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- [00:01]
Carter Roy
Hi listeners, it's Carter Roy. Happy America 250. If you want to binge all four parts of our limited series about the crimes that built America, ad free, subscribe to Crime House Plus. With Crime House plus, you'll get all four episodes right now instead of waiting. You'll also get every episode of Murder True Crime Stories and the rest of the Crime House shows ad free and released early. To join, go to crimehouseplus.com or if you're listening on Apple Podcasts, tap. Try free at the top of this show's page. This is crime house. Some people seem to know exactly who they are from the beginning. But for most, identity is more fluid. It's shaped over time, tested, revised and reassembled until it finally holds. That idea sits at the center of fashion. Identity is something you construct in design. Few understood that better than Gianni Versace. He spent decades building an empire grounded in his own vision, shaping not just clothing, but the culture around it. In his world, fashion wasn't superficial. It was an expression of your true self. And he was determined to help people find theirs. Andrew Cunanan was obsessed with identity too. But where Gianni created something real, Andrew invented something fake. A different story for every audience. A life that sounded extraordinary as long as you didn't look too closely. Two men, both building versions of themselves. But by 1997, their lives were headed in very different directions. One of those worlds was at its peak. The other was beginning to collapse. And on the morning of July 15, on the steps of a mansion in Miami beach, those two worlds collided in the worst way possible. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon, and we don't always get to know the real and ending. I'm Carter Roy and this is True Crime Stories, a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. New episodes come out every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with Friday's episodes covering the cases that deserve a deeper look. Thank you for being part of the Crime House community. Please rate, review and follow the show and for early ad free access to every episode, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. This is the first of two episodes on the murder of Gianni Versace in 1997. The 50 year old Italian designer was shot and killed outside his south beach mansion. Today I'll introduce you to Gianni, a boy who learned to sew in his mother's studio and went on to build one of the biggest fashion brands in the world. And I'll introduce you to Andrew Cunanan, a 27 year old con artist whose carefully constructed life was falling apart by 1997. One of them had everything, the other had nothing left to lose. Next time, I'll take you through Gianni's final morning on Ocean Drive, the manhunt that swept across Miami beach, and the questions that investigators are still trying to answer. All that more coming up. Look, we all hit points in life where anxiety, depression or ADHD feel like a lot more than just a rough patch. I have been there and honestly, sometimes standard self help tools or talk therapy aren't the total answer. We need a little more. If you need a deeper level of care, Talk Iatry connects you with real virtual psychiatry. This isn't a therapy app. It's a 100% an online psychiatry practice providing comprehensive evaluations, diagnoses and ongoing medication management for conditions like adhd, anxiety and more. You're actually seeing a medical provider who takes the time to understand what you're going through and build a personalized treatment plan. Plus, they accept major insurers, meaning you can use your existing insurance instead of paying massive out of network costs. Getting started is incredibly simple. You just complete a short online assessment, get matched with clinicians who fit your specific needs, and schedule your first virtual visit in days rather than months. Head to tokyetry.com mtcs to complete the short assessment and get matched with an in network psychiatrist in just a few minutes. That's talkiotry.com MTCs to get matched in minutes.
- [05:34]
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- [06:08]
Carter Roy
Before he became one of the most famous fashion designers in the world, before his death became the subject of a hit TV show, Gianni Versace was just a boy in southern Italy. He was born on December 2, 1946 in Reggio di Calabria, a port city on the very tip of the Italian boot. It was a poor region, but though the Versace were middle class and relatively comfortable compared to their neighbors, Gianni had two older siblings. His sister Tina and his brother Santo. Their father, Antonio, sold appliances. Their mother, Francesca, was a dressmaker who ran her own clothing shop near the center of town. Reggio wasn't glamorous, but it had history. The city sat on the ruins of Magna Grecia, the the ancient Greek colonies. There were Roman baths, Greek temples, classical sculptures, all just sitting there in the open. Kids like Gianni played among the ruins. He grew up surrounded by images of gods and warriors. And those images worked their way deep into his imagination. Years later, he'd recall seeing the face of Medusa, the Greek Gorgon with snakes for hair carved into the stone. It haunted him. Eventually, he turned it into the Versace logo. But the place that shaped him the most wasn't the ruins. It was his mother's studio. Young Gianni spent most of his childhood in Francesca's shop, absorbing everything around him. The movement of each fabric she used, the different patterns, textures and colors. He watched as she created garments piece by piece, learning to recognize different kinds of stitching before he could even name them. The studio employed up to a dozen seamstresses at a time, and Gianni would sit among them for hours, soaking it all in. It was a warm, creative childhood until tragedy hit the Versace in 1952. The family went to a local carnival. There, Gianni's older sister, Tina, fell and scraped her knee. Seemed minor at first, but Tina caught tetanus from the wound. The family rushed her to a doctor, but he gave her the wrong medicine. And in less than 24 hours, 12 year old Tina was dead. She was still wearing her party dress. Gianni was just five years old. Three years later, in 1955, Gianni's parents had another daughter, Donatella. Donatella would later say that she always felt on some level like she'd been born to fill the space Tina left behind. The Versace all dealt with the loss in different ways. Francesca never fully recovered. For Gianni, the grief pushed him deeper into the world he loved most. His mother's studio. But it also changed his relationship with Donatella. From the time she was little, Gianni treated her less like a baby sister and more like an equal. He talked to her about design, about culture, about the world beyond Reggio. When Donatella was just 11, Gianni convinced her to dye her hair platinum black blonde, inspired by the Italian singer Patti Provo. Their mother was furious, but the hair stuck, and so did the bond between the siblings. But Gianni's obsession with fashion had taken root long before that. He designed his first dress when he was just nine years Old. Around the same time, Donatella was born. And what started as a fascination quickly became all consuming. Even at school, he was thinking about fashion instead of focusing on his other subjects. He filled the pages of his notebooks with sketches. And these weren't doodles. They were detailed, realistic drawings of glamorous women in evening wear, inspired by Italian film stars like Sophia Loren and the world of high fashion. When one of his teachers saw the sketches, she was unsettled. They seemed too mature for a teenage boy. Concerned, she called Gianni's mother. Francesca was unfazed. She told the teacher there was nothing wrong with what her son was doing. He was passionate about fashion and clothes, and that excitement should be encouraged, not corrected. She told Gianni to keep going. As Gianni grew older, he knew exactly what he wanted. After finishing high school, he went straight to work for his mother, stepping into a more formal role at her studio. For the next several years, he worked alongside Francesca, no longer just observing, but designing, refining and developing his own style. Those years became his foundation. They gave him technical discipline and the confidence to trust his instincts. But by the early 1970s, Gianni was bumping up against a ceiling. Reggio di Calabria was a small city on the edge of the country. There were no fashion houses there, no major design firms, no buyers or editors passing through. His mother's studio had taught him everything it could. If he wanted to build something of his own, he needed to be where the industry actually lived. In 1972, 26 year old Gianni moved to Milan, the center of Italy's fashion world. The move put him on the other side of the country, hundreds of miles from everything he knew. But it brought him closer to real opportunity. Milan in the early 70s was buzzing with creative energy. Italian fashion was on the rise and the city was full of young designers and established houses looking for fresh talent. Gianni landed freelance work designing collections for labels like Jenny Compliche and Callahan. This allowed him to learn the business from the inside, build relationships and make a name for himself. And before long, people started to notice him. His work was bolder than what his contemporaries were producing. Vivid, energetic and deliberately provocative. In one early campaign, his models were elegant women in charge. The men were accessories. He was ahead of his time, creating clothes that made people feel something. Even as his career took shape in Milan, his family stayed central to his ambitions. His brother Santo, had a natural head for business. Donatella shared his creative instincts and had become an essential collaborator. She would visit Gianni on weekends, offering the kind of honest feedback he trusted more than anyone. Else's. Together, the three of them began dreaming of a joint venture. A fashion house of their very own. The structure came together naturally. Gianni would lead the creative direction. Santo would manage the finances. Donatello would take point on marketing and brand image. They called it Versace. In 1978, they turned that vision into reality. At 31, Gianni co founded his fashion house with 34 year old Santo and 23 year old Donatella. He staged his first ready to wear show under his own name at the Palazzo della Permanente in Milan on March. March 28th of that year. His debut collection released that same year, made it clear that he wasn't interested in playing it safe. The prints were loud, the skin was bare, there was glitz everywhere. He later pioneered the use of a metal mesh fabric called Orotan, which made his dresses shimmer like sparkling chain mail. Some of the designs were so futuristic that people called them Luke Skywalker designs. And the colors, bright, warm, unapologetic, were pulled straight from his memories of the gelaterias and graffiti covered walls. Back home in southern Italy. The established fashion world wasn't sure what to make of it. Some critics dismissed his work as excessive, even vulgar. At the time, Italian fashion was defined by restraint. Designers like Giorgio Armani had built their reputations on clean lines and understated elegance. Gianni was the opposite. Vivid, sensual and deliberately provocative. A popular line of the 80s said it Armani dressed the wives, Versace dressed the mistresses. Gianni refused to dial it back for anyone. He kept designing what he wanted to design and over time, that commitment became the brand. He also understood something his peers didn't, at least not yet. He realized that clothes got their power from the people who wore them. So he started dressing celebrities, using their visibility to put his designs in front of millions. He was one of the first designers to to seat famous faces in the front rows of his fashion shows, turning the audience into part of the spectacle. And in the process, he helped change the entire industry, blurring the line between fashion and fame in a way that hadn't really existed before. At the same time, Gianni was expanding beyond the Runway. He created outfits for operas at Milan's legendary La Scala and for ballet productions across Europe. He designed looks for Elton John's world tour and outfitted Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney in their say, say, say music video. He took on the San Francisco Opera's production of Capriccio, flying halfway across the world to oversee the project himself. But his biggest crossover moment came in the mid-80s when his designs were picked up for the hit TV show Miami Vice. The show's bold, colorful visual style was a natural match for his aesthetic. Don Johnson's character wore Versace jackets on screen, and suddenly Gianni's work was reaching a massive audience. Millions of people who'd never set foot in a boutique now recognized one of the his pieces the moment they saw it. That was when the brand truly took off. Within a few years, Versace went from an emerging label to a global name. Gianni was no longer just a promising designer. He was a defining voice in fashion. And he was just getting started. Yo, it's Jay USO from wwe and I'm Jimmy Uso. Chumba Casino and WWE are hyped for the biggest event of the summer SummerSlam. I know I can't wait. There's nothing better to do while we're waiting than playing Chumba Casino. Sign up today and you could win a VIP experience with Chumba Casino and WWE for SummerSlam. So what are you waiting for? Play Chumbo Casino Casino and enter for your chance to win. Let's chomp Casino. Hi listeners, it's Carter Roy, host of Murder True Crime Stories. I wanted to let you know that Crime House plus and Murder True Crime Stories are celebrating America's 250th by dropping a four part limited series on the crimes that build America. These are the crimes and cases that gave us Miranda rights, sparked criminal profiling, and a murder that built America's missing children movement. Follow Murder True Crime Stories for a new episode every Monday leading up to July 4th, or you can binge all of them right now ad free with Crime House Plus. To join, go to crimehouseplus.com or if you're listening on Apple Podcasts tap, try free at the top of this show's page.
- [19:09]
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- [19:42]
Carter Roy
In 1978, 32 year old Gianni Versace launched his company with his siblings Donatella and Santo. By the early 80s, he was one of the biggest designers in the world. Gianni was open about who he was and what he loved, but there was one part of his life that people around him Understood, but nobody said out loud he was gay. In 1982, he met a man named Antonio D', Amico, a fellow fashion designer who would become his longtime partner. They traveled the world together. Milan, Lake Como, New York. Many people in the fashion industry either suspected or outright knew the two were romantic. But Gianni and Antonio only ever referred to themselves publicly as companions. Gianni wasn't hiding, exactly. His advertising leaned into homoerotic imagery toned men posing like Greek and Roman statues shot by photographers like Bruce Webber. The references were deliberate, and they became part of the Versace identity. That didn't mean Gianni was going to let his designs do the talking forever. But first, he wanted to push the empire further. In 1989, 43 year old Gianni launched Atelier Versace, his couture line based in Paris, the highest tier of fashion design. He approached it the way he approached everything, without restraint. He drew inspiration from everywhere. Film, art, architecture, music, pop culture, the classical world of his childhood, the nightlife of Miami, the energy of rock and roll. For Gianni, fashion was never just clothes. It was about creating a whole world, a whole experience. With the launch of his couture line, there was no question anymore. Gianni was one of the top designers on the planet. His name was now synonymous with excess, glamour and boldness. And he was going global. Around that time, Gianni had become a regular visitor to the United States. And according to some accounts, during a trip to San Francisco in the fall of 1990, he may have crossed paths with a young man named Andrew Cunanan. Andrew was 20 years old at the time. A Filipino Italian American from San Diego, he had briefly attended the University of California, San Diego, before dropping out and moving north to San Francisco. On the surface, he came across as sophisticated and worldly. He told elaborate stories about his background, claiming to be highly educated and the heir to a fortune. A man of means and taste. Most of it was lies. The truth was that Andrew came from a fractured family. His father, Modesto, was a Filipino American stockbroker who had showered Andrew with attention and gifts. But in the early 90s, Modesto was accused of embezzling more than $100,000 from his employer. Rather than face the allegations, he fled the country, leaving his wife and children behind. He ended up back in the Philippines, living in a shack. Andrew actually went to visit him there at one point and came back shattered by what he saw. After Modesto left, Andrew's mother, Mary Ann, struggled. Friends and family said she became more fragile, more unpredictable. Meanwhile, Andrew was living a double life. He was openly gay to his friends, but never admitted his sexuality to his mother. The distance between them kept growing, and eventually they stopped talking altogether. Now on his own, Andrew scraped by however he could. Friends said he sometimes did that through sex work, sometimes through small time drug dealing. The thing he was best at, the thing he kept coming back to, was charming older, wealthier gay men into funding his lifestyle in exchange for his companionship. And he was good at it. Andrew was intelligent. People who knew him described something close to a photographic memory. He could recall names, dates and details on command, which made his stories feel airtight. People trusted him even when they shouldn't have. But more than just wealth, Andrew wanted proximity to power and fame. And according to some accounts, in 1990, he may have set his sights on Gianni Versace. Whether the two men actually met that fall remains a mystery. Journalist Maureen Orth has written that multiple witnesses placed them together in San Francisco. The Versace family has consistently denied that any meeting ever took place. We may never know for sure, but if the two of them really did cross paths that fall, Maureen Orth says it probably went something like this. In October 1990, Andrew attended a party at a San Francisco nightclub called Colossus. Socialites, artists and industry figures mixed as the music pumped and the drinks flowed. Gianni Versace was there that night, along with his partner, Antonio d'. Amico. At some point, Gianni walked up to Andrew and introduced himself directly by first and last name. Andrew laughed and said, if you're Gianni Versace, then I'm Coco Chanel. It was a joke, of course. Andrew knew who Gianni was, but Gianni apparently liked that Andrew didn't take himself or Gianni too seriously. Later that night, as Gianni and Antonio prepared to leave the they invited Andrew to join them. A fourth person rounded out the group, and the four of them drove through the city together in a white convertible. At one point, Andrew spotted someone he knew on the street. He asked the driver to pull over, called out to his friend, and introduced him to the other men in the car. Andrew wanted people to know he was hanging out with someone like Gianni Versace. It made all those stories he told about himself feel a little more real. What happened after that drive, if anything, is unclear. If the two really did meet, then that night would have loomed large in Andrew's mind for years. He would have filed it away, polished it, retold it. For Gianni, it was probably just another evening, another face in a long line of faces. By that point, he was surrounded by models, celebrities, collaborators and Admirers every single day. A brief encounter at a nightclub probably wouldn't have registered at all. And by the following year, Gianni's attention had definitely shifted elsewhere. In 1991, 45 year old Gianni traveled to Miami Beach. His sister Donatello was vacationing there with her husband and she begged Gianni and Antonio to join them. When they arrived, Gianni hired a driver to take him around the city. The cabbie brought him to south beach, and Gianni immediately fell in love. There was something about the mood in Miami that was unlike anywhere else he'd been. Everything just felt easy. So he decided to buy a place there. A sanctuary. Somewhere he could escape the pressure and pace of Milan. By 1992, he'd found it. A three story Mediterranean style villa on Ocean Drive called Casa Casuarina. Modeled after a 16th century castle in the Dominican Republic, it was grand, historic and full of potential. Potential. He bought it for $2.9 million, about $6.4 million in today's money. Then he got to work making it his own, filling it with mosaics, hand painted murals and a pool lined with 24 karat gold tiles. The renovation reportedly cost him more than $30 million. Once it was finished, Miami became a regular part of Gianni's life. He would spend weeks there, five, sometimes six at a time. There was something in the air that let him exhale. Meanwhile, Gianni's business kept expanding through the early and mid-90s. He doubled down on aligning his brand with celebrity culture. He invited friends like Madonna and Elton John to sit in the front row of his shirt shows. He dressed Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley on red carpets. And he worked with clients as wide ranging as Princess Diana and Tupac Shakur. It was an unusual combination, but as always with Gianni, that was the point. He also helped create the supermodel phenomenon. He championed models like Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista. He put them on his runways and in his ad campaigns, paid them enormous fees and turned them into household names. Before Versace, models were largely anonymous. After Versace, they were celebrities in their own right. He once described his sensibility as half royalty, half rock and roll. And the phrase captured something essential about his appeal. He moved easily between worlds, pulling from each to create something that felt fresh and new. Behind all the glamour, though, Gianni lived relatively quietly. He went to bed early, woke up early, and stayed away from alcohol and drugs, even as the backstage culture at his own shows leaned heavily in the other direction. The public Persona was spectacle. The private man was disciplined. But There was something that had been weighing on Gianni for a while. Something he'd kept from the public that he finally wanted to share. In 1993, Gianni had been diagnosed with a rare cancer of the inner ear. It shook him. He'd spent his whole life building a brand, a family business, a cultural empire. But none of that mattered if his body gave out. He went through treatment, and by the mid-90s, he was declared cancer free. But the experience changed him. Tonatella stepped in to run much of the business while he recovered. And the whole ordeal clarified something. Life was short. He didn't want to hide who he was anymore. In July 1995, Gianni sat down for an interview with the LGBTQ magazine the Advocate and officially came out as gay. For the first time, he publicly acknowledged Antonio as his partner. It was a big deal, not just personally, but for the industry. In fashion, being gay was an open secret. But almost nobody at Gianni's level had actually said it out loud. There might have been worries inside the Versace camp that coming out could hurt sales, but a year and a half later, those fears had proven unfounded. By 1997, 50 year old Gianni was running a global fashion empire and doing just fine. Versace operated around 13030 high end boutiques worldwide. The year before, it had generated more than $800 million in revenue. Gianni was at the height of his power and influence creatively, financially and culturally. And that 20 something guy from the nightclub? Seven years ago, he probably wouldn't have even crossed Gianni's mind. But half a world away, 27 year old Andrew Cunanan had been going in the opposite direction. His social capital was running dry. His bank accounts were draining. His life was unraveling. The two couldn't have been on more different paths. But soon Andrew would close the gap between them. And in a single moment, he would tie both their fates together forever.
- [33:25]
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- [35:15]
Carter Roy
In 1997, 50 year old Gianni Versace was at the peak of his influence. Meanwhile, 27 year old Andrew Cunanan was spiraling. Andrew was back in San Diego. But the life he'd carefully built, the one made of wealth, access and lies, was falling apart. Just months earlier, he'd allegedly been supported by a wealthy benefactor, a semi retired businessman named Norman Blatchford. Norman was a millionaire. He'd made his money in the sound insulation business, and he'd recently lost his longtime partner to aids. When Andrew learned how much Norman was worth, he made himself indispensable. He impressed Norman with his knowledge of art and architecture. He organized trips to Europe. He gave Norman an all access pass to the social scenes of La Jolla and San Diego. Both sides knew what the deal was. Norman allegedly funded Andrew's lifestyle. He reportedly gave him around $2,500 a month, a new infinity, and access to a world Andrew couldn't have reached on his own. In return, Andrew was Norman's companion. Together they moved through elite spaces, trips to New York for Broadway shows, vacations in Paris and the south of France. It was the life Andrew had always wanted. The One that made all his stories feel real. But by 1996, it was over. Norman cut Andrew off. The reasons aren't entirely clear. According to journalist Maureen Orth, the breaking point may have involved a demand for a Mercedes, a bigger allowance and a spot in Norman's will. When Norman refused, Andrew threatened to leave. And Norman let him go, giving him a final payout of $15,000 on the way out. For Andrew, it wasn't just about the money. Norman's support had been the scaffolding holding up his entire identity. Without it, the person Andrew pretended to be simply didn't exist anymore. And Andrew had already been losing on other forms. Two people who mattered deeply to him. His best friend and the man he called the love of his life were now in Minneapolis. The first was Jeff Traill, a 28 year old former Navy officer who Andrew had met in San Diego. They had bonded over shared interests, including regular trips to the shooting range. At one point, they may have been romantically involved, though that's never been confirmed. After leaving the Navy, Jeff had relocated to Minneapolis and taken a job in the private sector. By coincidence, Minneapolis was also home to another man from Andrew's past. David Madsen. David was a 33 year old architect. He'd once worked as a ski instructor before moving into design and and his job took him across the country. It was during one of those trips to San Francisco that he met Andrew. Their connection was immediate. They shared drinks, spent the night together and soon started a long distance relationship. For a time it worked. But as the months passed, Andrew's behavior became harder to ignore. He'd disappear without explanation, become unreachable. There were always gaps in his stories that didn't add up. David grew wary. His friends urged him to step back and cut ties completely. He started taking those steps. Though he always kept a soft spot for Andrew. David was right to be suspicious. Whenever Andrew vanished, it was because he was with Norman Blatchford, his wealthy patron. Andrew was always playing the field, always looking out for number one. When Norman pulled his support and the two of them split, Andrew went running back to David. He said David was the love of his life. But by then David had moved on, which made Andrew furious. He didn't think he'd done anything wrong. All he felt was the sting of rejection. And here's what made it worse. Once Jeff moved to Minneapolis, he and David had started spending time together. Andrew had actually introduced them. But now they had their own friendship. One that didn't include him. Jeff had even warned David about Andrew. At one Point, point, telling him, quote, you can't believe a word he Sundays. By early 1997, everything was collapsing at once. Andrew had lost his main source of income. He'd sold his car. He'd moved into a small, rundown apartment in San Diego with a roommate. The lifestyle he'd spent years building was gone seemingly overnight. Friends noticed the change. By spring, Andrew had started taking painkillers he'd once sold to make money, mixing them with vodka. He was gaining weight, growing more erratic. The charm was still there, but the cracks were showing. And the two people he cared about most were in Minneapolis, hanging out without him, comparing notes about him. He couldn't handle that thought. Still, Andrew tried to project control. He told friends he was planning a fresh start, that he was going to move to San Francisco and get his life back on track. Some believed him. Others weren't so sure. In April 1997, Andrew hosted a farewell dinner with friends in San Diego. When the bill came, he couldn't pay. He was that broke. So they picked up the tab for him. It was an awkward, telling moment that made it clear just how far things had slipped. Not long after Andrew left town, everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. But instead of heading to San Francisco like he said, he bought a one way ticket to Minneapolis. Andrew hadn't told his San Diego friends where he was actually going. But he did reach out to both David and Jeff. He told them he was coming to visit, and they were both uneasy about it. But neither had the stomach to say so outright. Not to Andrew, who they each felt tied to for their own purpose. Complicated reasons. Jeff at least had an out. He told Andrew he'd be busy most of the weekend. He was celebrating his new boyfriend's birthday and they planned to leave town overnight. David didn't have an excuse. He either had to tell Andrew straight up that he didn't want to see him, or he just had to deal with it. David chose to avoid a confrontation. He could see Andrew for a little while. It would be fine. Part of him also wanted to believe Andrew was actually trying to change, that this stop in Minneapolis was just a quick detour on his way to San Francisco. He wouldn't let Andrew manipulate him again. So on Friday, April 25, David braced himself and picked Andrew up from the airport. Andrew showed up with a gift, a gold Cartier watch. It was too much. David knew it, but he put it on anyway, just to keep the peace. At dinner that night with David's friends, Andrew made sure everyone saw it. He wanted them to know how Generous he was, how close he and David still were. David went along with it. That was who he was. Friends described him as a peacemaker, someone who hated confrontation and always tried to make things okay. But he wasn't fooled. He'd heard enough warnings by now. And whatever Andrew was selling that weekend, David wasn't buying it. He was just trying to get through the visits without causing a scene. By Sunday morning, David called a friend. Sounding completely normal. They made plans to meet up later that day. David never showed up. What happened next remains in many ways a mystery. What we do know is that On Sunday night, April 27, Andrew met up with Jeff. He told him they needed to talk about something important. Jeff already had plans. He was supposed to meet his boyfriend at a club that evening. But he answered Andrew's call and agreed to stop by David's apartment, where Andrew was staying. Jeff arrived around 9:45pm David was home. As far as anyone can tell, he had no idea what was coming. Not long after Jeff walked in, a neighbor heard shouting and raised voices. Someone yelling, get the F out. Then a series of loud thumps. Something hitting the wall hard for about 30 seconds, maybe longer. After that, there was the sound of running water. And then silence. Jeff never showed up to the club that night. He didn't appear anywhere the next morning either. Concerned, his boyfriend tried to report him missing, but was told to wait. The police told him adults couldn't be declared missing until 72 hours had passed. If you're a True Crime fan, you probably know that isn't true. But meanwhile, something else was wrong. David hadn't shown up for work by Tuesday afternoon. His co workers were worried enough to go check on him. They went to his apartment and asked the building superintendent to open the door just in case. No one was ready for what they found inside. There was a body rolled up in a rug, blood across the back door and two sets of bloody footprints on the floor. Floor. David's co workers called the police immediately. They assumed it was his body they'd found. That would have made the most sense. But it wasn't. It was Jeff Trail. He'd been bludgeoned to death. The discovery threw Minneapolis police into high alert. Jeff's body had been found in David's apartment, so suspicion fell on David for first. But David was gone. Then, on May 3, the next piece fell into place. David's body was found near rush Lake, about 65 miles north of Minneapolis. He'd been shot three times. The bullets matched ammunition from Jeff Trail's apartment. But the gun they came from was missing. So was David's Jeep. All of it pointed to one person. The one man who connected Jeff and David, who'd been in that apartment and who is now nowhere to be found. Andrew Cunanan. Investigators had more questions than answers. Had David helped Andrew kill Jeff, then Andrew turned on him? Or had David been a victim from the start, taken against his will? After watching his friend get murdered? There were no signs he'd been restrained. The only defensive wounds were on his fingers, like he'd raised his hands to try to block the bullets. No one knew where Andrew was. No one knew what he was planning. But within days, he would surface again, moving across the country, leaving more violence in his wake. By the time he reached Miami beach, there would already be more victims. And one more still to come. Thanks so much for listening. I'm. I'm Carter Roy and this is True Crime Stories. Come back next time for part two on the murder of Gianni Versace and all the people it affected. True Crime Stories is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media, Rimehouse on TikTok and Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review and follow True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference. And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode early and ad free. We'll be back on Thursday. True Crime Stories is hosted by me, Carter Roy, and is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team. Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benidon, Natalie Pertzofsky, Alyssa Fox, Alex Burns, Cassidy Dillon and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening.