48 Hours - Murder by Design - Encore

Episode Date: December 31, 2017

Did fashion icon Gianni Versace know his killer?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. Real people. Real crimes. Real life drama.

July 1997. Real people, real crimes, real life drama. I'm starting Versace. There's something inherently sexy in a Versace design. There is a flamboyance that is contained and controlled. Why should anybody care about fashion? Even the people who say they don't care, they care. I promise you. The clothes we wear send a message about how the world perceives us. It's a real wow factor. I'm Tim Gunn and I am the mentor on Project Runway. The Versace customer was not faint of heart. One of the most iconic Versace pieces

was the gown that he made for Elizabeth Hurley. Two stars were born with that dress. Princess Diana wanted a whole new look for the world. And Courtney loved it also. I mean, he took her from trashy to sophisticated. Versace helped put Miami on the international map. My name is Tara Solomon, and I am the Miami Herald's former nightlife correspondent.

Versace brought his entire world of fabulosity. Miami's cool. Miami is a place where you can be yourself. And while he may have had homes all around the world, he came to Miami Beach to relax. The weather is fantastic. I wake up and I walk. I'm very serene there. Do you remember where you were when you heard that Versace had been murdered? Oh, I remember profoundly. I opened up my computer and it flashed before me that Gianni Versace had been murdered. I was stunned. When Versace was killed, there was pure pandemonium.

On that particular morning, Gianni Versace decided to go over to News Cafe. And it was on his return home, approaching the door, that he was shot and killed. And all of a sudden we hear bang, bang, two shots. 11-16 Ocean. Yes, master, shot. Please, immediately, please. Do you remember where roughly he was?

He was right here. And there was obviously blood? Yes, plenty of blood. And if you mention Johnny Versace, people still don't remember those names of the first few people that were killed. There was the homicide of Jeff Trail and David Mattson. There was the murder of Lee Miglin. Then there was the murder of William Reese.

We have what we typically call a spree killer. This wasn't a haphazard crime. Mr. Versace was targeted. targeted. I'm Richard Schlesinger. Tonight on 48 Hours, murder by design. Did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free, with a 48-hour plus subscription on Apple Podcasts. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn,

and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reached the age of 10 that would still have heard it. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones and for almost two years I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from pit can. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the pit can trials I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island

to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Five days before he was murdered, Johnny Versace and his partner Antonio D'Amico had arrived at Casa Casarina, their lavish Miami Beach retreat. They'd been in Paris and New York. Versace could not have known it, but his killer was already in town. 911 emergency. Lotus 16 Ocean Drive. have known it, but his killer was already in town. The 911 call came in about 8.45 the morning of July 15, 1997, just as Carlos Noriega, then a lieutenant with the Miami Beach Police Department, was heading to work. I drove over to the scene and encountered an area just

flooded with police officers. There was evidence at the front steps, there was blood, there was clothing. Gianni Versace was an icon. You have a world-renowned fashion designer, a celebrity, who was tragically killed. This was all hands on deck. You don't want to screw this case up. Exactly. It all happened in broad daylight. Versace had gone out, alone, to a local cafe to buy magazines. And then he walked home.

to buy magazines, and then he walked home. As he was putting the key in the door lock, he was shot twice, once in the face, point-black range, and the other one was behind the left ear in the neck, and that was a through-and-through shot. Noriega believes the gunman approached Versace from behind or from the side. I believe he was shadowing him. approached Versace from behind or from the side. I believe he was shadowing him.

It was a very strategically timed, strategically placed attack to kill Gianni Versace. The question was, who would want to kill him? One of the first motives that we felt was a possibility was that it was a contracted or organized crime, mafia, if you will, because there was a dead bird found it was a contract hit or organized crime, mafia, if you will, because there was a dead bird found next to the body. Is that a sign?

To us, that's a sign of a mafia hit. But the bird, it turned out, was in the wrong place at the wrong time, hit by a fragment from a bullet that killed Versace. And that left police with not much to go on. But not for long. that killed Versace. And that left police with not much to go on. But not for long, they got a break from Lazaro Quintana, who was a friend of Versace's. He used to call me Lazaretta. Lazaro was at the mansion that morning.

He was in the dining room with Antonio when he heard the shots. Antonio got up and he went to the window that faces the gate to enter the mansion and he yelled out, no, no, and I ran out. You came here? I came here. Johnny was right here. Versace was already dead on the front steps. And then Antonio came, and he's crying, and he was destroyed. He was destroyed. And he's, he's, who did this? Who did this?

And there was a lady standing here, and she's pointing, but she couldn't speak. Antonio said, go get him. So I went after him. Lazaro followed the gunman. We're talking this pace. Yeah. Real fast.

I yelled, you bastard. Why did you do this? Why did you do this? He makes a left turn. As he makes the left turn, yes, he makes the left turn. And we're still going. We're still going all the way through. He turns over to the right.

And car's coming, so I couldn't get across. Car stops. And they yell, he's got a gun. He stops right across here at the alley, and that's when he's pointing the gun at me. Show me how he pointed the gun at you, if I'm you. So he didn't even look at you. No, never looked at me.

You never saw his face. I never saw his face. But you saw his clothes. Yes. The shooter cut through this alley while Lazaro raced around the corner. He remembered seeing a police officer there earlier. I reached him and I said to him, Mr. Versace has just been shot.

Were you calm? No. No? No. A friend of mine was just shot. No, was I calm? I was nervous. I was upset. You came down this street with the police officer? I did. Luckily, he came upon some men in front of this building and asked them if they saw a man running. And they pointed. They pointed to

the garage. He said he went in here. He went in here. So that's when I told the officer, I said, he's in there. Go get him. Go get him. And then we heard over the radio the commotion and, okay, now there is a manhunt. When police searched the 13th Street garage, they discovered a pile of clothes. A gray T-shirt and black shorts, just what Lazaro had seen the shooter wearing. He had obviously changed clothes. When he walked out of this garage just shortly after the murder, nobody knew who the shooter was. Nobody knew what he looked like. Nobody knew what he was wearing. He was able to just vanish. But he left a mountain of evidence for investigators.

Next to that pile of clothes was a truck that had been reported stolen in New Jersey. And inside the truck were documents with a name. He left his identification in the truck? That's correct. He had his passport, ID, a whole lot of items that connected him right away. 4-2, Lieutenant, what? By 12 noon, some three hours

after Johnny Versace was murdered, police had a suspect. His name, Andrew Cunanan. And as it turned out, the Miami Beach Police Department was not the only one looking for him. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark,

host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defence attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge?

Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing The Best Idea Yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bold risk-takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists

because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just the best idea yet. In Milan, Italy today, those who knew and admired Gianni Versace said goodbye to the murdered fashion designer.

One week after Gianni Versace was murdered, celebrities and friends from around the world gathered inside this Gothic cathedral in Milan, Italy for his funeral. I saw Versace's funeral on television and I cried. It was hard. It was tough. Princess Diana was there at the funeral. Sting, Trudy, Elton. In Miami, not far from where he was murdered, there was a small, intimate service to celebrate the designer's life. The flowers left on the steps of Versace's opulent mansion served as one somber reminder of what had happened.

We consider Andrew Cunanan to be armed and to be extremely dangerous. The police activity was another. They were tracking every lead they could, hunting for Johnny Versace's suspected killer, 27-year-old Andrew Cunanan. He had a very good suspect. Michael Band was the prosecutor assigned to this case. And our first step was to go out into community with pictures of Cunanan and start beating the bushes and looking for

this guy, looking to figure out is this the guy. Authorities were starting to learn all about Andrew Cunanan. Three months before Versace's murder, Cunanan was living in San Diego, and his life was, to say the least, complicated. I thought he'd be a very successful businessman, or maybe in the fashion industry, or something star quality like. Back in the 80s, Robert Ehrens remembers his seventh grade classmate Andrew Cunanan as a good-looking kid with a keen fashion sense. I remember Andrew would put dimes in his penny loafers. It was always that little extra something that made him sort of stand out and get noticed. Andrew sort of had this air about him that I thought was kind of beyond his

years at that time. According to Aaron's, Andrew Cunanan grew up in a working class San Diego suburb and did not share much about his home life. I had no idea who his mom was, his dad, whether he had brothers or sisters. I had no idea who was half Filipino. Andrew's father, Modesto, was a former Navy man turned stockbroker. He and Andrew's mother, Marianne, raised four children together. But Andrew stood out. He had a genius IQ, so he enrolled in the pricey and prestigious Bishop School in the Tony Beach enclave of La Jolla. When I heard that he was going to La Jolla and transferring to Bishops, I thought, well you've got to have money, that's a private school. The class of 1987 mentioned Andrew Cunanan as most likely to be remembered. He chose a quote from King Louis XV

to accompany his senior photo, après moi, le déluge, after me, the deluge. Turns out those words could have been an omen. A year after Andrew's high school graduation, his father was facing embezzlement charges. He fled the country, leaving his family abandoned and broke. He was openly gay in high school and very flamboyant. When 48 Hours first spoke to Nicole Murray Ramirez back in 1997, he knew Andrew Cunanan. Today, he still remembers Cunanan as the young man who didn't have a job, but was a big spender and an even bigger talker. Andrew Cunanan was basically known in the gay community's nightlife and the bar scene. He would walk in with the entourage and always pay for the bill.

He wanted the illusion that it was his money. He tried to brag that he came from a Filipino family and he knew them out of Marcos. Michael Williams owned a local restaurant and knew Andrew Cunanan. He also knew where Cunanan really got all that money. He had a very wealthy, older partner who really provided for him. How much older? I would say probably by 40 years. What did you make of that relationship? I stopped trying to figure that out. I was like, you know, here's this young, attractive, good-looking guy

with this extremely older man. I mean, I can't imagine what the connection was there. I would imagine that you had an idea what the connection was there. I did, you know. Michael Williams was introduced to Andrew through their mutual friend, a young ensign named Jeff Trail. Andrew was very pretentious, loud, you know, always had to be the center of the party. Jeff was opposite of that. Jeff was pretty conservative and quiet, always helping people. Trail was an Annapolis graduate and a Gulf War veteran living in San Diego. He was also gay, as out as was possible. Tonight on 48 Hours,

the battle over homosexuals in the military. In 1993, when he appeared in Silhouette for a 48 Hours interview, he talked to us about issues affecting gay people in the military. We're not here to be feared. We just want to do our jobs. That's all we're asking for. While Trail and Cunanan were friends, to the best of anybody's knowledge, that is all they were. Jeff was always, had the contagious personality where you just wanted to be around him. And I think that, you know, in a way, Andrew wanted that in his life. So surrounding himself around Jeff, he always seemed very happy and up.

You did not like Andrew? No. For reasons known only to Cunanan, he sometimes used the name Andrew Da Silva. That's how Michael Williams knew him, and he would soon learn a lot more about Andrew. Who he was and what he would do would change the life of Michael Williams and end the lives of five innocent victims. Tracing Andrew Cunanan's blood-soaked path to Johnny Versace's front door means following a series of unexplainable events

punctuated with unfathomable viciousness. None of the dots are easily connected, except in the mind of the murderer. The road begins with Jeff Trail. He just had that charisma about him. It was Trail who befriended Andrew Cunanan, and Michael Williams believes his friend knew Cunanan had lived a dangerous life. Andrew had a past of dealing drugs.

He had a past of prostitution. And I really think that Jeff was trying to pull him out of that. Williams says Jeff Trail had left the Navy and was training to join the California Highway Patrol. And then suddenly, and with no explanation, in the fall of 1996, In the fall of 1996, Trail moved to Minneapolis. The day that he got in the car to leave, I said, please be safe. And he reached under the seat and he pulled out his handgun. And he said, I'm going to be safe. I've got this. Around that same time, Jeff Trail's friend, Andrew Cunanan, was struggling, according to Nicole Murray Ramirez.

He was not good looking anymore. He had to have looked in the mirror and saw what I saw, which was a six going down to a four. What was left for his life? Cunanan had gained weight and given away much of his expensive designer wardrobe. He had dabbled into drugs. He was now an older young man with average looks. On top of that, his older wealthy partner broke up with him. I surmise that Andrew one day woke up after his older boyfriend broke up the relationship. And what's next? How is he going to live? He lost the money, the mansion, and all that went with it. He lived off other people. He also was someone who was revengeful. Former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole.

This is not someone that you break up with easily, because when you're grandiose and you're the center of the world, people don't break up with you. And then, for reasons Cunanan never fully explained, on Friday, April 25, 1997, he went to Minneapolis. He flew from San Diego on a one-way ticket. Do you think that he went up to Minneapolis with murder on his mind? Yes, I think that he did.

Cunanan knew people in Minneapolis. Jeff Trail was there. And Michael Williams thinks something happened between the two of them. I called to check on Jeff, and he was just really depressed. It alarmed me. We'd never had a conversation like that. I asked him, have you spoken to Andrew? And he said, no, and I'll never speak to him again.

That's odd. Cunanan knew somebody else in Minneapolis, a 33-year-old architect named David Madsen. Cunanan and Madsen had had a relationship. He loved to laugh. I'm just gonna laugh, okay? And he always had big energy. Julie Hovland was David Madsen's friend and co-worker. He liked problem solving. We talked about world issues. He was a down-to-earth person. Did David ever mention Andrew Cunanan? Yes, he did. I think he had a fling with Andrew. I don't think it was anything serious because there were other people in his life that he cared about more. He didn't care about Andrew that much, really.

But according to Cunanan's friends, Andrew believed David was the love of his life. Julie Hovland didn't talk to David Madsen over the weekend. On Monday, she was surprised when he didn't show up at work. And by Tuesday, everyone was worried. I called him, went to voice messaging, and a couple of my co-workers went to his house over lunch hour on Tuesday, heard his dog barking in the apartment. She didn't know it.

But Cunanan's killing spree had already started. It was noticeable as soon as you'd open the door and walk in. Nobody made any effort to try and conceal it or hide it. When retired Minneapolis homicide detective Dale Barsness arrived at Madsen's apartment, what he saw was gruesome. There was a bloody body wrapped in a rug. I thought he was dead that day. I pretty much cried the whole night. And then later we found out that it wasn't David's body in the carpet. How did you feel when you heard that?

Shocked. But then, oh, what happened? The body in David Madsen's apartment was Jeff Trail. He had been beaten to death with a hammer. And not far from the body, police found a duffel bag with a name on it. Andrew Cunanan. This is the travel bag that we believe Andrew Cunanan brought to Minneapolis on April 25th. But where was Andrew Cunanan? And where was David Madsen? The trail stayed cold for just four days. And then on Saturday morning, two fishermen found the body of a young man

on the shores of East Rush Lake, about an hour north of Minneapolis. It was David Madsen. He'd been shot in the head. We learned that David died pretty soon after jeff trail oh my gosh you know to be in the situation that david's in with this crazy person you know and how scary for him i'm sure he tried to calm andrew down you know, I mean, I'm sure there was survival mode going on. Like, how do you defuse this situation? But he obviously failed at that. And he lost his life because of that.

Ballistic tests showed the bullets used to kill Madsen came from a.40 caliber gun, like the one Jeff Trail had taken to Minneapolis. Police believe Cunanan took that gun. Presumably, when you were able to link Madsen's death to Trail's death, that changed the whole investigation. And now we're down to, where's Andrew? There were tire tracks near Madsen's body, and his car, a red Jeep, was missing.

But it would not stay missing for long. 72-year-old Lee Miglin was found tortured and stabbed to death in the garage of his mansion on Chicago's Gold Coast. On the morning of May 3, 1997, Stephen and Barbara Byer found the body of their neighbor, Lee Miglin. He was a wealthy real estate developer. I can still picture it today. I could see the points of his shoes. And I said, Lee is right there. I mean, it was absolutely chilling. It was absolutely chilling.

Inside Lee Miglin's townhouse, there was some money and other things missing, and there was evidence the killer had stayed a while. Police photos show he had shaved and taken a bath. Debris in the kitchen sink, melted ice cream coming out of their containers. sink, melted ice cream coming out of their containers. Then in Lee's library, finding this large ham sliced sitting on his desk. That was plenty to recognize that something very, very bad had gone on. Around the corner from the murder scene, police would discover David Madsen's red Jeep. But now Lee Miglin's green Lexus was missing. To this day, police do not know what, if any, connection Cunanan had to Miglin, but they feared Cunanan would strike again. I do know it's not a random act of violence.

A nationwide manhunt is still underway for Cunanan. After Andrew Cunanan murdered Jeff Trail, David Madsen, and Lee Miglin, the gay community was terrified, especially in San Diego. I think everybody was in a state of shock. I think some people were in a state of fear. People didn't answer their doors. People that knew him the most stayed other places. Michael Williams relocated to Scottsdale, Arizona. Everybody was on very high alert. Because he didn't know where he was going to strike again.

Yeah. Just six days after he killed Miglin while Cunanan was on the run in Miglin's green Lexus, killed Miglin while Cunanan was on the run in Miglin's green Lexus? Police believe he realized the FBI was tracking the car phone's signal and he needed a new vehicle. He's believed to have struck here in Pennsville Friday afternoon at the remote Fins Point Cemetery at Fort Mott Park. FBI is going to work it concurrently with the New Jersey State Police. The Lexus was found at this cemetery in southern New Jersey. Inside the office lay victim number four. He was 45-year-old William Reese. He'd been shot in the head and his red pickup was gone. Yeah, he, all he was was a caretaker at a cemetery. Minneapolis detective Dale Barsness says William Reese was killed simply for his truck. You know, he just was a very honorable man.

In the wrong place. Absolutely. At the wrong time. And alone. You're in somewhere in Scottsdale. He's last heard of in new jersey can you relax no until he's caught you don't relax as johnny versace was in europe working on what would be his final collection andrew cunanan was the focus of a nationwide manhunt. He was featured on America's Most Wanted.

Police say Cunanan may be wearing glasses. And earned a spot on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list. You think he enjoyed the attention that he got? Oh, I absolutely do. Former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole. He basically held the United States hostage because we were looking for him everywhere. We didn't know where he was. O'Toole says having murdered four men in three states over 12 days, Cunanan was now considered a spree killer.

A spree killer continues and continues and continues and does not go back into their normal life. Life as they know it, it's done. So O'Toole believes Cunanan knew he had nothing to lose. There's no way to undo what he's done now. Absolutely no way. So he's really boxed himself into a corner. From a behavioral standpoint, that makes him more dangerous. But then, for two months, there was no sign of Cunanan. Until July 15, 1997, when he struck again. This time was different, because this time, his victim was Gianni Versace.

When you heard that he had done it again, do you remember how you felt? Every time there was another killing, it was almost like you're being stabbed, you know. It's that rush of pain, and you just automatically, oh my God,

why can't they catch him? There's no question that he knew that we were hot on this trail. Carlos Noriega remembers that within hours, hundreds of police officers piled onto Miami Beach. We all but locked down the causeways and the ways in and out of the city, and I believe that created that bottleneck where he felt uncomfortable trying to leave the city. With all the attention on this case, every day brought a flood of tips. The tips that were coming in were overwhelming at times.

Especially since this was Detective Gus Sanchez's first homicide investigation. Were you nervous at all? Of course I was. Yeah? We know already that he had killed numerous people. I remember going to different locations, knocking on doors. It always crosses your mind that Cunanan can be in there armed, and he can shoot through the door.

Detectives soon learned Cunanan had been in Miami Beach for about two months. He was sort of hiding in plain sight. Exactly. The police had missed several opportunities to get him. About a week before he killed Versace, Cunanan pawned a gold coin stolen from Lee Miglin. How'd the pawn shop know it was him? He told them. Pawned the coin about a week before the homicide.

And used his own name. Used his own name. What's more, Cunanan's name was on a form the pawn shop was required to send to the Miami Beach Police Department. It arrived five days before the murder. We did not have an automated system at the time. It was just one of many forms. And unfortunately, nobody looked at it. Did you think, why didn't we know about this before Johnny Versace was killed? That thought

went through my mind several times because apparently he was on the beach for a period of time. Cunanan listed his address as the Normandy Plaza Hotel. It was a dump. You and I wouldn't stay in that hotel. He'd registered under his own name. It must drive you nuts to know that this guy was walking around free as a bird. Right. I mean, just the fact that this guy was being looked for speaks to the fact that he was able to blend in and change his appearance and successfully just stay one step ahead that way. Things might have turned out differently if police had a little more luck. Four days before Versace was killed, someone at this sub shop recognized Cunanan from the America's Most Wanted story.

He called the police, but they arrived too late. I was disappointed. I was frustrated. It's just unfortunate that we didn't catch him before it happened. After Versace's murder, with Cunanan on the loose, anxiety grew. Let me assure you that Miami Beach and Dade County are safe. I was afraid. and Dade County are safe. I was afraid. Remember, Versace's friend, Lazaro Quintana,

had chased Cunanan. So I told the officer, go get him. He's in there. Go get him. He knew who I was, but I didn't know who he was. How did you behave when you were out? Scared, cautious, looking over my shoulder a lot. Literally? Absolutely. Oh, yeah, I was, yeah.

I mean, I got goosebumps on it, absolutely. This man had a gun. This man knew what he was doing. The longer Cunanan dodged police, the more intense the hunt became. I think the police were getting anxious. Where could he be? What kind of resources did he have?

Former prosecutor Michael Band. That's a lot of pressure. That's a lot of pressure on law enforcement. The whole world's watching, but we don't want anybody else dead. There was a sense that maybe we lost him by some people. I just thought that he was hiding out. And then the tip came in that would change everything. I get a call, Michael, I think we found him. What's your emergency? A little buddy got him and they're shooting. I heard over the police radio that there had been a shot fired

that they were surrounding a houseboat you think what we got him after a nine-day manhunt Miami Beach detective Gus Sanchez believed Andrew Cunanan was finally cornered on a houseboat just 40 blocks from where he had shot down Johnny Versace. When Sanchez arrived, it was a standoff. At this point, nobody's seen Cunanan on the houseboat. No, there's no confirmation at this point. The houseboat's caretaker saw signs of a break-in and when he went inside, a shot was fired. Police quickly surrounded the houseboat. They are communicating by bullhorn with the houseboat. After a four-hour siege, the SWAT team fired tear gas and went on board. When it was safe, Prosecutor Michael Band followed them.

It was a mess. It was just a mess. It was a mess. It was just a mess. In an upstairs bedroom, they found a body. I just recall an individual lying on the bed, looking up. He had a bullet wound in his head. There's a gun next to him. When you looked at that face, what did your gut tell you? My gut told me it's him. But that wasn't enough. I wanted his fingerprints. As Band waited, an expert at the scene compared fingerprints from the corpse with Cunanan's. He looks up and he says, it's him. The reign of terror brought upon us by Andrew Cunanan is over.

It turned out Cunanan shot himself with the same gun he used to kill Johnny Versace, William Reese, and David Madsen. It was the gun he had taken from his friend and first victim, Jeff Trail. There's a sense of relief. But this was not the outcome Michael Williams hoped for. I didn't want him to do anything but go to jail and rot. Andrew Cunanan's suicide left the world with a pile of questions. Was there any connection between Gianni Versace and Andrew Cunanan? There have always been rumors. There is no hard evidence. Do you think they knew each other?

I think there's a strong possibility that they crossed paths before. And that plays into his motive. I think so. I think they knew each other. Or he wanted to be in his circle and maybe he was rejected. This is all speculation. There is some sense it's not complete. Why did he do it? What was the folks in Minnesota? Why Chicago?

Why New Jersey? Why Versace? Was there a connection there? Was this just some sort of serendipitous, unfortunate occasion where just two lives intersected at the wrong time. And we'll never know. We'll never know. Fashion, to me, born and die every day. Gianni Versace was already thinking about his legacy when he talked to Charlie Rose in 1994.

The thing I want to be remembered is what I will do tomorrow. 20 years after Versace's death, Tim Gunn says Versace's influence still lives. Sexy, alluring, gorgeous red carpet gowns, it's all attributable to Gianni Versace. Singer Bruno Mars not only wears Versace, he mentions Versace in one of his songs. If guys like Bruno Mars are singing about Gianni Versace 20 years after his death,

what in your mind does that say about Gianni Versace 20 years after his death. What in your mind does that say about Gianni Versace? That he's fully embedded in our society and culture and has a profound legacy. I feel his presence when I'm designing. Leanna Aguilar, a Project Runway contestant, was just a teenager when Versace was killed. There are Versace elements in what you're wearing today, right? Yes. Tim Gunn saw this and he said, this looks like Versace. And I was like, yes, mission accomplished. Of course, the memories are infinitely more personal for Michael Williams, who lost his best friend. And two decades later, it still hurts.

This hasn't left you. I'm better. It's taken me years. You know if it was just Jeff being killed would be one thing but then you got David and Lee Miglin and William Race and Johnny Versace. Five people that you're now connected to. It is a connection no one would ever seek. The world lost an icon, but five families lost loved ones, friends lost friends, all for a reason we'll never know, if there ever was one. 20 years after his death, the House of Versace continues to succeed under the leadership of Gianni's sister, Donatella. For more of Tim Gunn on Versace's legacy, join us online at 48hours.com.