Skip to main content

tv   Dateline  MSNBC  March 23, 2024 12:00am-2:00am PDT

12:00 am
tomorrow and sunday 10:00 a.m. eastern. i will be convening a special meeting of the velshi book club tomorrow to discuss one of the most banned books of all time and one that is frighteningly relevant, george orwell's 1984. my guest, james mcallister and garrett conley, an author. tomorrow morning 10:00 a.m. eastern. of hea rt. you didn't wear a versace dress if you didn't want to be seen. gianni versace was not for the faint of heart. you do not wear a versace address if you did not want to be seen. >> gianni versace was a true original .
12:01 am
>> life always came with fireworks. >> i don't think there was a model that was not in love with him. >> he was on top of a mountain. >> andrew cunanan lusted for a taste of that world. >> versace seemed to personify a lot of what he wanted to be. >> oh i like that, i would want that. >> what was he willing to do to get it? he looked at me and said, you have no idea what i am capable of. >> there was a rug, there was a body outside. >> he killed a guy for his truck. >> cunanan really became the prime suspect. by that time, he was far away. >> it seemed like we were always when that behind him. >> andrew just walked up behind him and shot him. >> a lot of things that were left unanswered. >> he was determined to be remembered.
12:02 am
if the only way to be remembered was to kill for fame, he was willing to kill for fame. fashin de once there was a true gens , who conquered the capitals of fashion, and earned worldwide fame. and once, there was a man who earned fame another way. this is the story of how brilliance met bitter in the, of how, and maybe why, the bright light that was gianni versace, was snuffed by a failure named andrew cunanan. >> he was excited-- fixated by celebrity, he was determined to be remembered. >> and what cunanan killed was indeed true magic . no one
12:03 am
understood that, magic, or the power of fame, the pool of celebrity quite like gianni versace. >> that was the hottest ticket in town. he was a major, major star . >> all of them dying to see versace's surprise. he dispensed the shoulder pads and baggy pants of the 80s, and set out to celebrate the body. >> suddenly, everything went sexy. >> everything went sexy, it had colors, it was loud and different. >> legendary model, beverly johnson, watched from the runway as gianni versace explores the world. >> even his name had an appeal, gianni versace. >> they were born in the very booth of italy, growing up literally among the ruins of the ancient empire. his parents were modest, hard-working people.
12:04 am
versace learned at the knee of his dressmaker mother, learned that every stitch mattered , that quality was paramount. he was 25 when he set out for the capital of italian tour, milan. >> this was versace house. >> it is here we met antonio d'amico, versace's partner in life and in business. he told us the story behind versace's logo, the medusa , and how gianni spotted it right on the front door of his new house. >> it was already there. it was the idea to keep the medusa as a logo. >> what did medusa say to you? >> medusa, it is a seduction, you look and you cannot take off your eyes. >> yeah, you can't look away. >> that is the way seduction is, and that was the fashion of versace.
12:05 am
>> and if whoever looks on the face of medusa turns to stone. in reality, the fashions behind that logo were impossible not to look at. ballet at rosario's, movie directors, rock stars, came running. elton john became a friend. and remember "miami vice " in its final season, the stars wore versace. >> some of these photographs of famous people in those clothes are iconic, they are world-famous, still. like says diana in that blue sheath. >> she did an old english style, so she asked gianni to make dresses for her. >> is fashion shows made history, like the one in 1991 with sidney crosby, naomi campbell, evangelista, and kristi turley, all on the same runway. unforgettable, said the
12:06 am
notable fashion journalist hal rubenstein. >> the color was amazing, the men and women were taking-- breathtaking. this is how he wanted you to see life. life always came with fireworks. >> gianni versace was not from the faint of heart when you put that on, from the time you walked out your door, all eyes were on you. >> well, there were some famous ones too, right? >> yeah. the safety pin. >> elizabeth hurley 1994 at her boyfriend hugh grant's movie premiere. she was not really a star back then, but she was after she wore the versace safety pin dress . >> it was a celebration of the woman's body, and really been proud of your sexuality. >> and versace was not just a brilliant designer. an overly gay man, he became a champion for a community badly
12:07 am
in need of one by embracing his sexuality is showing others they could too. >> it is even more amazing to realize what he did when you realize why and when he did it, especially in america, having come through the 80s, when a aids was so devastating. we became terrified to have sex. >> but not gianni . his designs made a statement, be bold, be brave. >> i loved the audacity of what he did. i loved his fearlessness. >> he is not apologizing to anyone. it is a force to be reckoned with. >> he talked to katie couric about his fashion philosophy when he visited "the today show" and 1996. >> it is very important for people to be themselves, to express themselves. the only heart in fashion is to be ourselves. i think we design for people to be glamorous in their lives. >> by 1997, he was getting ready to take his company to a
12:08 am
new level. >> is an auspicious time in versace's life. >> maureen north covered the case for "vanity fair. " >> he was getting his whole business ready for an ipo. >> taking his company public. >> he was on top of a mountain, happiest as could be. everything was going right. everything was going right. >> so, have you met the moneyman in new york mark gianni versace retreated to his beautiful mansion in miami beach, blissfully unaware that the name gianni would lincoln be splashed across headlines, put there by a killer, eliciting the fame of a genius, who even now was eluding police as he drove toward his destiny. coming up, a very different path to fame. >> andrew spent time with wealthier men who could help keep him in a life that he hired
12:09 am
to. >> a life that would take on one strange turn after another. >> he looked at me and he said, stacy, you have no idea what i am capable of. >> when "dateline" continues. i blistering rash that can last for weeks. ahhh, there's nothing like a day out with friends. that's nice, but shingles doesn't care! 99% of adults 50 years or older already have the virus that causes shingles inside them, and it can reactivate at any time. a perfect day for a family outing! guess what? shingles doesn't care. but shingrix protects. only shingrix is proven over 90% effective. shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache,
12:10 am
shivering, fever, and upset stomach. shingles doesn't care. but shingrix protects. ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingrix today. what is cirkul? cirkul is the fuel you need to take flight. cirkul is the energy that gets you to the next level. cirkul is what you hope for when life tosses lemons your way. cirkul, available at walmart and drinkcirkul.com.
12:11 am
12:12 am
around the world in san diego and a lifestyle away around the world in san diego, and a lifestyle away from the versace empire, andrew cunanan started small, but also had designs of doing big things. andrew was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he was raised as if he was. >> he was the adored baby fourth child, and he was treated like an little emperor. >> maureen north wrote the book on cunanan, "boulder favors. " >> he was the product of a very dysfunctional family, a very unhappy marriage, a filipino
12:13 am
father who was incredibly materialistic and pretentious, and a sicilian mother, who was sort of beaten down by the father who had her own mental health. >> andrew adored his father, mostly ignored his mother, and focus on getting what he wanted for himself. according to his face-- best friend, stacy lopez. >> he always had a big white list. i would like that, i want that. i think going to a school like bishops, some kids drove to school in a lamborghini peers >> the exclusive bishops school in ritchie la jolla and his father pinched pennies to send him here. to get in, andrew wrote this admissions essay, illustrating just how much he wanted it too i.d. misspellings. i long look for to my tour and interview at bishops. the classrooms and teachers alike of mr. chips and jean brodie, i was not disappointed. >> he knew even then that battery would get you somewhere. >> mendez, a freelance
12:14 am
journalist, was editor and chief of a gay and lesbian newsletter. >> he had looks and charm spirits >> i remember when he came to school he had such a big personality. oh yes, oh yes. i thought he was very brave, because, back in the early 80s, generally, people were not openly gay, and he was . >> out and proud, but never at home. this >> do to religious reasons, he felt his family would not be as accepting. >> he hid his homosexuality from his family forever. >> but andrew and daisy accepted each other unconditionally, as his inscription in her yearbook attests. >> can you read that? >> sure. too bad i am gay, or i would be madly in love with you, love always, andrew.
12:15 am
>> andrew started dating at bishops, but not boys his own age. >> andrew spent time with wealthier men who could help keep him in a life that he aspired to. >> he was a boy toy. >> sure. >> a boy toy who liked to show off the gifts he received. >> he had come to the dance in this red leather jumpsuit and i remember going, wow, andrew. he says, yes, my boyfriend, anthony bought it for me. >> stacy light these andrew about his dating choices. >> i would say, oh, who is your sugar daddy now, he would say, wouldn't you like to know. >> at bishops, andrew cruised along academically. >> most of us had to study. you never saw him in the library studying. >> coasted through. >> exactly. >> so, was it a prophecy when on graduation 1987, he was voted most likely to be remembered? he just had a very dynamic personality and was very funny,
12:16 am
and everybody loved him. >> after bishops, andrew tried college, but the boy who coasted through high school found uc san diego altogether too demanding, and costly, so he bailed. there were problems at home too . andrew's father, a stockbroker, was accused in a civil lawsuit of embezzling $100,000, and he fled the country, left his family, never came back. >> without telling them, he sold their house out from under them, he took the money and he went to the philippines and completely abandoned them. >> andrew was now on his own and he turned to the older men he knew could support him. he crews still chris, san diego's gay area, and go deeper into his world of sugar daddies, who took care of his financial means. >> i think andrew grew up taking maybe the world owed him a living and he really did not have to work or things.
12:17 am
>> or the older man in his life and others, andrew invented a new identity for himself, andrew desilva, and made up stories about a gilded pastor about accomplishments that never were, and impress those men appearing well read and cultured. told them he loved art, and opera. so, andrew was moving in more elite circles now and traveling. he went to the san francisco opera house in 1990. a chance meeting afterwards would change his life, and change history. that meeting was with gianni versace, who was in san francisco designing costumes, as this sketch shows for the opera. >> there was a party where versace was going to appear, and andrew's friend scored some tickets. and so, during the party, he claimed, and other people claimed that andrew met versace. >> mind you, antonio, remember
12:18 am
him, versace's partner, he was at the party and claimed the meeting never happened. but andrew's excitement with our off the charts, he could not explain contain his excitement with some of his friends. >> he jumped on the bed and said, i met versace, i met versace! he was so thrilled he had done it. >> he admired everything the superstar had achieved, fame, fortune, and freedom as a confidence, gay man. there was one difference is as a runway long, andrew cunanan was not willing to work or any of its and that meant disappointments and trouble might lay ahead. >> i remember he looked at me and he said, stacy, you have no idea what i am capable of. coming up, as versace's star rises, cunanan finds a spotlight of his own. >> he pretended to the whole world he was this rich kid
12:19 am
living off a trust fund. >> when "dateline" continues. . puffs plus lotion is gentle on sensitive skin and locks in moisture to provide soothing relief. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. america's #1 lotion tissue. after advil: let's dive in! but...what about your back? it's fineeeeeeee! [splash] before advil: advil dual action fights pain two ways. advil targets pain at the source, acetaminophen blocks pain signals. advil dual action.
12:20 am
shipstation saves us so much time it makes it really easy and seamless pick an order print everything you need slap the label on ito the box and it's ready to go our cost for shipping, were cut in half just like that go to shipstation/tv and get 2 months free ah, these bills are crazy. she
12:21 am
has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com.
12:22 am
in the 1990s, almost anyone might have gotten a little thrill meeting might have gotten a little thrilled, meaning the fabulous gianni versace. but andrew cunanan, something more than that for him. >> versace seems to be somebody that he has studied a lot, because versace seemed to personify a lot of what he wanted to be. >> in 1991, when versace was launching his fall line of a dazzling, supermodel studded event, andrew had dropped out of college, and was working a menial job at a drugstore. he was also dealing party drugs to his pals. in six years, everyone would know his name, but in 1991, andrew cunanan was living in obscurity and
12:23 am
scratching around for his next meal ticket. >> andrew did not like to work really hard, but he liked nice things. i fully expected him to be in a relationship with money older that was catering to his needs. >> sure enough, in 1994, cunanan scored. he was still posing as andrew desilva, when he met a wealthier, older man , who seemed, for a time, happier to pay the bills. >> he is kept by this really rich guy, norman blachford who gives him an infinity to live around. >> now he was living in a pricey condo in la jolla . this relationship cunanan in the kind of company of the sort he liked them a lot. >> norman blachford belong to a very secret , very affluent gay fraternity called gamma move. they would have these very low average-- lavish meals and
12:24 am
dances. >> he liked hanging out with the beautiful young crowd in the hillcrest neighborhood, san diego's gay place to be seen and see. moraine north learned a lot about andrew cunanan when she came here. >> andrew would come here almost every single night . he would put people together here, hold court here. >> he was the life of the party at every night was a party. >> and he would sort of sit and watch to see if there were any new, cute guys in town and he would be the first guy to know who they were and like art presenting around. >> like a nonworking man about town. did not seem interested in having a job or career of any kind? >> no, i think he pretended to the whole world he was this rich kid living off a trust fund and he did not need to work. >> and for some reason, people about his story. jeff trailed, for instance, an ending guy who became andrew's
12:25 am
friend. >> jeff trailed was an all- american boy, a graduate of the naval academy, political conservative, he hated drugs, he did not drink. >> one of jeff's closest friends was john wainwright. >> people like jeff. he had a lot going on. >> jeff was very tentative about coming out. he never came out to his family . >> the friendship worked for a while, and uncle jeff shied away from drugs, andrew didn't. it desperate to be noticed, he would do almost anything, legal or not. >> so, he became the drug dealer, he became the procurer, he became the guy that connected people together, and he was the one that always picked up the dinner tab. >> with norman's money of course . but in 1995, as norman's kept man, andrew met david madson and fell in love. >> i think that david was a do- gooder human being.
12:26 am
everybody remembers him from his small town. >> david, according to maureen north, did have a weakness for material things, which andrew was only too happy to cater to. >> he gave him fancy, cartier watches, fancy cartier suits, and david always exit his gifts. >> and andrew was on top of the world, finally living the good life he felt entitled to, this was the best it would ever get. >> didn't they call him the mayor of hillcrest? >> that was one of the titles and he reveled in it, because he was the center of attention. >> this was no surprise, andrew cunanan's happiness was on a fragile foundation. four months, he juggled his and effexor, norman, and his lover, david, until fall of 1996, the man with the money got wise. >> andrew wanted a mercedes to me and he tells norman, unless he can have a mercedes, he is
12:27 am
going to walk out and norman says, okay, go ahead. and norman let him walk, which stunned him. that took away a big piece of his income. >> and that mattered to him? >> it absolutely battered, because that is who he was years >> norman's rejection began a kind of implosion. john wainwright saw, andrew started to let himself go. >> he was looking unkempt, which was so unlike andrew. >> and then, like a line of dominoes, his social world came coming down. the love of his life, david madson , broke up with him. his friend, jeff trailed, moved on, told friends they had a falling out, and the mayor of hillcrest began a rapid decline. >> when the allowance went away, there were lots of reports that surfaced about him during this time being more heavily involved in the drug trade. >> harder stuff now, like crystal meth. >> at some point, as he became more and more unhappy, i think
12:28 am
he also became more dependent. of course, crystal meth brings you up, but crystal meth also takes you down. >> and as she discovered, andrew and philip a taste for violent sex. >> the s&m part of this was very disturbing to me because i spoke to f vi profilers that told me that for certain people, if they don't have real relationships of any kind in their life and they depend on this to excite them, then the fantasies have to escalate. he was just living off a diet of magazines, s&m worn-- videos, they were always around him, and getting more and more intense . >> early 1997, both jeff trail and david madson had moved away, coincidently both to minneapolis. a ruthless andrew cunanan had gotten fat and puffy. >> he had told me he was very depressed and he was like, i'm fat and i don't look good, and
12:29 am
nobody's going to want me. >> and when he picked up a fashion magazine now, he read about all the things he did not have, would never have. he could read about elton john's glittering fifth he is a birthday party in london, for instance, where gianni versace was a guest . that was when, in his own small world in san diego, cunanan planned a party of his own, a last supper with his few remaining friends . told him he was moving to san francisco, but the first-- >> he was going to minneapolis to settle some business, as he puts it. >> but it is clear now, andrew cunanan was not planning any move to san francisco. what his friends could not have known was that he bought a one- way ticket to minneapolis. whatever happened there, he had no intention of coming back. >> i spoke to the waiter from the restaurant, and at the end of the meal, he remembers
12:30 am
andrew cunanan leaning back in his chair and looking at his friends and saying, all of you think you know the real andrew, but none of you really know the truth. coming up. a mystery in minneapolis. >> there was a rug that was rolled up and you could see that there was a body inside. >> when "dateline" continues. seemingly unrelated symptoms, like carpal tunnel syndrome, shortness of breath, and irregular heartbeat could be something more serious called attr-cm, a rare, underdiagnosed disease that worsens over time. sound like you? call your cardiologist, and ask about attr-cm.
12:31 am
try killing bugs the worry-free way. not the other way. zevo traps use light to attract and trap flying insects with no odor and no mess. they work continuously, so you don't have to. zevo. people-friendly. bug-deadly. it only takes a second for an everyday item to become dangerous. tide pods child-guard pack helps keep your laundry pacs in a safe place and your child safer.
12:32 am
to close, twist until it clicks. tide pods child-guard packaging. what can you do with sensitive skin? cetaphil moisturizing lotion hydrates for a full 48 hours. because a lot can happen in 48 hours. dermatologist-recommended cetaphil. we do skin. you do you.
12:33 am
i am richard louis with a news update. at least 60 people are dead and one injured after a terror attack at a concert hall in moscow. isis claimed responsibility without proof. the u.s. embassy in russia recently warned u.s. citizens from staying away from large gatherings saying, extremists like to attack. the senate reaches a deal for --averting a prolonged government shutdown. the senate voted on the full bill, the one that the house had passed, that $1.2 trilliant
12:34 am
bidding package, they did that on friday. for now, back to "dateline." life in san diego like a man planning to die. >> he gave his clothes away, he gave his shoes away. he had it all marked out about who he wanted to have what. by the time he left san diego for the last time and came to minneapolis, he was completely, basically broke. >> and angry. >> and very, very angry. >> reeling from the loss of his benefactor, cunanan landed in minneapolis and this is where it all began to go wrong . he first called on his old friend, jeff trail. jeff may have sensed his visit would not go well. in fact, jeff called john wainwright in san diego to talk
12:35 am
about it. >> i could tell there was this apprehension in his voice. he definitely was not happy about it, but at the same time, he invited andrew to stay with him. >> why would he do that? >> i think he knew andrew was on his downward viral as well, trying to be a friend, supportive. >> jeff left andrew in his apartment while he and his boyfriend went away for the weekend. one sunday, andrew moved to his former lover, david madson , lost in the eclectic warehouse district, and persuaded jeff to drop by for a visit. >> sometime in the next hour or so, a neighbor reported hearing somebody yelled the eff out of here, and heard banking. >> the neighbor appeared into the hallway, saw nothing, and the building went quiet again, but the next morning, neither jeff trail nor david madson showed up at work . >> jeff's boyfriend called the police and the police said, give me a break me we don't pay attention unless people are missing 72 hours.
12:36 am
>> tuesday, worried friends persuaded the building manager to unlock the former lover david's partner. david's dog jetted out as it revealed something terrifying. >> in the main room, there was a road rolled up and you could see there was a body inside.>> del barness was chief of the minneapolis homicide unit. >> blood splattering on the wall, on the floor, even had been bludgeoned with what we found out later was a hammer. >> police assumed david was the victim, after all, it was his apartment. when crime takes rolled the rug, they found jeff trail. the attack was brutal, 27 blows to the face, head, and chest. his jeep was missing. france told police, someone named andrew was visiting from san diego, that he too was
12:37 am
missing. so, if madson was not there, maybe he and andrew killed jeff. evidence at the scene pointed to a possible motive. >> take-- duct tape, handcuffs, stuff people involved in sex would use. it could have been a love triangle of sorts. >> witnesses even reported to police they saw david and andrew together after the time of the murder. >> neighbors saw them walking a dog. david was with andrew and did not appear to be trying to escape. >> police believe at this time david and andrew cunanan are together , are together willingly, and are on the run. >> minneapolis newspaper reporters, jim walsh and chris graves, started digging and quickly heard stories from david's friends who did not like the love triangle motive. >> everybody that knows david says, that can be true.
12:38 am
that is not in his dna, that is not who he is. >> reporters talk to people who said they too saw david and andrew with a dog, but it looked like david had been crying. >> david was described moody, withdrawn, sort of grumpy i think was the word that people used. it just did not seem right. >> friends who knew david's dog walking routine insisted, there was no way he was at home at the time of jeff's murder. >> madson walks the dog before the 10:00 news every night. >> so, the presumption is that jeff comes to the house, has to be buzzed in, walks up, the door gets opened, there is a confrontation at the door, because remember, we know the neighbor hears get out, get out . >> and sometime after the murder, with the theory, david and the dog returned to the apartment. >> what we presume happens, david, not thinking anything, walks in, and andrew wrote of jeffrey trail and told him
12:39 am
behind the couch. >> police searched david's bedroom and found andrew's duffel bag. inside was an empty gun holster and 40 caliber lids, but no gun. that meant, david and andrew were now armed. investigators certainly suspected david and andrew killed jeff trail, yet, they issued no bulletin for david's missing jeep. no be on the lookout for either one of those men. it was the beginning of what maureen orth would later call the largest failed manhunt in u.s. history. >> it is just one hapless mistake after another. >> and four days after they found jeff trail's bludgeoned body-- >> we are going up to east rush lake, would take 30 to 40 minutes, the drive from minneapolis. >> saturday, may 3rd, chris hendrickson, a chicago county deputy at the time was called
12:40 am
to work a day laid off. two men found a dead man instead. >> he was well-dressed, was not dirty, did not appear to be in a fight. he had a defensive wound in his hand and a gunshot wound to his head. >> police confirmed the victim by the lake was david madson. >> i said, whoa, wait a minute, this just changes everything. >> a 40 caliber gun killed madson. shell casings match the ammunition found in cunanan's duffel bag in the apartment. by this time, date knew that andrew had stolen it from trail's apartment. an alert was now posted for madson's red jeep and for the man they now feared was a double murderer. >> that is when i believe that andrew cunanan really became their prime and only suspect and by that time, he is far away. >> and it was already too late
12:41 am
for victim number three. coming up, a killer who makes himself right at home. >> whoever was in the home had helped themselves to him, some ice cream, they had gone upstairs and shaved. >> when "dateline" continues. to actively repair acid weakened enamel. i recommend pronamel repair. with new pronamel repair mouthwash you can enhance that repair beyond brushing. they work great together. [♪♪] looking for a moisturizer that does more than just moisturize? try olay regenerist for 10 benefits in every jar. olay visibly firms, lifts, and smooths wrinkles, by penetrating the skin, to boost regeneration at the surface cellular level. try olay.
12:42 am
do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. our friend sold their policy to help pay their medical bills, and that got me thinking. maybe selling our policy could help with our retirement. i'm skeptical, so i did some research and called coventry direct. they explained life insurance is a valuable asset that can be sold. we learned we could sell all of our policy, or keep part of it with no future payments. who knew? we sold our policy. now we can relax and enjoy our retirement as we had planned. if you have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find out if your policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance.
12:43 am
12:44 am
chicago-- this is where america's romance with skyscrapers began more than a century ago, a romance that's chicago, this is where america's romance with skyscrapers began more than a century ago. a romance that has called dreamers ever since. >> when i saw that sears tower building, i said, that looks pretty good, i could do that. >> paul made it happen when he joined horses with developer lee miglin four decades ago. >> we were giants, we did not realize it but we were moving at lightning feed, changing the skyline literally overnight. he was my best friend. >> as their company prospered, miglin organized an annual thank you ceremony with a symbol for the employees, a special gold coin. >> and lee said, you know, people can hold that hold in
12:45 am
their hands and they can say, this job got me this gold. >> at the same time, miglin's wife, marilyn was building her own empire, a cosmetic line popular on the home shopping network here it's >> she and lee were a perfect couple, perfect team, they work together very well. >> one sunday morning, when marilyn flew home from an appearance on home shopping network, lee was not at the airport as planned. at their townhouse on chicago's fashionable gold coast, her world turned to alarm me no sign of lee. down the alley, behind his house, a neighbor found lee miglin, dead in his garage . marilyn called paul beitler. >> i was frozen. i cannot believe what i was hearing. it did not dawn on me to ask me what happened, how he was murdered, or when, only that i had just lost the most important person next to my family in my life. >> he rushed to the miglin home and into chaos.
12:46 am
>> it was like a three ring circus. in the front yard were all the news media, with the lights glaring. >> investigators could see, this was not a typical robbery homicide. leah's lexus was gone, as were close and more than $2000. the killer had left evidence, looks like he had spent the night. >> whoever was in the home had helped themselves to some food in the refrigerator, some ham, some ice cream that they had gone upstairs and shaved. apparently, the bristles from his beard were on the floor. >> but, the most disturbing evidence? >> there are aspects of the homicide that indicate there were was some torture that occurred. >> more than some, much more. >> he practically slid his whole throat with a bow saw. he puts him in kind of an s&m mask with just two holes through the nostrils, after he
12:47 am
then repeatedly stabbed and battered-- there was so much hatred and so much anger in that murder. >> suddenly widowed, marilyn miglin made a public plea for information leading to the killer. >> what you say about a man you loved passionately for 38 years, a man who exemplified courage and utter dignity. >> thousands packed holy name cathedral to pay respects to the widely admired member of the chicago establishment. but days were going by and the investigation was going nowhere, until police stumbled on a red jeep part literally around the corner from the miglin townhouse. >> you have a red jeep cherokee that has got three tickets on it and nobody bothers to check the vin number or anything until after the fourth ticket after four days or five days? >> when the numbers came in back a match to the missing jeep, reporters who had been
12:48 am
covering the murders in minnesota began reporting on the chicago case too. >> the question right away was, what is the connection between cunanan and lee miglin, was an extremely wealthy and older man. tuck paul try to stop media speculation. >> we would really like to make is known, the emily does not know cunanan, and there has been no connection with the family whatsoever. >> and then, the family discovered chicago police were leaking tips to the media. >> they drew an inference that lee was known to be involved in the gay community in chicago. >> paul, a major contributor to then the mayor's campaigns called the police superintendent to shut that down too. >> i said, this is a character assassination that is going on right now. if you have evidence that you can bring forward that shows what your detectives are offering to the media is true,
12:49 am
then let's see it. it did not take much on the part of various people within the police department to realize that there was no upside to this investigation, that if they got out in front of this thing too far and they made mistakes, this could be a career changer. >> it appeared the investigation withered, said maureen orth. >> you know, the chicago police were so intent on not finding out what happened. >> they were so intent on not finding out what happened? neck they were intent on not finding out what happened. lee miglin was quote, a very happily married, very upstanding member of the community all the most important, influential people were calling it a random crime, therefore, the police aren't too stupid. they realized it was supposed to be a random crime. >> in a statement to "dateline, " the chicago police department said in part, we stand by the work of department
12:50 am
investigators who base their conclusions on verifiable facts and evidence. yet, in 1997, minneapolis reports are jim walsh flew to san diego and thought he found a connection between lee miglin and andrews cunanan. >> i interviewed a bookstore owner who said that andrew cunanan was friends with duke miglin, lee miglin's son. was a smalltime actor in hollywood, and he said, cunanan always talk about duke miglin, talks about him all the time, that he knew him well, they played tennis together. >> but, less than 24 hours later, the bookstore owner denied he had ever heard about lee miglin from cunanan. back in chicago, duke miglin addressed the rumors with his father's staff. >> he was very forthright and he said, look, i will tell you the truth, the truth is, i don't know cunanan, i have not engaged with cunanan. >> but then andrew cunanan had
12:51 am
escaped, another dead man in his wake me flushed with miglin's cash and at the wheel of his lexus, which was his first miscalculation. that fancy lexus was equipped with a cell phone that could be traced. coming up. >> authorities had confirmed to the chicago media that the f vi was tracking andrew in lee miglin's car. that immediately went out all over the airways . >> and cunanan was listening . >> he realized he had to get out of the car. when "dateline" continues. . caplyta is proven to deliver significant relief across bipolar depression. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta treats both bipolar i and ii depression. and in clinical trials, movement disorders and weight gain were not common. call your doctor about sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants may increase these risks in young adults.
12:52 am
elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report fever, confusion, stiff or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be life threatening or permanent. these aren't all the serious side effects. caplyta can help you let in the lyte™. ask your doctor about caplyta. find savings and support at caplyta.com (sung) febreze! i use febreze fabric refresher everyday. to make my home smell amazing. on my bed... my couch... my jacket or jeans. in between washes. even shoes. febreze doesn't cover up odors with scent, but fights them and freshens! over one thousand uses. febreze fabric refresher. ♪♪ when you have moderate—to—severe eczema, it's okay to show off. with dupixent, show off your clearer skin and less itch. because you have plenty of reasons to show off your skin. with dupixent, the number one prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists, you can stay ahead of your eczema. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema to help heal your skin from within.
12:53 am
many adults saw 90% clearer skin. some even achieved long—lasting clearer skin and fast itch relief after first dose. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. ♪♪ show off to the world. ask your eczema specialist about dupixent.
12:54 am
ask your eczema specialist gianni versace not only designed fashions for sexy and elegant supermodels, gianni versace not only design fashions for sexy and elegant supermodels, he made close that everyone could wear. in may 1997, he was unveiling his ready to wear collection on a runway in istanbul, and what
12:55 am
was andrew cunanan doing that make? he was running away. he had a big jump on the chicago police that would take them three days to figure out he killed lee miglin, and those two men in minnesota. lisa now realized an extremely dangerous killer was careening across the country and they put the word out. >> police say, the missing lexus is like, jade pearl. >> the man was driving east in the stolen lexus he had stole from miglin, but had no idea that the car's built-in phone was pinging off cell towers. by friday, may 9th, he picked up a tail, the fbi. cell phone for surveillance was primitive back then and like and point targeting, but agents were closing in. >> but that was when something really bad happened. the chicago authorities had confirmed to the chicago media that the fbi was tracking andrew and he was in lee
12:56 am
miglin's car. that immediately went out all over the airwaves . >> in light of your, police say, a cell phone was activated from the stolen lexus taken from murder victim, lee miglin. >> andrew obviously heard it. >> in her book, maureen called the leak tipping off cunanan probably the most serious blunder of the entire manhunt. >> he then tried to destroy the intent of the car, try to rip out the phone, but the phone box was in the trunk of the car, which he did not know. in any case, he realized he had to get out of the car and find a race where he could get a vehicle. >> a place where he could fly under the radar, way off the beaten path, where no one would know he was coming with a gun. he drove through miles of marshland before finding this unlikely but, a silver war burial ground, fans point national cemetery in pennsville, new jersey. >> if i gave you directions or
12:57 am
told you to put it in your gps, you probably would not be able to find it. >> at the time, alan cummings was a 32-year-old patrolman with the pennsville police. >> i had never heard of andrew cunanan before that date. >> neither did this man, william reese, 45 years old, the caretaker at the cemetery. he was a kind and gentle man, said his wife, rebecca. she spoke to us in 1997 >> he was the type of husband who would keep a list the entire year of things you said you wanted so at christmas time, usm. >> when my mom and i would go off from school, we would see my dad at his workplace and surprise him with techniques. >> troy reese was adopted by william and rebecca when he was 6. they raised him with love and special nurturing. he had been born with fetal alcohol syndrome. that friday, 12-year-old troy was waiting for his father to pick him up from school, but he did not show up. >> my mom said, let's go look
12:58 am
for your dad. >> at the cemetery, rebecca noticed her husband's red chevy pickup truck was gone. in its place, a black lexus with illinois plates parked in front of the garage. >> i could be a look in her eyes that a kid never once to see, because she knew something was wrong. >> he was right, something was very wrong. >> coming up, what happened to william reese? >> from what my mom told me, there was a holy spirit guiding her away from the basement. >> when "dateline" continues . ♪♪ why won't scout play with us anymore? he has something called osteoarthritis pain. it's joint pain that hurts him all the time. come on, scout. now, there's librela.
12:59 am
the first and only once-monthly injection to control your dog's oa pain. veterinary professionals administering librela who are pregnant, trying to conceive, or breast feeding, should take extreme care to avoid self-injection, which could cause allergic reactions like anaphylaxis. this is the best day of my life!
1:00 am
keith morrison (voiceover): when william reese was a no-show to pick up his son troy from school, the boy and his mom started to worry. they went looking for william at the cemetery where he worked. when william reese was a show to pick up his son from school, troy and his mom started to worry. i started looking at the cemetery where he worked. it wasn't what they found that concerned them -- it was what
1:01 am
they didn't find. his red pickup truck, for starters. then they walked to williams office. the door was wide open. >> we went inside, went to the middle floor to search for him. >> the only place they didn't look was the basement. >> from what my mom told me, there was a holy spirit guiding her away from the basement. >> we sent an officer down there to look for him. >> but there he was. william reese, shot once in the back of the head. >> when my mom was crying, i knew something bad happened to my dad. she said, your dad is never coming home, but he is in a better place. in heaven. >> choi asked to watch his mother's interview back in '97. he had never seen it. >> my entire world and my son's world began to crumble.
1:02 am
>> this would not be troy's only loss. his mother died of pancreatic cancer in 2005, forcing her to fend for himself at age 19. >> i just wish we could have a happy family like we once had when i was a kid. >> the different police agencies have been slow to understand how dangerous and apparently desperate andrew cunanan was. they realized it now. >> the fbi has now joined local law enforcement agencies in san diego, minneapolis, chicago, and new jersey for the search for cunanan . >> they could piece it all together because cunanan left so much evidence in the basement. a casing from the same gun that killed david madsen. inside the car, his credit cards and a bloody screwdriver evidently used in his little stabbing. the pennsville pd was now part
1:03 am
of the manhunt, but still when we sat down with him whether william reese's murder could've been prevented. >> we found out that the police was aware of him being in the area, but are police department was not advised of him possibly being in our vicinity. maybe we could have prevented this horrible tragedy. >> one of the things about this investigation it that there were so many police entities, and for a long time, they didn't cooperate sufficiently. >> and because of that, by friday night, cunanan had escaped another murder scene and sped away in reese's red chevy pickup truck with jersey plates. >> which could probably be fairly easy identified. >> yes, but he stopped in north carolina and stole somebody's license plate to switch out reese's license late. >> clever.
1:04 am
mostly lucky. the stolen carolina plate was never up and missing, and now the red pickup truck was in the clear, and andrew cunanan was on his way. he was hurtling down the east coast, wanted now and four murders. some of them quite grisly. and police, slow to realize who he was, had no idea where he was. so now they sounded the alarm. but after william reese was shot to death just for his car, the national media jumped all over the story. time and newsweek will focus on the unlikely killer -- the gigolo from san diego. and network television noticed, too. >> police say there's a serial killer on the loose tonight and officials are racing against time. >> with murders in three states, the fbi was now overseeing the cunanan case, and no one's team safe after the random murder of victim
1:05 am
number four. new york city, two hours from pennsville, new jersey, was on high alert. particularly in the gay community. >> cunanan could be in new york or on the way to new york. he seems to be targeting gay men. >> what he was no idea by manhattan. he was 1300 miles away for another popular destination. on the night of may 11th, cunanan slipped into miami beach and that stolen pickup truck with his switched out plate . andrew cunanan came here to south beach to the crowds, the noise, the music. the look you lose staring at each other. strange place to come for a man who had to know he was the subject of a massive manhunt. andrew cunanan decided to hide in plain sight. under an assumed name, he shelled out 29.99 plus tax, the daily rate to stay at the normandy plaza hotel.
1:06 am
inmate as well have been 5 million miles. >> what was the reputation of the place? >> it was a dumb. >> correspondent kerry sanders covered the story for nbc news. >> you rolled the window up when you drove by. it was just a nasty place. >> which is why it went out of business. back then, it was a good place to hide out, especially for an unconventional tourist choosing to avoid the sun and live in the shadows. >> he was lying low during the day, he was out at night, he was in excellent guy to blend in. he could have passed for any number of the cities. >> once, he lived large on the rich man's allowance in an ocean side condo and picked up tabs for pricey dinners. now -- >> he is living off of maybe one submarine sandwich a day.
1:07 am
>> once again, he was doing drugs and turning tricks. >> getting some old guys that probably had the money, andrew was robbing, doing petty robbery. he brought one guy in who was wearing a cartier bracelet, and when he left he was no longer wearing it. >> cunanan had been living there for a month and settled into his cd routine at the normandy. for some reason, he decided truck needed to. he drove that red pickup truck to this garage, just two blocks from the versace mansion. he was preparing with his supermodels to show his supermodel in paris. cunanan was also making a big name for himself . the fbi had just put him on it 10 most wanted list, publicizing it on some relatively new computer technology. >> he was one of the very first people they put up on the internet as a fugitive. >> the fbi had actually received a few tips that
1:08 am
cunanan had been in loretta, but they didn't communicate that to the miami beach police. >> well, that guy is notorious for sharing information one way. >> richard barreto was a miami beach police officer at the time. >> they could've done a better job. >> any possible break. america's most wanted did a story on cunanan , and the counterman at the sub shop near his hotel saw it. >> i looked up and i saw his face and i automatically recognize him from america's most wanted. >> he dialed 911. >> they told me to make his order. >> miami beach police responded within minutes, but it was too late. if it was cunanan, he had already taken his tuna sub and soda and left. there was no doubt, however, that it was cunanan walked into the cash on the beach pawn shop and decided to pawn a gold
1:09 am
coin. the shop owner, who didn't recognize him, paid him $190. cunanan actually signed his own name , and the owner submitted the paperwork to the miami pd as required by law. then andrew cunanan returned to the normandy plaza . >> he was surrounded by vogue and vanity fair and all these upscale magazines, and he had art books and books of history and architecture. so obviously, during the day, or the times he couldn't go out, he just lost himself in that world of antiques, antiquity, art, architecture. the lives of the rich and famous, all the things he always is hired to and that he pretended in his own fantasy world he was part of. >> knowing what was in that mind of his, we do know that
1:10 am
the latest vanity fair had just come out. it had a specialty story that featured the richest in god's house in all of south each. owned by a man he had claimed to have met in better days. gianni versace. and the superstar designer was coming home. coming up. >> he was astounded by what he's got. >> beauty everywhere. beauty everywhere! >> gianni versace's love affair with miami beach was mutual. >> his eyes were always wide, and he was looking at everybody and making eye contact. how are you not going to say hello? >> but someone had a different greeting in mind. when dateline continues. eline . ? use tide. can cold water clean white socks? it can with tide.
1:11 am
do i need to pretreat guacamole? not with tide. this is chocolate, right? -just use... -tide...yeah. no matter who's doing it, on what cycle, or in what temperature, tide works. so i can focus on all the other questions. do crabs have eyebrows? ahh... for all of life's laundry questions, it's got to be tide. when enamel is gone, you cannot get it back. but you can repair it with pronamel repair. it penetrates deep into the tooth to actively repair acid weakened enamel. i recommend pronamel repair. with new pronamel repair mouthwash you can enhance that repair beyond brushing. they work great together. how do i love thee? you can enhance t...let me count the ways.g. ♪ love can get a little messy... good thing there's resolve. love the love. resolve the mess. a perfect day for a family outing! shingles doesn't care. but shingrix protects. only shingrix is proven over 90% effective. shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone
1:12 am
and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingrix today. ah, these bills are crazy. she has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. my name is oluseyi and some of my favorite moments throughout my life are watching sports with my dad. now, i work at comcast as part of the team that created our ai highlights technology,
1:13 am
which uses ai to detect the major plays in a sports game. giving millions of fans, like my dad and me, new ways of catching up on their favorite sport. here's why you should switch fo to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today.
1:14 am
join the millions of people taking back their privacy in the late spring of 1997, the fugitive andrew cunanan was living in the shadows, turning tricks, dealing drugs, scratching around for a little sandwich money in miami beach, >> in the late spring of e 1997 the fugitive actor cunanan was living in the shadows , turning tricks, dealing drugs, scratching around for little sandwich money and miami beach. all while his onetime idol was on top of the world and enjoying a very different kind of life. may found gianni versace in milan, attending a press conference about his new
1:15 am
collection. then paris for the premier of his new haute couture line. >> i had been to the show in paris, and it was amazing. >> versace and his partner antonio stopped in new york. on july 10th, they joined their friend, how rubens dean, for a dinner and manhattan. >> he said he would go eat anything, but frankly, he would only eat at places that had some version of pasta. he would eat chinese food because they had lo mein. >> and that it was time to relax. >> he was coming down the south each were he often loved to kick back after having an intense time. he was a fixture in south each. he was the biggest celebrity they had in the gay world down there. he loved it . it was his playground. he and antonio, his companion, partied hardy down there. they had fun.
1:16 am
>> for saatchi's love affair with south beach, the vibrant gay mecca , began five years early when the town was enjoying a dazzling revival. that's when he got to meet how rubenstein. >> he was on his way to cuba, and his plane got delayed 10 hours. he told his driver to take them someplace that wasn't boring. he sat there for about five or 10 minutes, and was astounded by what he saw. >> what did he see? >> beauty everywhere. beauty everywhere! it was the music. it was the rollerblading. it was the body. it was the beauty. >> antonio was with him. >> he was like genius. this places genius. >> in about five minutes, he canceled his trip to cuba. and he said, i want somebody to
1:17 am
show me around. show me around. >> how was a new york times reporter, and a friend asked him to give versace a tour. >> he was deliriously happy. he got to see people, you got to see people interacting, he got to watch people flirting and coming onto each other. this is certainly kind of exhibitionism, i think, that is a bit it in miami. the fact that everyone is eating outside, and like i said, everybody is watching everybody out. >> he decided to make it permanent. he set his sights on a tired old mediterranean village on ocean drive. it would need a gut renovation, of course, and it was beautiful. >> we added a pool, we added the second part of the house. >> they made it spectacular in a versace kind of way. he chose every fabric, every bit of furniture, every tone
1:18 am
and tile. insisted on getting it perfect, his wife. perfectly over-the-top. and from here, he reigned as a crown prince of new south. the today show came to call in 1994. >> everyone is from cuba, new york, from italy, from germany. and the mixture people, you don't -- over your heart or your mind, it's cooler and i like it. >> and the town loved him right back. >> people would recognize him and say, hello, mr. versace. >> had a very distinctive look, and he someone who carried himself a certain way. his eyes were always wide, and remember, he was staring at everybody, so he was making eye contact. how are you not going to say hello? >> did you worry about him?
1:19 am
>> i never worry about him. >> but his brother worried. he talked to johnny about hiring some protection. >> so that conversation happened? >> yes. and he didn't want to. >> so there they were. in july of 1997, fresh from a whirlwind trip to manhattan, they went home to south each, a rare chance to relax dinner and a movie. >> we went to see a movie. and then we start to watch, and then it was kind of a few minutes later on the couch. it was after 9:00. >> but then he had pushing himself for weeks. a good nights sleep was certainly in order. you never know what tomorrow will bring. coming up. two shots heard around the world. world.
1:20 am
ppened. >> i heard the shots. my heart stopped beating. something said to me -- >> when dateline continues. ne and there's nothing soothing about that. (announcer) you can quit. call 1-800-quit-now for help getting free medication. this new charmin ultra soft smooth tear is soooo soft and soo smooth. new charmin ultra soft smooth tear has wavy perforations that tear so much better for a smooth more enjoyable go. charmin, enjoy the go. what can you do with sensitive skin? ♪♪ cetaphil gentle skin cleanser does more than clean. it actually protects skin by keeping it hydrated. so you're always ready for the unexpected. cetaphil. we do skin. you do you.
1:21 am
1:22 am
1:23 am
so you're always ready july 15, 1997, a tuesday. gianni versace rose early. and before the heat and humidity became oppressive, he left the mansion on ocean drive
1:24 am
>> july 15th, 1997. roll a tuesday. gianni versace rose early and before the heat and humidity became oppressive, he left the mansion on ocean drive and strolled down the street to the news cafe, a morning ritual. >> he loved to buy magazines and newspapers and get his coffee. >> he was uncommonly alone and reading up on the latest fashion use, his own fashion show was over, but not the competitions. >> he went there early because he wanted to see what was going on in paris. he had to go by himself. he couldn't wait. >> that same morning, andrew cunanan most likely awoke in the pickup truck it stolen from his most recent bic him, one hit part of a public garage two blocks from the mansion. as the sun heated the air on ocean drive, and across from the mansion, watching. waiting. >> andrew is wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a baseball cap
1:25 am
and a t-shirt. >> just before 8:45 a.m., he walked home three blocks and climbed the coral steps toward his medusa logoed front gate, fidgeting with his keys with no idea. >> andrew just very boldly walked up across the street, walked up and shot him in the head. >> two bullets, execution style. then andrew turned and walked away. >> i heard the shot in my heart stopped. something said to me -- something happened. anyway, so i ran out and i saw him laying down on the tears in blood. >> from inside the mansion, his chef called 911.
1:26 am
>> there was a woman who had just walked her daughter to school. andrew just nonchalantly walked fast down the street. >> i was in charge of the squad here at miami beach when the call went out. >> what was the situation when you got your question marks the mac the rescue had already arrived. i saw they were working on a gentleman at the depth. right here. it could be anybody walking by, because this was a famous mansion. one of the officer said, hey, it is versace. >> and 9:21, gianni versace was the are dead. he was 50, murdered in broad daylight. the miami beach police department is just blocks from the mansion. it was the hour of shift overlap with night officer still around. chief richard barreto.
1:27 am
>> we had a lot more policeman on the street that we would have an hour later. >> i asked people as they were running by, you see anybody moving in the area? one witness saw that inducted the 13th street garage two blocks away. another officer rushed over. >> what did you find here on the third level? >> truck parked there, out of date plate. >> my recollection is, there was close on the ground. >> he thought the killer probably changed his clothes to avoid being identified. >> you could go down the elevator, down the tears. able going out, you just blend in with them. >> we lock down the aisle as quick as we could. >> homicide chief george navarro was called in. he was taking charge of what would be the biggest case of his career. it was now just past noon. blood was still on the steps, but so was a dead bird, and
1:28 am
that caused rumors to fly. >> was at a signature of a mafia hit, or something? >> turns out we autopsied the pigeon and it was just a fragment of one of the rounds that hit mr. versace ricocheted and hit the pigeon. >> it was that kind of a story. >> i quickly realized that this wasn't just another homicide. >> they got there before you did? >> they got there before we did. >> what did you see when you arrived? >> he just kept coming, we had to shut down ocean drive. we had it from all over the world. it's crazy. >> the media from around the world is covering a story of murder, mystery, and high- fashion. >> versace's murder was of course part of a much bigger
1:29 am
case. but navarro, like the rest of his department, knew nothing about it until -- >> and fbi agent approaches me and says to me, can we talk about this case? i said sure, what have you got? i said we might know someone who may have done this. >> they had eyeballed the casings at the scene and told navarro they might match cunanan's other murders . >> what was it like to hear that story from the fbi agent? >> i got goosebumps. because now this is bigger than just gianni versace being murdered. and then he mentioned the last homicide of mr. william reese and the red pickup, and it clicked. >> navarro knew his guys in the garage were all over the pickup truck with south carolina plates that looked suspicious. >> i called my detective that was running that the and on the garage on the radio, and i asked him to read the vin number on the vehicle.
1:30 am
>> for navarro, it was like winning the lottery. >> we had a match on mr. reese's car. >> that night, they held a press conference to tell the global media that andrew cunanan was the killer and gianni versace was victim number five . >> cunanan is known to be a male prostitute with services of florida clientele. cunanan is well educated, well dressed , is very articulate. >> at the end of day one, chief investigator navarro knew he had his hands over this debris killer who had gotten away four times before. >> you have to try to think like he thinks. a cat and mouse game, you know? our job is to catch him and his job is to elude us. >> cunanan was still at large. armed, desperate, and more dangerous than ever. coming up. >> versace family was obviously
1:31 am
devastated. however, they wanted to get him out of there. >> the family quickly leaves town. >> he was cremated immediately, and they left with his ashes, and that was it. >> to cunanan also get a quick getaway? when dateline continues. this i. ( ♪♪ ) and with once-daily trelegy, it can still be beautiful. because with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open for a full 24 hours and prevents future flare-ups. trelegy also improves lung function, so i can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia,
1:32 am
and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ [laughing] ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy for copd because breathing should be beautiful, all day and night. choosing a treatment for your chronic migraine - because breathing 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting 4 hours or more - can be overwhelming. so, ask your doctor about botox®. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine before they even start. it's the #1 prescribed branded chronic migraine treatment. so far, more than 5 million botox® treatments have been given to over eight hundred and fifty thousand chronic migraine patients. effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a life-threatening condition. side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue, and headache. don't receive botox® if there's a skin infection. tell your doctor your medical history,
1:33 am
muscle or nerve conditions and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. in a survey, 92% of current users said they wish they'd talked to their doctor and started botox® sooner. so, ask your doctor if botox® is right for you. learn how abbvie could help you save on botox®. business. it's not a nine-to-five proposition. it's all day and into the night. it's all the things that keep this world turning. the go-tos that keep us going. the places we cheer. and check in. they all choose the advanced network solutions and round the clock partnership from comcast business. see why comcast business powers more small businesses than anyone else. get started for $49.99 a month plus ask how to get up to an $800 prepaid card. don't wait- call today.
1:34 am
1:35 am
there's a reason july is off season in miami beach. temperatures that mirror the humidity drive all the hardcore >> there is a reason july is off-season in miami beach. temperatures that mirror the humidity drive all the hard- core sun worshipers inside. in the days after gianni versace died on his mansions coral steps, detective george navarro was most definitely feeling the heat. >> how much pressure was on you? >> incredible. literally working around the clock, sleeping two hours, three hours. >> how did you keep going? >> i was young back then. >> so much they didn't know. would he kill again? with the same vendetta against people who upset him? was he targeting gay men? was gianni versace on the list?
1:36 am
the versace family wanted no part of finding out. >> versace's family was obviously devastated. how could they not be? however, they wanted to get him out of there. all kinds of privileged treatment, broken. he was cremated immediately, and they left with his ashes, and that was it. >> the family skip to the miami beach memorial service which investigators attended hoping perhaps cunanan would show up to revel in his kill . he didn't. the 230 investigators now assigned to the case chased more than 1000 leads in the 18 square miles of miami beach, knowing that given the intense coverage, that cunanan had to be watching their every move. >> we had to use runners and cell phones and land lines instead of our radios.
1:37 am
>> in other words, you're trying to keep the media from finding out? >> right. but when you do that, it's kind of a double-edged sword. if you don't give the media what they're looking for, they try to go find it on their own. >> that's exactly what minneapolis reporter chris graves did. she followed the trail to chicago and then miami, and here discovered a missed clue. >> i'm in south beach. there's a strip mall in the near vicinity, and i just start going door to door to door to ask people if they knew andrew cunanan . >> at the cash on the beach pawnshop, graves hit the jackpot. >> this woman came up and said, yeah. we know him. i said, what? what? >> it was the shop where cunanan had pondered that gold coin, signed his real name on the pond slip, give the
1:38 am
normandy plaza address, and provided his fingerprints. and remember -- as required by law, the pawnshop sent police the transaction. they had gotten it five days before the murder. >> low and behold, the south beach police had a copy of that pawnshop slip days before gianni versace was dead. so could have prevented the murder? >> up in chicago, paul beitler redgrave's story. dear member about this being found? >> i couldn't believe it. i knew immediately what those gold coins were. in fact, they were probably the coins that i have handled myself. >> that coin tied cunanan to miglin's murder and revealed where he was hiding in miami beach. that is, if police had been looking. before the murder, they weren't, even though cunanan was on the guys most wanted
1:39 am
list. because the one officer whose job it was to check pond slips didn't get to it. he was assigned elsewhere that week. >> was sitting on his desk for almost a week. >> what did that detective feel like? >> he felt terrible. it's a very antiquated system that we had back then. but the pawnshop discovery did point detective navarro to that rundown hotel, the normandy plaza. >> let's interview all the employees. show pictures of andrew. nobody has ever seen this guy. >> and then the next day, his memory suddenly improved. >> when the manager of the hotel all of a sudden remembered an unanimous and remembered that he is under this name from paris, france. >> by then, cunanan was long gone.
1:40 am
another miss and a growing list of misses across four states. >> what was that like, knowing you can't see him and he's gone now? >> very frustrating. it seemed like we were always one step behind. >> then, it got worse. >> the fbi pulled all their special agents out except for four. the director felt that cunanan was not in miami beach. he had slipped away. at the time, we had leads still coming in. hundreds. >> then eight days into the search, just when it seemed police would never catch a break -- >> so we get the call on the radio from this match. shots fired at this hospital. and i thought to myself, what a perfect place to hide. >> coming up. >> the uniformed patrol had a perimeter set around the house boat and the marine control to
1:41 am
cover the water perimeter. >> closing in on a killer. >> he was like a trapped rat. >> when dateline continues. lin [dog barking] (♪♪) there's an easier way to get things smelling just the way you want. try air wick vibrant. infused with 2x more natural essential oils, to get up to 120 days of amazing full room fragrance per dual pack. now that's a breath of fresh air wick.
1:42 am
1:43 am
1:44 am
now that's a breath eight days after the murder of gianni versace, leads were still coming in, hundreds every day. >> eight days after the murder of gianni versace, leaves were still coming in, hundreds every day. and then july 23rd, late afternoon -- the call came from a peer in miami beach. the caretaker had been checking
1:45 am
on a powder blue houseboat. the owner was away. but it looked like someone was in died. and something was wrong. he approached the boarding door, and then a gunshot. in an instant, hundreds of miami beach police, the fbi, out-of-town investigators, an army of reporters were converging on the peer. the houseboat was knocked down years ago. only a few rotting posts and a square of concrete marc spot. but that day, that moment -- >> when we first got here, they had a perimeter set around the house boat and called marine patrol to cover the water through to make sure nothing was in there before he got away. then we called the s.w.a.t. team in. we took over that parking lot
1:46 am
right next to the fire station. that's where we set up the media staging area. so while the filming was being done across the street and was too dangerous to be here. there were some on the other side of the water. he snuck in. >> what do you mean, snuck in? >> we actually knew what he meant. some of us from nbc, including me, found a perch across the waterway with a direct view of the houseboat. police cordoned off the scene around the house boat. nbc correspondent gary sanders found another way to get closer. >> a roadblock, police weren't letting anybody in. i looked over to my left and saw a construction worker who was on his bicycle and he was riding home on the sidewalk. i ran over to him and go, can you give me a ride on your handlebars? i hopped up on his handlebars, gave him $20, and he rode me down on the bicycle about four or five blocks to get to where this was all going on. >> a seizure atmosphere settled
1:47 am
in. >> how did you try to reach him? >> we have hostage negotiators on screen, from the fbi and local sheriff's office. they attempted to make contact vi landline telephone, but he didn't answer. so we try to bullhorn, and no response. >> everybody waited, the world watching. at one point, so officers moved in quietly, busted a window, and tossed a listening device into the houseboat. >> we were getting absolutely nothing from inside the house boat. he was either gone or dead. >> how would he be gone? >> he had slipped away from us before, more than once. >> they gave it 30 minutes, and then it seemed clear that if someone was inside the boat, they were not going to come out. there was a s.w.a.t. team standing by armed with
1:48 am
tear gas. >> when they went in, what was it like? >> when we went to the second floor bedroom, we discovered a white male with a self- inflicted gunshot wound. >> was it him? maybe. maybe not. detective navarro had fans brought in to disperse the teargas, and then he and the fbi man went in with a camera. the space looked more like an apartment than a boat. >> we went upstairs without touching anything. you know, booties on and gloves. we went up there and looked at him. >> and they knew. after staring at pictures of that face for so many days, it was certainly andrew cunanan . >> we were very excited that it was over. we actually high-fived each other. we were happy that nobody else was going to die. >> the police camera captured cunanan's last refuge, his exit .
1:49 am
>> he was in there with books and magazines and stuff. he was out of food, out of money. the houseboat kind of gave me the sense that he was living like a trapped rat. >> in the living room, a spread of glossy magazines with their high-fashion ad and reminders of a life he could never have. >> there were some -- there was no food left in the house. >> there is a tv on the boat. police believe he had been watching and so new that he was finally a famous man. >> he was at that stage of inspiration where he knew he couldn't do anything, get food. >> i think that's why he killed himself. i think what happened was, in cunanan's mind, when he hears the caretaker walk in and say something, whatever, he thought that was police. i think he kills himself then. >> and when he did, he took his secrets with him.
1:50 am
he left no note, no explanation for why he killed jeff trail, david madsen, william miglin, william reese, gianni versace. but now, we learn more about andrew cunanan and the consequences, the aftershocks of his terrible acts. >> coming up. looking for answers and saying goodbye. >> he took somebody away at the height of their career, at the height of their happiness. >> when dateline continues. ne imagine what we could splurge on. oh, like sourdough. no, the good stuff, like blueberries. -uh, and strawberries? -exactly. raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, elderberries, boysenberries... okay, we don't need to name all the berries. ...goji berries, halle berry. -i'm just kidding. -mm-hmm.
1:51 am
but i love her. switch to progressive, and you could save hundreds, to spend on whatever you dream up. we're travelling all across america, talking to people about their hearts. wh-who wants to talk about their heart! how's the heart? how's your heart? how's your heart? -it's good. -is it? - aah, i don't know. -it's okay. -it's okay! -yeah. -good. -you sure? -i think so. - how do you know? it doesn't come with a manual, and you like ooh, i got the 20,000-day checkup, right? let me show you something. put two fingers right on those pads. look at that! that's your heart! that is pretty awesome. with kardiamobile, you can take a medical-grade ekg in just 30 seconds, from anywhere. kardiamobile is proven to detect atrial fibrillation, one of the leading causes of stroke. and it's the only personal ekg that's fda-cleared to detect normal heart rhythm, bradycardia and tachycardia. what does it feel like to have that peace of mind available at your fingertips anytime you want? that would be great...to know what my heart was doing. kardiamobile is just $79. and when you buy today, you'll also get a free carry pod.
1:52 am
get yours at kardia.com or amazon. everybody wants super straight, super white teeth. they want that hollywood white smile. new sensodyne clinical white provides 2 shades whiter teeth and 24/7 sensitivity protection. i think it's a great product. it's going to help a lot of patients. scout is protected by simparica trio and he's in it to win it! simparica trio is the first chew with triple protection. whoa fleas! and ticks! (♪♪) intestinal worms! whoa! heartworm disease! no problem with simparica trio! this drug class has been associated with neurologic adverse reactions including seizures. use with caution in dogs with a history of these disorders.
1:53 am
for winning protection— go with simparica trio.
1:54 am
use with caution in dogs with while the world's attention was focused on a fugitive killer, it shifted momentarily to this exquisite old cathedral in milan. >> while the world's attention c was focused on a fugitive killer, it shifted momentarily to this exquisite old cathedral in milan. gianni versace brought celebrity to the runway and liberties paid their respects in kind. >> the world is coming. it is a state funeral. you took somebody away at the height of their career, at the height of their happiness. it was a close family. >> we watched on television as donatella made her entrance. fashion stars like karl lagerfeld and naomi campbell was there, and the greatest
1:55 am
star of them all -- princess diana. the most famous woman of her time sitting with a tearful elton john. even then, people couldn't help but wonder what would happen to the house of versace. they didn't know then that another versace was willing to carry the torch. like so many others, model beverly johnson was there. >> we thought that was that. we thought it was over. when donatella was going to take over, we thought oh, wow. and then we realized how talented she was. it was a testament of the genius that that family had. and just when you thought it couldn't get any better, with gianni versace, she just picked up the baton and just -- that's rare that a brand can continue. i think that's a real testament to versace.
1:56 am
>> countless cities in between are reminders of the boy from southern italy who built a fashion empire. when we last spoke, antonio d'amico was carrying on with his own designs, working on a new sportswear line. focused on golf were. he was living a quiet life outside of milan surrounded by reminders of the man he loved. >> do you still think about what you saw on the steps that day? does it come back to you often? >> it was a nightmare for years. but -- you know. time can heal you, but it doesn't go away. >> the other men who lost their lives, the people who loved jeff trail and david not understand that these two men simply befriended the wrong
1:57 am
guy. and lee miglin -- his friends and family will not fully recover ever. and even now, his death remains a mystery. was it a random killing, or was there some connection that made miglin the target? it's an unfinished chapter for paul beitler. >> the only two people that can solve that riddle aren't on the earth anymore. >> are you done? if you found a string, would you pull it? >> i would pull it. i haven't given up. and if there is somebody out there that can solve this problem and this riddle and has more information, i would love to hear. >> now you live with it. >> yeah. >> what does he mean to you in memory? >> only good. only good. he was a giant of a human being. >> george navarro, who now runs his own concert security
1:58 am
consulting business, is also frustrated that cunanan took the easy way out. >> was in an upsetting thing to hear? >> upsetting because i had a lot of questions. a lot of things that were left unanswered. i like to know the answer to them. why he did it. you know, what the connection was with the victims and that sort of thing. >> the ordeal, five murders, three months, inexplicable violence. it teaches law enforcement a tough lesson. >> what are the strong underlying themes of this whole story is just really the lack of participation, the lack of collaboration and corroboration among law enforcement authorities in so many different areas of the country. so you got miami, you've got chicago, you've got minnesota, you've got san diego, and once the fbi comes in, you got all these different people working, and who is in charge?
1:59 am
>> communication is so much better now. things do change. but one thing hasn't -- the world's fixation with the famous, and the puzzle. what drove a guy like andrew cunanan? what made him a killer? stacy lopez doesn't have any answers. to this day, she thinks about her friend andrew and feels only can fusion and pain. >> it's not something that i talk about often. i mean, who you talk to about something like this? yes, i love a serial killer. it sounds so awful, but he was a big part of my adolescence, and he was my friend. >> did you find yourself mourning his passing? >> i found myself mourning the friend that i knew. and i had a very hard time accepting what he had done. >> did you spend any time thinking about what he was about?
2:00 am
>> no. i'm going to be honest and cut you short on that one. i don't care. and put it this way -- he's a footnote in history. just one more person with a gun. so screw you. you get nothing. >> how rubenstein would rather talk about his friend jonathan. what that man taught him about life. >> if you are going to still be here, don't sit there with one foot in the back door waiting to see. no, you grab life as long as you get the chance, and you grab it for yourself. >> hello. i'm craig melvin, and this is dateline. the plot was hatched, this dreadful plot.
2:01 am
>> there were some family

55 Views

1 Favorite

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on