On July 15, 1997, the world lost one of the most recognized fashion designers of the time, Gianni Versace.. The motive for the murder, to this day, is a mystery, although there are many theories.
Gianni Versace was not only a fashion icon, but also a beloved character for celebrities such as Princess Diana and musician Elton John.
The death of the Italian surprised the entire world and left many questions, among them two very important ones: the motive for the murder and who perpetrated it.
The man behind the murder
This is Andrew Cunanan, who was born on August 31, 1969 in San Diego, United States, in an extremely religious family. So much so that as a young man he decided to study at a school to become a bishop, the ‘Bishops School’, to later train at the University of San Diego.
However, he did not return home as the bishop his parents expected. He came to notify his parents that he was attracted to other men.
Andrew Cunanan was a San Diego native most known for murdering Versace. He found out about his other victims of him and what led him to be in FBI’s most wanted for more than two months before Versace’s murder. 🍸🍷🍸 pic.twitter.com/Fy6ucxyHDh
— Weirdosandwine (@weirdosandwine) May 15, 2018
Due to their religious beliefs, the family did not react in a good way to the confession and, according to reports, even generated a fierce fight that ended with Cunanan pushing his mother against the wall so violently that it dislocated her shoulder.
From that moment on, the young man’s life changed and he became someone his parents would not recognize.
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Andrew Cunanan, escort and murderer
Cunanan became addicted to various drugs and, in order to afford his likes, started working in prostitution. At that time, the young man was in his early 20s.
Over time, he chose to work with important men like Norman Blachford, an American millionaire, who also invited him to live in his mansion and he accepted.
However, the young man fell in love with David Matchen, an architect who also asked for his services and, without leaving either one, he maintained these two relationships for about a year. Unfortunately, one of them would be his first fatality.
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After Blachford found out about Cunanan’s relationship with Matchen, he decided to kick him out of his house. Almost at the same time, the architect traveled to meet an old flame and Cunanan was left completely alone.
But it would not be their last meeting. The end of this love story, if it can be called that, would take place in the house that the perfidious young man, in Andrew’s eyes, shared with his new partner. The visit resulted in a double murder.
Apparently, Matchen’s new partner was killed with a hammer after an argument and his former partner was killed with a gun that he had found in the same house after holding him captive for two days.
Cunanan got rid of the bodies and began his flight, but the Police found a briefcase belonging to the manwhich pointed him out as the main suspect for the murder of the couple and began his search.
Wednesday 23 July 1997
In the United States, the efforts of the authorities to find Versace’s suspected killer Andrew Cunanan continue.
Wanted posters have even started appearing in upmarket hotels. pic.twitter.com/ziavnyK0cb
– Diana Day by Day (@DianaDaybyDay) July 23, 2022
However, the man returned to kill several times before he was found. His next victim was Lee Miglin, a tycoon who would also have previously hired him for his services, whom he stabbed to death on May 4 of that same year.
By that time, and also due to the relevance of his latest victim, the man was already reaching the FBI’s most wanted list.
Unsuccessfully, police continued to search for Cunanan as he committed his fourth murder: William Reese.a caretaker at Finn’s Point National Cemetery, located in New Jersey.
Faster than the Police could reach, Cunanan was getting closer to who would be his last victim: Gianni Versace.
The assassination of Gianni Versace
Cunanan had stolen his latest victim’s car to get to Miami, where he hid for about two weeks.
There isn’t much information about what happened during that time, but the next time Cunanan was heard from was when, standing in front of Versace’s mansion, he aimed it at his head and shot him twice. She killed him instantly.
Although Cunanan managed to flee the scene, authorities mounted an operation to find him even bigger than the one they already had. The photo of the murderer was in the newspapers, on television and his description was played on the radio, it was very difficult for him not to be identified.
For this reason, it did not take long for the information to arrive as to where he had been last seen. On July 23, 1997, the authorities cornered the houseboat in which he was staying.
After several hours of the operation, the murderer made the decision not to turn himself in and took his own life, leaving the world with hundreds of unknowns about the reason for Versace’s murder.
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Theories of why
Among some of the possibilities that the Police later studied was the settling of accounts by the Italian mafiabut this was never verified.
It was also believed that it could be a robbery, but they concluded that this did not fit with the history that Cunanan had, so it was even suspected that Versace and his partner were clients of the man and it was some kind of personal revenge.
The reality is that Cunanan left with the answers to the reason for the murder of one of the most influential men in fashion to date.
You can also read:
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