After the killing, Cunanan took Miglin's Lexus and drove to New Jersey. Trails sister told the New York Times that Cunanan had a strange fascination with Trail, and often appeared to try and emulate him. Police had gone to Madson's apartment after he hadn't shown up for work, and found Trail's body there, CBS News reported. The FBI also reported there had been sightings of Cunanan in the Palm Beach and Miami areas in the weeks prior. Ive never seen any credible evidence to show that there was a relationship, Robert Milan, a former assistant states attorney for Cook County, told ABC News. He was shot in the head with Trail's handgun. There has been speculation in the quarter century since. By Brad Edwards, Richard Schlesinger, Adam Harrington, Dan Kraemer, May 4, 2022 / 4:53 PM So far, they have refused. On May 4, 1997 - 25 years ago Wednesday - Chicago real estate magnate Lee Miglin was found brutally murdered under a car in the garage of his Gold Coast mans. Scenes for American Crime Story were filmed in September outside 2104 N. Fremont St., in Lincoln Park. "It's very difficult," Miglin's son Duke told ABC7Chicago. He wanted to destroy Miglin's legacy, an idea upheld by the fact that he later burned the plans Miglin had drawn up to build the tallest building in the world. But in published reports, Miglin's family has consistently maintained there was no connection between Miglin and Cunanan. He made seemingly little attempt to stay under the radar, despite being on the FBIs Most Wanted list; at one point, he even used his own name to pawn a gold coin he stole from Miglin. But American Crime Story is still giving a very controversial account of the murder, especially since authorities never found solid evidence of a connection between the two men. Cunanan and Versace did not know each other, according to People, although they may have briefly met prior to the killing. Trail had been beaten to death with a claw hammer, and his body rolled up in a rug. The 72-year-old was reportedly cleaning a garage behind his home when Cunanan attacked. Cunanan, realizing he has to ditch the Lexus, spots a red pickup truck and trails the driver, William Reese, to the Finns Point National Cemetery, a Civil War memorial where he is the caretaker. On the show, the handgun briefly makes an appearance when Cunanan and Miglin are in his home office, but Cunanan doesn't end up using it or even letting Miglin see it. "A Random Killing" posits that Cunanan and Miglin knew one another, implying that Miglin was a closeted gay or bisexual man who had hired Cunanan, a sex worker, several times before. Former U.S. naval officer Jeffrey Trail had become friends with Cunanan in San Diego in 1991, while Trail was stationed there. An initial theory told to Morrell by sources was that Miglin had parked his Lexus in a garage and walked across the alleyway, and was in the process of opening his back gate when someone stuck what Miglin believed to be a loaded gun in his back and ordered him into his other garage. Miami Beach police and FBI agents surround the houseboat where Andrew Cunanan's body was later found. His body was found five days later on the shore of East Rush Lake near Rush City, Minnesota (approximately one hour from Minneapolis by car), with gunshot wounds to his head and back. And in her Vanity Fair report on Cunanan, she wrote that he was a sex worker. While those are the facts of the gruesome murder, what isn't known is why Cunanan targeted Miglin specifically, if in fact he did. From Vulgar Favors: Lee, born Albert Lee Miglin, one of eight children of a central Illinois coal miner, began his career selling stainless steel flatware door to door and premixed pancake batter out of the trunk of his car.. Trail had reportedly told friends that he had had a big fallout with Andrew and never wished to see him again.. The Chicago Tribune also reported in 2018 that the couple was married for 38 years in 1997 and had two children. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The only evidence there is points toward Cunanan killing Miglin for his car and. "Lee Miglin built that garage for his . That Sunday night, CBS 2's Jodine Costanzo reported police found Miglin, 72, with his throat slashed ear-to-ear and his feet bound with masking tape. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. After killing Miglin, Cunanan left with his car, several items of clothing, $2,000 in cash, and some gold coins from the safe. Mike Farrell as Lee Miglin (left) and Judith Light as Marilyn Miglin (right) in. Andrew Phillip Cunanan (August 31, 1969 - July 23, 1997) was an American serial killer known to have murdered five people, including Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace and Chicago real estate developer Lee Miglin, during a three-month period in mid-1997. The episode's version of events depicts that Lee Miglin knew Andrew Cunanan before Cunanan allegedly killed him. The murder comes when Cunanan leads Miglin to the garage under the guise that they are going out together somewhere and then Cunanan proceeds to kill Miglin in the garage. Maureen Orth, in her book Vulgar Favors on which the series is based, supports the first two details but is more vague about the concrete block to the head, reporting only that there were two dozen blows to the head, face, and chin. That Cunanan threw a concrete block on Miglins chest is less in doubt, as it would account for the multiple broken ribs. Meanwhile, that red pickup that Cunanan had stolen from Reese was found in a parking garage near Versace's mansion. You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. Its unclear how much of this were meant to take at face value, and how much is Cunanans delusional, grandiose idea of the relationship he feels he deserves to have with Versace. We don't know, and we were always trying to get it as close to right as we could, knowing that there was not as much information to draw from, and try to do justice to people who were impacted by it.". The Chicago Tribune reported on the murder after Miglin was killed in May 1997 and before Cunanan was named as a suspect. On July 15, 1997, Cunanan approached the famed Italian designer as he returned to his Miami Beach mansion after a morning trip to a nearby caf. That is pure speculation, however, as is the scenario presented in The Assassination of Gianni Versace. I dont know that its reminiscent of any bondage video.. Notably, Miglin and his business partner, J. Paul Beitler, unveiled plans in 1988 for the Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle, a skyscraper that would have risen 15 stories taller than the Sears Tower to become the new tallest building in the world. The Miglin family has always denied that there was any connection between them and Cunanan, with Lee's son Duke recently reiterating that stance to ABC 7 Eyewitness News. Another man, Jeffrey Trail, 28, had been found beaten to death with a hammer and rolled in a carpet in Madson's apartment on April 29, 1997. The idea that he just picked him up off the street and stalked him and tortured him and then killed him is bizarre not the most likely scenario.". The Miglin family has vociferously denied that Lee or his 25-year-old son, Duke, a fledgling actor in Hollywood who has a bit part in this summer's Air Force One, ever met Cunanan. About three years ago, Marlena Miglin added Egan to the title when she was trying to get a business loan. "A Random Killing" moves through the events preceding the crime and its aftermath, but does not truly answer the most pressing question: why did Andrew Cunanan kill Lee Miglin? ''He went out in the afternoons and late evening,'' William J. Esposito, the bureau's deputy director, said at a Washington news conference, per the New York Times. That. Investigators said that Madsons body showed no sign of restraints, and his only defensive wounds were in his fingers, suggesting that he had raised his hands to try and deflect one of the shots. Attorneys call the situation an "unfortunate coincidence" which played out Monday in a Cook County courtroom. In a 2017 interview with ABC7, the local Chicago affiliate, Duke denied that he or his father ever knew Cunanan. He had been shot in the head, and his red pickup truck was gone, replaced by a green Lexus with Illinois platesthe same one Cunanan stole from Miglins garage. As played by the ever-genial Mike Farrell, Miglin is portrayed as the opposite of a bumptious, hard-charging Trumpian developer, happy to cede the spotlight to his more vivacious wife.This self-effacement is apparently entirely in character. Cunanan had tucked Miglin's body under a car in the garage and attempted to obscure it with trash cans, according to the Chicago Tribune. "No place and no one is immune from violence, yet tonight, we begin with a murder nearly as disturbing from where it happened as it is for who the victim was," Holt read at the top of the newscast. As told by the FX series, Miglin was a closeted, 72-year-old real estate magnate who paid for Cunanan's services as a gigolo while his wife (played by Judith Light) was out of town. Authorities believe Cunanans killing spree before Versace targeted ex-lovers, including some he may have believed may have given him HIV. Investigators remove Cunanans body from the Miami Beach houseboat on which he died. The fashion designer was returning home from his morning walk to the News Caf, where he went to purchase magazines, when a man approached and fired two shots into his head. But that doesn't mean that what The Assassination Of Gianni Versace portrays is fully accurate. Miglin was killed in the garage on May 3, 1997 by serial killer Andrew Cunanan. The show sticks closely to this gruesome version of events. However, holes had been cut in the bag so Miglin could breathe. Orth called Madson the great unrequited love of Cunanans life and noted that although the pair had broken up in the spring of 1996, Cunanan kept a picture of Madson on his refrigerator door. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Cunanan fled the scene on foot. Here's what we know about Miglin and his family. Cunanan wanted to disgrace Miglin. So it's important to remember that this episode is a dramatization of an incomplete set of facts. Miglin did in fact come from this background to develop the Bar Association and Madison Plaza buildings with his partner, J. Paul Beitler, as well as many other significant structures in the Chicago area. American Crime Story alleges otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Cunanans killing spree began in late April 1997 when he used a hammer to fatally beat Jeffrey Trail, a 28-year-old former naval officer he knew, in Minneapolis, for reasons that remain unclear, the FBI said. As Chicago Police Superintendent Matt Rodriguez (played on the show by Alex Fernandez) told reporters at the time, there was evidence that the person or persons did in fact avail themselves of food at the victims home and was walking around the apartment. Furthermore, while Rodriguez confirmed that Miglin was tortured before he was murdered, he, like the rest of the police department, remained extraordinarily tightlipped about the case, as the Chicago Tribune put it at the time, just as in the show. And I still dont.. Blachford was 58 when they met and grieving the loss of his partner of 26 years, who had recently died of AIDS . Maureen Orth wrote the book that The Assassination Of Gianni Versace is based on. But where the television series begins to diverge from some reports is in what relationship Cunanan had to the Miglin family, if any. 25 years ago: Andrew Cunanan's murder spree takes Lee Miglin's life. CBS 2's Brad Edwards went back to our archive to watch a Betamax tape of our 10 p.m. news from May 4, 1997 "News 2 Chicago," as our news was known at the time anchored by Lester Holt and Linda MacLennan. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Rodriguez, played by True Detective alum Alex Fernandez, gets a fair amount of screen time on the episode. Cunanan had a. "I've never seen any credible evidence to show that there was a relationship," said Milan. Both the FBI and the Cook County State's Attorney's office looked into possible links between the spree killer and the Miglins, but no unimpeachable link was ever established. Morgan Doughty Filed A Lawsuit Against The Murdaugh Family, Heres How To Watch The Alex Murdaugh Trial Live, Sophie Turners Joan Charts The Rise Of A Famous British Jewel Thief, Alex Murdaugh Faces Life In Prison For Allegedly Killing His Wife & Son, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. There have likewise been questions about whether Versace knew Cunanan. "My father didn't get to see my children, he didn't get to meet my wifeThere's never really closure in a situation like this.". "We were discussing Marilyn's fundraising at the Drake, which was very successful, and that they were planning to go to Israel and name a wing in her honor, and he was looking forward to that.". All Rights Reserved. So what is the truth behind the artistic license? His wife Marilyn had become suspicious when she arrived home from a business trip to Canada that morning, only to find her husband missing and a handgun in a bathroom though the gun later turned out to be a replica. Cunanan used whatever was at hand in the garage, stabbing Miglin with either pruning shears (says Time) or a screwdriver (as several other reports suggest) and inflicting the throat wound with a gardening saw. Schlesinger said, "Cunanan was not a normal guy.". There are a few places [in the TV show] where things didnt happen at all, Orth told Vanity Fairs Still Watching podcast. On May 8, 1997, everything changed in the investigation theories about random street crime were no more. But on "American Crime Story," Lee Miglin is shown talking with Cunanan on the phone. He began his career as a salesman for Arthur Rubloff & Co. in Chicago, as noted by the Washington Post. Wednesday evening, police sources said the proximity of the Jeep to Miglin's Gold Coast townhouse remained the only concrete clue to link Cunanan to the Chicago slaying.. Police still did not know why Cunanan had tortured and murdered Miglin and after Cunanan took his own life without leaving a suicide note, there was no way to find out from him. Miglin proudly shows Cunanan the plans for his dream project, the Sky Needle, that at 125 stories was to be the tallest building in the world. So I understand it is their choice. The FBI painted Cunanan as a highly intelligent and dangerous man who desired a life of luxury. As a police assault team closed in on a houseboat which Cunanan had broken into, Cunanan shot himself in the mouth using the same gun he had used to kill Madson, Reese, and Versace. It appeared that Cunanan went into Miglin's kitchen following the murder, made himself a ham sandwich, and shaved before taking off in his new getaway vehicle. [RELATED: 'American Crime Story' revisits the Chicago murder of Lee Miglin], [A look at the Chicago TV and film projects set to premiere in 2018], [Taraji P. Henson producing, starring in film about Emmett Till], Darren Criss, left, plays con artist Andrew Cunanan and Mike Farrell plays Chicago real estate tycoon Lee Miglin on "American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace., Lee Miglin told Crains Chicago Business in 1994, have long denied Lee Miglin and Cunanan knew each other, RELATED: 'American Crime Story' revisits the Chicago murder of Lee Miglin, A look at the Chicago TV and film projects set to premiere in 2018, Taraji P. Henson producing, starring in film about Emmett Till, Photos: Chicago cop shot, left very critical on Southwest Side, Colson Montgomery, the Chicago White Soxs top prospect, is taking it all in during major-league camp, Chicago mayor runoff begins with mutual attacks: Brandon Johnson would destroy economy; Paul Vallas failed everywhere he has gone, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Cunanan as a highly intelligent and dangerous man who desired a life of luxury True alum... And dangerous man who desired a life of luxury may have given him HIV difficult! Reports, Miglin 's son Duke told ABC7Chicago a 2017 interview with ABC7, local! I dont know that its reminiscent of any bondage video get a business loan the Miami Beach police and agents... Been cut in the garage on may 3, 1997, everything changed in the Beach.: Andrew Cunanan before Cunanan was not a normal guy. `` to this gruesome of! 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