and he was shot twice once in
the face Point Black Ridge and the other one was behind the left ear in the neck
and that was a through and through shot Nora believes the gunman approached Versace from behind or from the
side I believe he was shadowing him it was a very strategically timed strategically placed attack uh to to
kill Giani Versace the question was who would want to kill him one of the first motives that we
felt was a possibility was that it was a contract hit or organized crime Mafia if
you will uh because there was a dead bird found next to the body is that a sign that to to us that's
a sign of a mafia hit but the bird it turned out was is in the wrong place at the wrong time hit by a fragment from a
bullet that killed Versace and that left police with not much to go on but not for long they got a break
from Lazaro Quintana who was a friend of Versace he used to call me lazara Lazaro
was at the mansion that morning he was in the dining room with Antonio when he heard the
shots Antonio got up and and he went to the window that faces the gate to enter the mansion and he yelled out no
no and I ran out you came here I came here Johnny was right here Versace was already dead on the front steps and then
Antonio came and he's he's crying and he was destroyed he was destroyed and he's he's who did this who
did this and there was there was a lady standing here and she's pointing but she
couldn't speak Antonio said go get him so I went after him Lazaro followed the gunman we're
talking this pace real fast I yelled you bastard why did you do this why did you
do this he makes a left turn as he makes the left turn yes he makes the left turn
and we're still going we're still going all the way through he turns over to the
right and car's coming so I couldn't get across car stops uhhuh and they yell he's got to gun he stops right across
here yeah at the alley and that's when he's pointing the gun at me show me how he pointed the gun at you if I'm
you so he didn't even look at you no never looked at you never saw his face never saw his face but you saw his
clothes yes the shooter cut through this alley while Lazaro raced around the corner he
remembered seeing a police officer there earlier I reached him and I said to him
Mr Versace has just been shot were you calm or were you no no no a friend of mine was just shot no
was I calm I was nervous I was upset you came down this street with the police officer I did luckily he came
upon some men in front of this building and asked them if they saw a man running
and they pointed they pointed to the garage he said he went in here he went in here so that's when I told the
officer I said he's in there go get him go get him and then we heard over the radio the commotion and and okay now
there is a man hunt when police searched the 13th Street Garage they discovered a pile of
clothes a gray t-shirt and black shorts just what Lazaro had seen the shooter wearing he had obviously changed clothes
when he walked out of this garage just shortly after the murder nobody knew who the shooter was nobody knew what he
looked like nobody knew what he was wearing he was able to just vanish but he left a mountain of evidence for
investigators next to that pile of clothes was a truck that had been reported stolen in New Jersey and inside
the truck were documents with a name I mean he left his identification in the truck that's correct he had his passport
um uh ID a whole lot of items that connected him right away by 12:00 noon some 3 hours after
Johnny Versace was murdered police had a suspect his name Andrew kunanon and as it turned out the Miami
Beach Police Department was not the only one looking for [Music] [Music] him in Milan Italy today those who knew and
admired Giani Versace said goodbye to the murdered fashion designer one week after Johnny Versace
was murdered celebrities and friends from around the world gathered inside this Gothic cathedral in Milan Italy for
his funeral I saw versace's funeral on television and I cried it was it was hard it was tough Princess
Diana was there at the funeral sting Trudy [Music] Elton in Miami not far from where he was
murdered there was a small intimate service to celebrate the designer's [Music] life the flowers left on the steps of
versace's opulent man Mansion served as one somber reminder of what had happened we consider Andrew kunan to be
armed and to be extremely dangerous the police activity was another they were tracking every lead
they could hunting for Johnny versace's suspected killer 27-year-old Andrew kunanon you had a
very good suspect Michael band was the prosecutor assigned to this case our first step was to go out into Community
with pictures of canadan and start beating the bushes and looking for this guy looking to figure out is this the
guy authorities were starting to learn all about Andrew kunanon 3 months before versace's murder
kunanon was living in San Diego and his life was to say the least complicated I thought he'd be a very successful
businessman or maybe in you know the fashion industry or something Star Quality like back in the 80s Robert
erens remembers his seventh grade classmate Andrew kunan as a good-looking kid with a keen fashion sense I remember
Andrew would put dimes in his penny loafers it was always that little extra something that made him sort of stand
out and get noticed Andrew sort of had this air about him that I thought was kind of Beyond his years at that
time according to erands Andrew conanan grew up in a workingclass San Diego suburb and did not share much about his
home life I had no idea who his mom was his dad whether he had brothers or sisters I had no idea who was half
Filipino Andrew's father Modesto was a former Navy man turned stock broker he and Andrew's mother Maryanne raised four
children together but Andrew stood out he had a genius IQ so he enrolled in the pricey and prestigious Bishop School in
the Tony Beach Enclave of La Hoya when I heard that he was going to La Hoya and transferring to Bishops I thought well
you've got to have money that's a private school the class of 1987 mentioned Andrew kunanon as most likely to be
remembered he chose a quote from King Louis V 15th to accompany his senior photo aeoa L
delug after me the Deluge turns out those words could have been an omen a year after Andrew's High
School graduation his father was facing embezzlement charges he fled the country
leaving his family abandoned and broke he was openly gay in high school and very flamboyant and when 48 Hours
first spoke to Nicole Mari Ramirez back in 1997 he knew Andrew kunanon today he still remembers kunanon as the young man
who didn't have a job but was a big spender and an even bigger talker Andrew Canan was basically known in the gay
community's nightlife in the bar scene he would walk in with the Entourage and always paid for the Bill
he wanted the illusion that it was his money he tried to brag that he came from a Filipino family and he knew them M
maros Michael Williams owned a local restaurant and knew Andrew conanan he also knew where kunanon really got all
that money he had a very wealthy older partner who really provided for him how much
older I would say probably by 40 years what did you make of that relationship I stopped trying to figure
that out I was like you know here's this young attractive good-look guy with this extremely older man I mean
I can't imagine what the connection was there I would imagine that you had an idea what the connection was there I did
you know Michael Williams was introduced to Andrew through their mutual friend a
young ensen named Jeff Trail Andrew was very pretentious loud you know always had to be the center of the the
party Jeff was opposite of that Jeff was pretty conservative and quiet always helping
people tril was an Annapolis graduate and a Gulf War veteran living in San Diego he was also gay as out as was
possible tonight on 48 Hours the battle over homosexuals in the military in 1993 when he appeared in
silhouette for a 48 Hours interview he talked to us about issues affecting gay people in the military we're not here to
be feared we just want to do our jobs that's all we're asking for while Trel and kunanon were friends to the best of
anybody's knowledge that is all they were Jeff was always had the contagious personality there where you just wanted
to be around him and I think that you know in a way Andrew wanted that in his life so surrounding himself around Jeff
he always seemed very happy and and up you did not like Andrew no for reasons known only to Canan he
sometimes used the name Andrew DVA that's how Michael Williams knew him and he would would soon learn a lot more
about Andrew who he was and what he would do would change the life of Michael Williams and end the lives of five
innocent [Music] victims tracing Andrew kunan and's blood soaked path to Johnny versace's front
door means following a series of unexplainable events punctuated with unfathomable
viciousness none of the dots are easily connected except in the mind of the [Music]
murderer the road begins with Jeff Trail he just had that Charisma about [Music]
him it was Trail who befriended Andrew kunanon and Michael Williams believes his friend knew Canan had lived a
dangerous life Andrew had a past of dealing drugs he had a pass of prostitution and I really think that
Jeff was trying to pull him out of that Williams says Jeff Trail had left the Navy and was training to join the
California Highway Patrol and then suddenly and with no explanation in the fall of
1996 Trail moved to Minneapolis the day that he got in the car to leave I said please be safe and he reached under the
seat and he he pulled out his handgun and he said I'm going to be safe I've got this around that same time Jeff Trail's
friend Andrew kunanon was struggling according to Nicole Mari Ramirez he was not good-looking anymore he had to have
looked in the mirror and saw what I saw which was a a six going down to a four what was left for his
life kunanon had gained weight and given away much of his expensive designer wardrobe he had dabbled into drugs he
was now an older young man with average looks on top of that his older wealthy partner broke up with him I surmised
that Andrew one day woke up after his older boyfriend broke up the relationship and what's next how is
he going to live he lost the money the mansion and all that went with it he lived off other
people he also was someone who was revengeful former FBI profiler Mary elleno tulle this is not someone that
you break up with easily because when you're grandiose and you're the center of the world people don't break up with
you and then for reasons kunanon never fully explained on Friday April 25th 1997 he went to Minneapolis he flew from
San Diego on a one-way ticket do you think that he went up to Minneapolis with murder on his mind yes I think that
he did canana knew people in Minneapolis Jeff Trail was there and Michael Williams thinks something happened
between the two of them I called to check on Jeff and he was just really depressed it alarmed me
we'd never had a conversation like that I uh I asked him have you spoken to Andrew and he
said uh no and I'll never speak to him again again that's odd kunan knew somebody else in
Minneapolis a 33-year-old architect named David Madson kunanon and Madson had had a relationship he loved to laugh
I'm just got a little lunch okay and he always had big energy Julie hland was David madson's friend and coworker he
liked problem solving we talked about World issues he was a down-to-earth person did David ever mention Andrew
Canan um yes he did I think he had a fling with Andrew um I don't think it was anything serious because there were
other people in his life that he cared about more he didn't care about Andrew um that much
really but according to kunan and's friends Andrew believed David was the love of his
life Julie hin didn't talk to David Madson over the weekend on Monday she was surprised when he didn't show up at
work and by Tuesday everyone was worried I called him he went to voice messaging
and um a couple of my co-workers went to his house over lunch hour on Tuesday um
heard his dog barking in the apartment she didn't know it but kunan and's killing spree had
already started it was noticeable as soon as you open the door and walk in nobody made any effort to try and
conceal it or hide it when retired Minneapolis homicide detective Dale barsness arrived at
madson's apartment what he saw was gruesome there was a bloody body wrapped in a rug I thought he was dead that day
I pretty much cried the whole night and then later we found out that um it wasn't David's body in the the carpet
how did you feel when you heard that um shocked but then oh what happened the body in David madson's
apartment was Jeff Trail he had been beaten to death with a hammer and not far from the body police found a duffel
bag with a name on it Andrew kunanon this is the travel bag that we believe uh Andrew kunanon brought to Minneapolis
on uh April 25th but where was Andrew kunanon and where was David Madson the trail stayed
cold for Just 4 days and then on Saturday morning two fishermen found the body of a young man on the shores of
East Rush Lake about an hour north of Minneapolis it was David Madson he'd been shot in the
head we learned that David died pretty soon after Jeff Trail oh my gosh you know to be in the
situation that David's in with this crazy person you know and how scary for him I'm sure he tried to calm Ander down
you know I I mean I'm sure there was survival mode going on like how do you diffuse this
situation but he obviously failed at that um and he lost his life because of that ballistic tests showed the bullets
used to kill Madson came from a 40 caliber gun like the one Jeff tra had taken to Minneapolis Police believe
kunan took that gun presumably when you were able to link madson's death to tra's death that changed the whole
investigation yeah now we're down there where's Andrew there were tire tracks near
madson's body and his car a red Jeep was missing but it would not stay missing for long 72-year-old Lee miglin was
found tortured and stabbed to death in the garage of his mansion on Chicago's Gold
Coast on the morning of May 3rd 19 1997 Steven and Barbara buer found the body of their neighbor Lee miglin he was a
wealthy real estate developer I can still picture it today I could see the points of his shoes and I said it Le is
right there I mean it was absolutely um chilling inside Lee miglin's townhouse there was some money and other things
missing and there was evidence the killer had stayed a while police photos show he had shaved and taken a bath
debris in the kitchen sink uh melted ice cream coming out of their containers then in uh Lee's Library finding this uh
large ham uh sliced sitting on his desk that was plenty to recognize that uh something very very bad had gone
on around the corner from the murder scene police would discover David madson's Jeep but now Lee miglin's green
Lexus was missing to this day police do not know what if any connection kunanon had to miglin but they feared kunanon
would strike [Applause] again I do know it's not a random act of violence a nationwide man hunt is still
underway for can after Andrew kunan murdered Jeff Trail David Madson and Lee miglin the gay community was terrified
especially in San Diego I think everybody was in a State of Shock I think some people were in a state of
fear people didn't answer their doors people that knew him the most stayed other
places Michael Williams relocated to Scottdale Arizona everybody was on very high alert cuz he didn't know where he
was going to strike again yeah just 6 days after he killed miglin while kunanon was on the run in miglin's green
Lexus police believe he realized the FBI was tracking the car phone's signal and
he needed a new vehicle he's believed to have struck here in pensville Friday afternoon at
the remote fins Point Cemetery at Fort M Park FBI is going to work at concurrently with the New Jersey State
Police the Lexus was found at this Cemetery in Southern New Jersey inside the office lay victim number four he was
45-year-old William Reese he'd been shot in the head and his red pickup was gone
yeah he all he was was a caretaker at a cemetery Minneapolis detective Dale barsness says William Reese was killed
simply for his truck you know he just was a very honorable man in the wrong place absolutely at the wrong time and
alone you're in Scot somewhere in Scottdale he's last heard of in New Jersey can you relax
no until he's caught you don't relax as Johnny Versace was in Europe working on what would be his final
collection Andrew kunanon was the focus of a nationwide manhunt he was featured on America's Most Wanted leis kunan may
be wearing glasses and earned a spot on the FBI's 10 most wanted list you think he enjoyed the the attention that he got
oh I absolutely do former FBI profiler Mary eleno tul he basically held the United States hostage because we were
looking for him everywhere we didn't know where he was UL says having murdered four men in three states over
12 days kunanon was now considered a spree killer a spree killer continues and continues and continues and does not
go back into their normal life life as they know it it's done so otou believes kunan knew knew he
had nothing to lose there's no way to undo what he's done now absolutely no way so he's really boxed himself into a
corner from a behavioral standpoint that makes him more dangerous but then for two months there was no sign of
kunanon until July 15th 1997 when he struck again this time was different because this time his victim
was Johnny Versace [Music] when you heard that he had done it again do you remember how you felt every time
there was another killing it was almost like you're being stabbed you know it it's that Rush of pain and you're just
automatically oh my God why can't they catch him there's no question that he knew that we were hot on this
Trail Carlos Nora remembers that Within hours hundreds of police officers piled onto Miami Beach we all but locked down
uh the causeways and the ways in and out of the city and I believe that created that bottleneck where he felt
uncomfortable trying to leave the City crime sters with all the attention on this case every day brought a flood of
tips how long ago the tips that were coming in were overwhelming at times especially since this was detective Gus
Sanchez's first homicide investigation were you nervous at all of course I was yeah we know already that he had killed
numerous people I remember going to different locations knocking on doors it always crosses your mind that kunan can
be in there armed and he can shoot through the door detectives soon learned kunanon had been in Miami beach for
about 2 months he was sort of hiding in plain sight exactly the police had missed several opportunities to get him
about a week before before he killed Versace kunanon pawned a gold coin stolen from Lee miglin how'd the pawn
shop know it was him he told them Pond the coin about a week before the homicide and used his own name used his
own name what's more kunan and's name was on a form the pawn shop was required to send to the Miami Beach Police
Department it arrived 5 days before the murder we did not have an automated system at the time it was was just one
of many forms and unfortunately nobody looked at it did you think why didn't we know about this
before Johnny Versace was killed that thought went through my mind several times cuz apparently he was on the beach
for a period of time kunan listed his address as the Normandy Plaza Hotel it was a dump you and I wouldn't stay in
that hotel he' registered under his own name must drive you nuts to know that this guy was walking around free as a
bird right I mean just the fact that this guy was being looked for speaks to the fact that he was able to blend in
and change his appearance and successfully just stay one step ahead that way things might have turned out
differently if police had a little more luck 4 days before Versace was killed someone at this subshop recognized
conanan from the America's Most Wanted store he called the police but they arrived
too late I was disappointed I was frustrated it's just unfortunate that we didn't catch him before it happened
after versace's murder with kunanon on the loose anxiety grew let me assure you that Miami Beach and Dade County are
safe I was afraid remember versace's friend Lazaro Quintana had chased kunanon so I told the officer go get him
he's in there go get him he knew who I was but I didn't know who he was how did you behave when you were out scared
cautious looking over my shoulder a lot literally I mean absolutely oh yeah I was yeah I mean I get goosebumps on it
absolutely this man had a gun this man knew what he was doing the longer kunan in dodged police
the more intense the hunt became I think the police we getting anxious where could he be
what kind of resources did he have former prosecutor Michael ban that's a lot of pressure that's a lot of pressure
on law enforcement The Whole World's watching but we don't want anybody else dead there was a sense that maybe we
lost him by some people I just thought that he was hiding out yeah go ahead Tom and then the tip came in that would
change everything here we go guys here we go I get a call Michael I think we found
[Music] him what's your emergency somebody got and they're shooting I heard over the
police radio that there had been a shot fired that they were surrounding a house
booat you think what we got him after a 9-day Manhunt Miami Beach detective Gus Sanchez believed Andrew
kunanon was finally cornered on a houseboat just 40 blocks from where he had shot down Johnny
[Music] Versace when Sanchez arrived it was a standoff at this point nobody's seen
kunan on the house boat no there's no comfor information at this point the house boat's caretaker saw signs of a
Breakin and when he went inside a shot was fired police quickly surrounded the houseboat they are communicating by
bullhorn with the houseboat after a 4-Hour Siege the SWAT team fired tear gas and went on
[Laughter] board when it was prosecutor Michael band followed them it was a mess it was just a
mess in an upstairs bedroom they found a body I just recall an individual lying on the bed looking
up he had a bullet wound in his head there's a gun next to him when you looked at that face what did your gut
tell you my gut told me it's him but that wasn't enough I wanted fingerprints as band waited an expert at
the scene compared fingerprints from the corpse with kunin he looks up and he says it's him the rain of terror brought
Upon Us by Andrew kunan is over it turned out kunan shot himself with the same gun he used to kill Johnny Versace
William Reese and David Madson it was the gun he had taken from his friend and first victim Jeff Trail there's a sense
of relief but this was not the outcome Michael Williams hoped for I didn't want him to do anything but go to jail and
ride Andrew kunan and's suicide left the world with a pile of questions was there
any connection between Johnny Versace and Andrew kunanon there have always been rumors there is no hard evidence do
you think they knew each other I I think there's a strong possibility that they they crossed paths before and that plays
into his motive I I think so I think they knew each other or he wanted to be in his Circle and maybe he was rejected
and this this is all speculation there is some sense it's not complete why' he do it what was the folks in Minnesota
why Chicago why New Jersey why Versace was there a connection there was this just some sort of
serendipitous unfortunate occasion where just two lives intersected at the wrong
time and we'll never know we'll never know 20 years after versace's death Tim gun says versace's influence still lives
sexy alluring gorgeous red carpet gowns it's all attributable to Johnny Versace [Music]
singer Bruno Mars not only wears Versace he mentions Versace in one of his [Music]
songs if guys like Bruno Mars are singing about Johnny Versace 20 years after his death what in your mind does
that say about Johnny Versace that he's fully embedded in our society and culture and has a has a profound Legacy
I feel his presence uh when I'm designing lyana Aguilar a Project Runway contestant was just a teenager When
Versace was killed there Versace elements in what you're wearing today right yes Tim gun saw this and he said
this looks like Versace and I was like yes mission accomplish of course the memories are
infinitely more personal for Michael Williams who lost his best friend and two decades later it still hurts this
hasn't left left you I'm better it's taken me years you know if it was just Jeff being
killed would' be one thing but then you got David and Lee miglin and William Ree
and Johnny Versace father people that you're now connected to it is a connection no one would ever
seek the world lost an icon but five families lost loved ones friends lost friends all for a reason we'll never
know if there ever was [Music] [Music] one [Music] what

Did fashion icon Gianni Versace know his killer? A "48 Hours" investigation into the killing spree that ended his life in Miami 20 years ago. Richard Schlesinger reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

Brief Summary

Gianni Versace was murdered by Andrew Cunanan, leading to a nationwide manhunt and a series of shocking events.

Key points

The Murder of Gianni Versace. Fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot outside his Miami mansion, shocking the world.
Andrew Cunanan's Background. Andrew Cunanan, a troubled individual with a complicated past, becomes a suspect in Versace's murder.
The Aftermath of Versace's Death. Versace's murder leads to a nationwide manhunt for Andrew Cunanan, who is considered extremely dangerous.
The Manhunt for Andrew Kunan. Kunan was the focus of a nationwide manhunt after multiple murders.
Johnny Versace's Murder. Kunan struck again, this time killing fashion icon Johnny Versace.
The Standoff. After a 9-day manhunt, police cornered Kunan on a houseboat.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I was stunned. When Versace was killed, there was pure pandemonium.

Reaction to Versace's murder

1:56WatchFeb 27, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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