The Young Filipino American Who Ended Gianni Versace’s Life
By Kelli Luu | 15 Jan, 2026

A highly intelligent but unstable young man fulfilled his high school classmates' yearbook prophecy by taking the lives of a series of men, including the celebrated fashion designer.

In the summer of 1997 a Filipino man was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list after he killed legendary fashion designer Gianni Versace in his Miami Beach mansion. 

Andrew Cunanan in an undated photo. (Image credit: Obituary records of Andrew Cunanan)

Introducing Andrew Cunanan.  Born in National City, California to a Filipino dad and Italian mother as the youngest of four kids, Andrew always stood out as an intelligent and talkative child.  He tested with an IQ of 147 but developed a reputation as a compulsive liar for telling glamorous stories about his family.  Andrew identified as gay in high school around the time he began making contact with older wealthy men and was voted “Most Likely to Not Be Forgotten” by his classmates. 

In 1987 Andrew enrolled at UC San Diego where he majored in American history.   Soon after he began college his father left his family in the United States and moved to the Philippines to evade embezzlement charges.  After his departure Andrew’s mother learned about her son's sexual orientation.  This led to a violent argument that left his mother with a dislocated shoulder. 

By 1989 Andrew had dropped out of college and moved in with his childhood best friend Elizabeth Cote in San Francisco's Castro District.  He was fully immersed in the city’s gay culture and nightlife.  Those who knew him described him as stylish and always with older men who were supporting him financially.  It was obvious Andrew craved a lavish and luxurious lifestyle.  He cultivated a reputation for bouncing back and forth between San Francisco and San Diego selling drugs. 

Unfortunately this fast life didn't last.   His wealthy patrons moved on and the money and attention he once received began to fading.  Andrew’s friends noticed a sudden change in his behavior.  He was angrier and more erratic.  In the spring of 1997 he abruptly left San Diego, telling his friends he was going on a trip to meet two men: Jeffrey Trail, a former Navy officer, and David Madson, an architect who was once Andrew’s romantic partner. 

Within a few days both men would be murdered.  

Andrew was staying at David Madson’s loft apartment in Minneapolis when tensions began rising between Cunanan and Jeffrey Trail.  On the night of April 27, 1997 Andrew lured Jeffrey to Madson’s apartment to retrieve the gun Andrew had just stolen from the older man.  Upon his arrival, Andrew attacked Jeffrey with a hammer and killed him in front of Madson.  That kicked off Andrew's killing spree. 

Bloody shoe print found at the scene of Jeffrey Trail's murder in Minnesota. (Image credit: Minneapolis Police Department)

Jeffrey Trail’s body was found hidden inside a rug and shoved behind a couch.  Many suspected David Madson to be involved, but he was soon found to be Andrew’s second victim.  After being seen eating lunch at a bar he got into his Jeep on May 2.  The next morning he was found dead on the shore of Rush Lake with gunshot wounds from the same gun Cunanan had stolen from Jeffrey Trail’s apartment. 

Andrew Cunanan left Minnesota and drove to Chicago where he committed his third and most sickening murder.  His victim was 72-year-old Lee Miglin, a wealthy real estate developer and business tycoon.  When investigators found his body, his hands, feet, and head were wrapped in duct tape and Andrew had stabbed him over twenty times with a screw driver before slitting his throat with a hacksaw and stealing his Lexus.  Miglin’s family insisted the attack was random, but FBI agents argued that this level of torture suggested Andrew had a motive. 

Authorities later found David Madson’s Jeep abandoned near Lee Miglin’s home, linking the murders to Andrew.  He was on the move in Miglin’s green Lexus.  It was eventually pinged via the car phone to Union County, Pennsylvania on May 4, 1997.  Police began to monitor the carphone.  It activated again on May 9 in Pennsville Township, New Jersey at a cemetery where Andrew’s fourth victim would be found. 

William Reese was a 45-year-old cemetery caretaker.  When his wife came to check on him at work he had already been shot in the head with the same gun used to murder David Madson.   Upon investigation, detectives believed Reese was killed because Andrew needed a new vehicle to stay off the radar.  He stole Reese’s Chevy pickup truck and made it to Miami Beach, Florida by May 12, 1997.  

On June 12 Andrew Cunanan made the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. 

Official photos of Andrew Cunanan released by the FBI during the 1997 manhunt. (Image credit: FBI)

Andrew Cunanan walked the streets of Miami freely for two months.  He even pawned a stolen item under his own name on July 7 though that would have appeared on routine data checks.  

On the morning of July 15, 1997, iconic fashion designer Gianni Versace was returning to Casa Casuarina, his luxurious Miami Beach mansion, after taking a walk to a nearby cafe.  As he approached his home, Versace was met with two bullets in the back of his head, shot from the same gun used to murder David Madson and William Reese.  This would link a fifth murder to Andrew Cunanan. 

He fled the crime scene, but stayed in Miami until he was found dead on a houseboat not too far from Casa Casuarina.  Andrew Cunanan had taken his own life with the same gun he used on his killing spree, making himself his final victim.  With no note, explanation, or confirmed motive, Andrew Cunanan’s case continues to fascinate criminologists and amateur sleuths alike. 

Cunanan's dead body being examined by an officer in the bedroom of boathouse. (Image credit: Miami Police Department)

Cunanan’s classmates ended up being right as Andrew definitely earned the title of “Most Likely to Not Be Forgotten”.  He became a constant reminder that the most unforgettable people aren’t always remembered for the right reasons.  Even after decades Andrew Cunanan remains an unforgettable chapter in American crime history.