>> reporter: the famous cases that still haunt us, there are new secrets to uncover. >> i quickly realized that this wasn't just another homicide. >> reporter: tonight, a dateline investigation, the death of gianni versace. ♪ designer gianni versace had fame, fortune and fans who worshipped him. >> he was on top of a mountain. >> it was a celebration of the woman's body. >> we designers have to help people be glamorous, happy, and alive. >> reporter: andrew cunanan lusted for just a taste of that world. >> versace seemed to personify a lot that he wanted to be.

morning in miami beach their lives collided. >> andrew just walked up right behind him and shot him in the head. >> i heard the -- the shot and something said to me, something happened. >> reporter: after two decades, new details never before revealed. new stories never before told. >> he remembers andrew cunanan saying, "none of you really know the truth." >> reporter: what triggered his cross-country murder spree? >> there was so much hatred. why wasn't he stopped sooner? >> one hapless mistake after another. are we any closer to solving the mystery of andrew cunanan? >> he looked at me and he said, "stacy, you have no idea what i'm capable of." >> reporter: i'm lester holt and this is "dateline." here's keith morrison with "the death of gianni versace." >> reporter: once there was a true genius who conquered the

world-wide fame. and once there was a man who earned fame another way. this is the story of how brilliance met bitter envy. of how, and maybe why, the bright light that was gianni versace, was snuffed by a failure named andrew cunanan. >> he was fixated -- by celebrity. he was determined to be remembered. >> reporter: and what cunanan killed was indeed true magic. no one understood that magic or the power of fame, the pull of celebrity. quite like gianni versace. >> it was the hottest ticket in town. he was a major, major star. >> reporter: and all the stars wanted to go and be there. >> yes. all of them dying to see versace's latest sure.

suits and shoulder pads and baggy pants of the '80s, and set out to celebrate the body. >> reporter: suddenly everything went sexy? >> everything went sexy, and it had colors and it was loud. it was different! >> reporter: legendary model beverly johnson watched from the runway, as versace exploded on the world. >> you know, even the name had that kind of appeal. versace! >> reporter: versace, his big brother santo and little sister donatella were born in the very toe of the boot of italy. growing up, literally, among the the ruins of the ancient roman empire. his parents were modest, hard working people. versace learned at the knee of his dressmaker mother, learned that every stitch mattered, that quality was paramount. he was 25 when he set out for the capital of italian couture, milan. >> this was the versace house. >> rep

antonio d'amico, versace's partner in life and in business. >> so here is, see the medusa there. yeah, yeah on the door. >> reporter: he told us the story behind versace's logo, the medusa, and how gianni spotted it, right on the front door of his new house. >> it was already there. >> reporter: and that was the idea for the logo? >> it was the idea to keep the medusa as a logo. >> reporter: what did medusa say to you? >> medusa, you know, it's a seduction. something that you look at her, and you cannot take of the -- your eyes. >> reporter: yeah. you can't look away. >> so that's why seduction is, like, the -- and that was the fashion of versace, seduction. >> reporter: in myth, whoever looks on the face of medusa turns to stone. in reality, the fashions behind that logo were impossible not to look at. ballet impresarios, movie directors, rock stars came running. elton john became a friend. and remember miami vice? in its final season the stars

wore versace. i mean -- some of these -- photographs of famous people in those clothes are -- are iconic. they -- they're world famous still. like princess diana in that blue sheath. >> she didn't want to wear like a english old style, so she asked gianni to make dresses for her. >> reporter: his fashion shows made history. like the one in 1991 with cindy crawford, naomi campbell, linda evangelista and christy turlington all on the same runway. "unforgettable," said the noted fashion journalist hal rubenstein. >> the music was amazing. the color was amazing. the men and women were breathtaking. this was him. this -- this is how he wanted you to see life. life always came with fireworks. >> gianni versace was not for the faint of heart. because when you put that on from the time you walk

your door, all eyes are on you. >> reporter: well, there were some famous ones too, right? >> oh, yeah. the safety pins. >> reporter: elizabeth hurley. 1994. at her boyfriend hugh grant's movie premiere. she wasn't really a star back then, but she was after she wore the versace safety pin dress. safety pin dress pizzazz. >> it was a celebration of -- the woman's body, and -- and really being proud of your sexuality. >> reporter: and versace wasn't just a brilliant designer. an openly gay man, he became a champion for a community badly in need of one by embracing his sexuality and showing others they could, too. >> it's even more amazing to realize what he did when you realize why and when he did it. and especially in america having come through the '80s when aids was so devastating, we became terrified of sex. >> reporter: but not versace. his designs made a statement, "be bold. be

he did. i loved his fearlessness. >> he's not apologizing to anyone. it's a force to be reckoned with. >> reporter: he talked to katie couric about his fashion philosophy when he visited the "today" show in 1996. >> it is very important for people to look themselves, to express themselves, that's the only heart in fashion, to be yourself. and i think we designers have to help people to be glamorous, happy and alive. >> reporter: by 1997 he was getting ready to take his company to a new level. >> this was an auspicious time in versace's life. >> reporter: maureen orth covered the versace case for vanity fair. >> he wanted to be the very first italian designer to get on the new york stock exchange. and he was getting his whole business ready for an ipo. >> reporter: taking his company public. >> he was on top of a mountain.

everything was right. everything was going right. >> reporter: so, having met the money-men in new york, gianni versace retreated to his luxurious mansion in miami beach. blissfully unaware that the name versace would soon again be splashed across headlines, put there by a killer intent on stealing the fame of a genius. and who, even now, was eluding police as he drove inexorably toward his destiny. wealthier men who could help keep him in a life that he aspired to. >> a life that would take one strange turn after another. >> he looked at me and he said, "stacy, you have no idea what i'm capable of."

and to top that off, every sixth mccafé beverage is free with our app. only at mcdonald's. ♪ hthat's why new downyl can saprotect and refresh conditions fibers to lock out odors. so clothing odors don't do the talking for you. lock out odors with new downy protect and refresh. it can seem like triggers pop up everywhere. luckily there's powerful, 24-hour, non-drowsy claritin. it provides relief of symptoms that can be triggered by over 200 different allergens. live claritin clear.

the following ad for your viewing convenience. i finally switched to geico. oh yeah? ended up saving a ton of money on car insurance. i hear they have a really great mobile app. the interface is remarkably intuitive. that's so important. ♪ it's like nothing the power of nexium 24hr protection from frequent heartburn. all day, and all night. now packed into a pill so small, we call it mini. new clearminis from nexium 24hr. see heartburn differently.

the has the world's first infinity screen. which makes your world infinitely bigger. a camera fast enough to catch this, and intelligent enough to understand what it sees. ♪ it connects you to home, and takes you anywhere you can imagine. which makes it infinitely amazing.

♪ >> reporter: around the world in san diego and a lifestyle away from the versace empire, andrew cunanan started small but also had designs on doing big things. andrew was not born with a

silver spoon in his mouth but he was raised as if he was. >> he was the adored baby fourth child, and he was treated like a little emperor. >> reporter: maureen orth, a dateline consultant, wrote the book on cunanan "vulgar favors." >> he was the product of an extremely dysfunctional family, a very unhappy marriage. a filipino father who was incredibly materialistic and pretentious, and a sicilian mother who was sort of beaten down by the father, who had her own mental health issues. >> reporter: andrew adored his father, mostly ignored his mother, and focused on getting what he wanted for himself. according to his close friend, stacy lopez. >> he always had a big want list, you know? "oh, i want that, i would like that." >> fancy car? >> yes. and i think going to a school like bishop's , you know, some kids drove to school in a lamborghini. >> reporter: thelu

bishop's school in ritzy la jolla. andrew's father pinched pennies to send him here. to get in, andrew wrote this admissions essay, illustrating just how much he wanted it too, despite the misspellings. "i had long looked forward to my tour and interview at bishop envisions classrooms and teachers the like mr. chips and miss jean brody. i was not disappointed." >> he knew, even then, that flattery will get you somewhere. >> reporter: roman jiminez, a freelance journalist, was editor of "update," a san diego gay and lesbian newspaper. >> he had brains. and he had looks. and he had charm. >> i remember when he came to school, you know, he just had such a big personality. >> even at that stage, huh? >> oh, yes. oh, yes. i thought he was very brave because back in the early '80s, generally people were not openly gay, and he was. >> reporter: out and proud but never at home. >> due to religious reasons, he felt his family would not be as

accepting. >> he hid his homosexuality from his family forever. >> reporter: but andrew and stacy accepted each other, unconditionally, as his inscription in her yearbook attests. >> can you read that? >> sure. "it's too bad i'm gay, or i'd be madly in love with you. love always, andrew." >> reporter: andrew started dating at bishop's but not boys his own age. >> andrew spent time with wealthier men who could help keep him in a life that he aspired to. >> he was a boy toy. >> sure. >> reporter: a boy toy who liked to show off the gifts he received. >> he had come to the dance in this red leather jump suit and -- >> oh, boy. >> i remember going, "wow, andrew." he says, "yes, my boyfriend antony bought it for me." >> reporter: stacy liked to tease andrew about his dating choices.

sugar daddy now?" and he was like, "oh wouldn't you like to know." >> reporter: at bishops, andrew cruised along academically. >> most of us had to study. but you never saw him in the library studying. >> coasted through? >> exactly. >> reporter: so, was it a prophesy when, on graduation in 1987, he was voted "most likely to be remembered." >> he just had a very dynamic personality and was very funny. and everybody loved him. >> reporter: after bishop's, andrew tried college. but the boy who coasted through high school found uc san diego altogether too demanding and costly, so he bailed. there were problems at home, too. andrew's father, a stockbroker, was accused in a civil lawsuit of embezzling $100,000. and he fled the country, left his family, never came back. >> without telling them, he sold their house out from under them. he took the money, and he went to the philippines and

completely abandoned them. >> reporter: andrew was now on his own, and he turned to the older men he knew could support him. he cruised hillcrest, san diego's gay area, and fell deeper into his world of sugar daddies who took care of his financial needs. >> i think andrew grew up thinking that maybe the world owed him a living, and he didn't really have to work for things. >> reporter: for the older men in his life, and others, andrew invented a new identity for himself, andrew desilva, and made up stories about a gilded past, about accomplishments that never were. and impressed those men by appearing well read and cultured, told them he loved art. and opera. so andrew was moving in more elite circles now and traveling. he went to the san francisco opera house in 1990. and a chance meeting afterwards would change his life and change history. that meeting was with gian

francisco designing costumes, as this sketch shows, for the opera capriccio. >> there was a party where -- versace was gonna appear. and andrew's friend scored some tickets. and so, during the party, he claimed, and other people claimed, that andrew met versace. >> reporter: mind you, antonio -- remember him, versace's partner? he was at the party and claimed that meeting never happened. but andrew's excitement was off the charts. he couldn't contain himself with some friends. >> he jumped on the foot of their bed, and said, "i met versace. i met versace. i met versace." he was so thrilled that he had done it. >> reporter: he admired everything the superstar designer had achieved. fame, fortune and freedom as a confident gay man. but there was one difference, as big as a runway is long. andrew cunanan wasn't willing to work a

and that meant disappointment, and trouble, might lay ahead. >> i remember he looked at me and he said, "stacy, you have no idea what i'm capable of." coming up, as versace rises, cunanan finds a spotlight of his own. >> andrew would come here almost every night. he would hold court here. he'd pretend to the whole world that he was a rich kid living off a trust fund. >> when "dateline" continues.

and at kay jewelers, he designs thm for you, too. you know the saying, "they don't make 'em like they used to?" i still do. kay, the number-one jewelry store for... yes! ♪ every kiss begins with kay ♪ no matter who was in there last. protection. new lysol power & fresh 6 goes to work flush after flush for a just-cleaned feeling that lasts up to 4 weeks. lysol. what it takes to protect.

we take some unexpected extra steps to raise healthy chickens with no antibiotics ever. like putting oregano in their water. it has natural antioxidants and we don't have to use antibiotics in their diet. perdue. over 200 products no antibiotics ever.

we take some unexpected extra steps to raise healthy chickens with no antibiotics ever. for example, thyme. it's part of our 100% veggie diet and helps support their immune system.

200 products no antibiotics ever. >> reporter: in the 1990s, almost anyone might have gotten a little thrill, meeting the fabulous gianni versace. but andrew cunanan? something more than that for him. >> versace seems to be somebody that he studied a lot because versace seemed to personify a lot that he wanted to be. >> reporter: but in 1991, when versace was launching his fall line, a dazzling supermodel studded event. >> reporter: andrew had dropped

menial job at a drug store. he was also dealing party drugs to his pals. in six years, everyone would know his name. but in 1991, andrew cunanan was living in obscurity and scratching around for his next meal ticket. >> andrew didn't like to work really hard. but he liked nice things. i fully expected him to be in a relationship with somebody older that was catering to his needs. >> reporter: sure enough, in 1994, cunanan scored. he was still posing as andrew desilva when he met a wealthy older man who seemed, for a time, happy to pay the bills. >> he's kept by this really rich guy, norman blachford, who gives him an infiniti to drive around. >> reporter: now, andrew was living in a beachfront condo in pricey la jolla. this new relationship put cunanan in rarified company. of the sort he liked. a lot.

a very secretive, very affluent gay fraternity called gamma mu. they would have these very lavish meals and brunches and dances. >> reporter: and when he wasn't brunching and dancing with the older guys. he liked hanging out with the beautiful young crowd in the hillcrest neighborhood, san diego's gay place to see and be seen. >> this bar right here flicks. >> reporter: maureen orth learned a lot about andrew cunanan when she came here. >> andrew would come here almost every night, he would put people together here he would hold court here. >> reporter: he was the life of the party. and every night was a party. >> and he would just sort of sit and watch and see if there are any new cute guys in town and he would be the first guy to know who they were and, like, start presenting them around. >> like a nonworking man about town? >> yeah.

>> no. -- a career of any kind? >> no, i think he -- he pretend to the whole world he was this rich kid living off a trust fund, and he didn't need to work. >> reporter: and for some reason, people bought his story. jeff trail, for instance, an upstanding guy who became andrew's friend. >> jeff trail was the all-american boy, a graduate of the naval academy. politically conservative, he hated drugs, he didn't drink. >> reporter: one of jeff's closet friends was jon wainwright. >> people liked jeff. he just had a lot going on for him. >> jeff was very tentative about coming out. he never came out to his family. >> reporter: the friendship worked for a time. and while jeff shied away from drugs, andrew didn't. desperate to be noticed, he would do almost anything, legal or not. >> so he became the drug dealer, he became the procurer, he became the guy who connected people together. and he was the one who always

money, of course. but in 1995, as norman's kept man, andrew met a handsome young architect named david madson. and fell in love. >> i think that david was a kind of a do-gooder, lovely human being. everybody remembers him from his small town. >> reporter: but david, according to maureen orth, did have a weakness for material things, which andrew was only too happy to cater to. >> he gave him fancy cartier watch and fancy suits and david always accepted his gifts. >> reporter: and andrew was on top of the world, finally living the good life he felt entitled to. this was the best it would ever get. >> didn't they call him the mayor of hillcrest? >> that was one of the titles that -- and, you know, he reveled in it, you know, 'cause it was the center of attention. >> reporter: but -- and this is no surprise -- andrew cunanan's happiness was built on a fragile foundation.

for months, he juggled his benefactor norman and his lover david. until, in the fall of 1996, the man with the money got wise. >> andrew wanted a mercedes and he tells norman that, unless he can have a mercedes, he's going to walk out. and norman says, "okay, go ahead." and norman let him walk, which stunned him. so that took away a big piece of his income. >> and that mattered to andrew? >> that -- it absolutely mattered because, you know, that's who he was. >> reporter: norman's rejection began a kind of implosion. john wainwright saw it. andrew started to let himself go. >> he was looking unkempt, which was so unlike andrew. >> reporter: and then, like a line of dominoes, his social world came tumbling down. the love of his life, david madson broke up with him. his friend jeff trail moved on. told friends they'd had falling out and the mayor of hillcrest began a rapid decline.

>> when the allowance went away, there were lots of reports that surfaced about him during this time being more heavily involved in the drug trade. >> reporter: harder stuff now, like crystal meth. >> at some point, as he became more and more unhappy, i think he also became more dependent. and of course, crystal meth brings you up, but crystal meth also takes you down. >> reporter: and as maureen orth discovered, andrew developed a taste for violent sex. >> the s&m part of this was very disturbing to me. because i spoke to fbi profilers who told me that, for certain people, if they don't have real relationships of any kind in their life and then they depend on this to excite them. >> yeah? >> then the fantasies have to escalate. and he was just living off a diet of porn magazines, s&m porn videos, they were always around him, all the time. >> and getting more and more intense all the time? >> and getting more and more

intense. >> reporter: by early 1997 both jeff trail and david madson had moved away. both, coincidentally, to minneapolis. >> reporter: and a rootless and unwanted andrew cunanan had gotten fat and puffy. >> and he had told me that he was very depressed. and he's like, "i'm fat, and i don't look good, and nobody's going to want me." >> reporter: and when he picked up a fashion magazine now, he read about all the things he didn't have, would never have. he could read about elton john's glittering 50th birthday party in london, for instance. where gianni versace was a guest. that is when, in his own small world in san diego, cunanan planned a party of his own. a last supper with his few remaining friends. told them he was moving to san francisco. but that first -- >> he was going to minneapolis to settle some business, as he put it. >> reporter: but it's clear now that andrew cunanan wasn't planning any move to san fran

what his friends couldn't have known, was he had a bought a one way ticket to minneapolis. whatever happened there, he had no intention of coming back. >> i spoke to the waiter from the restaurant. and at the end of the meal, he remembers andrew cunanan leaning back in his chair and looking at his friends and saying, "all of you think you know the real andrew. but none of you really know the truth." coming up -- a mystery in minneapolis. >> there was a rug that was rolled up and you could see that there was a body inside. deprese of multiple symptoms. ♪ that's why there's trintellix, a prescription medication for depression. trintellix may help you take a step forward in improving your depression. tell your healthcare professional right away if your depression worsens, or you have unusual changes in mood, behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children,

teens and young adults. do not take with maois. tell your healthcare professional about your medications, including migraine, psychiatric and depression medications, to avoid a potentially life-threatening condition. increased risk of bleeding or bruising may occur, especially if taken with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin or blood thinners. manic episodes or vision problems may occur in some people. may cause low sodium levels. the most common side effects were nausea, constipation and vomiting. trintellix had no significant impact on weight in clinical trials. ask your healthcare professional about trintellix. we invited top stylists to try our hair care products. i'm dying to know what this is! so soft, feels amazing.

suave?! they couldn't believe it, but they're believers now. i had no idea! it's incredible. fantastic shine. so beautiful! this definitely changes my mind about suave. trying is believing. suave professionals. trust the proof, not the price tag. game night is our daughter allie's favorite night. and knowing that her favorite general mills big g cereals are gluten-free, like honey nut cheerios, rice chex and lucky charms, she can enjoy it her way. i switched to sprint because all networks are great. we're talking within a 1% difference in reliability of each other. with sprint's unlimited plan and my amazing iphone 7 i've got all the data i need to learn the things i want to do. fourth video today. good thing i don't have to worry about overages. (vo) unlimited. $30 per month per line for 4 lines. and now for a limited time, your fifth line is free. even better, get the awesome iphone 7 on us.

est iphone every year. for people with hearing loss, visit sprintrelay.com you're hetruck, suv. used car, that's smart. truecar can help. it's great for finding a new car, but you already knew that. it's also great for finding the perfect used car. you'll see what a fair price is, and you can connect with a truecar certified dealer. so, no matter what you're looking for... there it is. this is how buying a used car should be. this is truecar. ♪

>> reporter: andrew cunanan shed his life in san diego like a man planning to die. >> he gave his clothes away, he gave his shoes away, he had -- he had it all marked out about who he wanted to have what. by the time he left san diego for the last time and came to minneapolis, he was completely basically broke. >> reporter: and angry. >> and very, very angry. >> reporter: reeling from the

landed in minneapolis and this is where it all began to go wrong. he first called on his old friend, jeff trail. jeff may have sensed cunanan's visit wouldn't go well. in fact, jeff called jon wainwright in san diego to talk about it. >> i could just tell that there was apprehension in his voice. he definitely wasn't happy about it but at the same time, you know, he invited andrew to stay with him at the apartment. >> reporter: and why would he do that? >> i think he knew andrew was on this downward -- downwards spiral as well. so just trying to be a friend, being supportive. >> reporter: jeff left andrew in his apartment while he and his boyfriend went away for the weekend. on sunday, andrew moved to his ex-lover david madson's fourth floor loft in the city's eclectic warehouse district. and persuaded jeff to drop by for a visit. >> sometime in the next hour or so, a neighbor reported hearing somebody yel "

here," and heard banging. >> reporter: the neighbor peered into the hallway, saw nothing, and the building went quiet again. but next morning, neither jeff trail nor david madson showed up at work. >> jeff's boyfriend called the police and the police were -- just said, "oh, give me a break. you know, we don't pay attention unless people are missing for at least 72 hours." >> reporter: by tuesday, worried friends persuaded the building manager to unlock ex-lover david's apartment. david's dog darted out as the opened door revealed something horrifying. >> in the main room there was a rug that was rolled up and you could see that there was a body inside. >> chief of the minneapolis homicide unit -- >> blood splattering on the wall and on the floor. he'd been bludgeoned with -- we found out later a hammer. >> reporter: police assumed david madson was the victim. after all, it was his apartment. but when crime techs unrolled the rug they found jefai

the attack was brutal and personal. 27 blows to the head and face and chest. david and his red jeep cherokee were missing. friends of both madson and trail told police someone named "andrew" was visiting from san diego but he too had vanished. so if madson wasn't the victim, thought the police, maybe he and this andrew killed jeff. evidence at the scene pointed police to a possible motive. >> duct tape, some handcuffs, you know, stuff that -- that people involved in -- in sex would use. it could have been a love triangle of sorts. >> reporter: witnesses even reported to police they saw david and andrew together after the time of the murder. >> neighbors saw them walking the dog, it means david was with andrew and did not appear to be trying to escape. >> police believe, at this time,

david and andrew cunanan are together -- are together willingly and are on the run. >> reporter: minneapolis newspaper reporters jim walsh and chris graves started digging and quickly heard a different story from david's friends who didn't buy the love triangle motive. >> everybody who knows david says it can't be true. it's not in his dna. it's not who he is. >> reporter: the reporters talked to those who said they, too, saw david and andrew with the dog. but it looked liked david had been crying. >> david was described moody, a bit withdrawn and sort of grumpy, i think, is the word that people used. it just didn't seem right. >> reporter: friends who knew david's dog walking routine insisted there was no way he was home at the time of jeff's murder. >> madson walks the dog before the 10:00 news every night -- >> and so the presumption is that jeff comes to the house, has to be buzzed in, walks up,

the door gets opened, there's a confrontation at the door because, remember, we know the neighbors hear, "get out, get out." >> reporter: then, sometime after the murder went the theory david and the dog returned to the apartment. >> what we presume happens, david, not thinking anything, walks in and andrew had rolled up jeffrey trail in the rug and pulled him behind the couch. >> reporter: police searched david's bedroom and found andrew's duffel bag. inside was an empty gun holster and .40 caliber bullets, but no gun. did that mean david and andrew were now armed? investigators certainly suspected david and andrew killed jeff trail yet they issued no bulletin for david's missing jeep no "be on the lookout" for either one of those men. it was the beginning of what maureen orth would later call the lat

>> it's just one hapless mistake after another. >> reporter: and four days after they found jeff's trail's bludgeoned body -- >> we're going up to east rush lake, it would take 30 to 40 minutes to drive from minneapolis. >> reporter: saturday, may 3rd, chicago county deputy chris hendrickson was called to work on his day off. fishing season was starting and two men scouting a prime spot found a dead man instead. >> he was well dressed. he wasn't dirty. didn't appear to be in a fight. he had a defensive wound in his hand, and then a gunshot wound to his head. >> reporter: the police confirmed the victim by the lake was david madson. >> and i said, "whoa, wait a minute. what -- this just changes everything." >> reporter: a .40 caliber gun killed madson and shell casings matched the ammunition found in

cunanan's duffle bag in david's apartment. >> by this time, the police knew the missing gun from the holster belonged to jeff trail. that andrew had stolen it from trail's apartment. an alert was now posted for madson's red jeep. and for the man they now feared was a double murderer. >> that's when i believe andrew cunanan really became their prime and only suspect. and by that time, he's far away. >> reporter: and it was already too late for victim number three. coming up -- a killer who makes himself right at home. >> whomever was in the home had helped themselves to ham, some ice cream. they had gone upstairs and shaved. >> when "dateline" continues. well, almost.

best buy. expert service. unbeatable price. so this quick ranch pastat a full house. primavera is the perfect dish. sprinkle in a packet of hidden valley ranch, add some veggies, and you've got a meal that's sure to please. it's time to ranch out with the original, hidden valley ranch. allergy symptoms doctors recommend taking claritin every day distracting you? of your allergy season for continuous relief. claritin provides powerful, non-drowsy, 24-hour relief. for fewer interruptions from the amazing things you do every day. live claritin clear. every day.

>> reporter: chicago. this is where america's romance with skyscrapers began more than a century ago. a romance that's called dreamers ever since. >> when i saw that sears tower building, i said, "you know, that looks pretty good. i think i can do that." >> reporter: paul beitler made

it happen when he joined forces with developer lee miglin four decades ago. >> we were giants. and we didn't realize it. we were moving at a lightning speed. >> but. >> changing the skyline literally overnight. >> you two were tied at the hip. >> he was my best friend. he was a person that i spent five days a week with, 12 hours a day. he was just that close. >> reporter: as their company prospered, miglin organized an annual "thank you" ceremony with a symbol for the employees, a special gold coin. >> and he said, "you know, people can hold that gold in their hands." and they can say, this job got me that gold. >> reporter: at the same time miglin's wife marilyn was building her own empire, a cosmetics line popular on home shopping network. >> she and lee were a perfect couple, a perfect team. they worked together very, very well. >> reporter: and then one sunday morning, when marilyn flew home from an appearance on home shopping network, lee wasn't at the airport as planned. at their townhouse on chicago's fashionable gold coast, worry to turned to alarm.

no sign of lee. and then down the alley behind his house, a neighbor found lee miglin, dead in his garage. marilyn called paul beitler. >> i was frozen. i -- i -- i couldn't believe what i was hearing. it didn't dawn on me to ask what happened or how he was murdered, or when. only that i had just lost the most important person next to my family in my life. >> reporter: beitler rushed to the miglin home and head-long into chaos. >> it was like a three-ring circus. in the front yard were all the news media with the lights blaring. >> reporter: investigators could see that this was not a typical robbery-homicide. lee's lexus was gone. as were clothes and more than $2,000. the killer had left evidence. looked like he'd spent the night. >> whomever was in the home had helped themselves to some food in the refrigerator, some ham, some ice cre

that they had gone upstairs and shaved. >> apparently the bristles from his beard were on the floor. >> reporter: but the most disturbing evidence? >> there are some aspects of the homicide that indicates that there was some torture that occurred. >> reporter: more than some. much more. he practically slit his whole throat with a bow saw, he put him in a kind of an s&m mask with just two holes for the nostrils after he had been repeatedly stabbed, he had been battered. >> there was so much hatred and so much anger in that murder. >> reporter: suddenly widowed, marilyn miglin made a public plea for information leading to the killer. >> what do you say about a man you loved passionately for 38 years? a man who exemplified courage and honor and dignity? >> reporter: thousands packed holy name cathedral to pay respects to the widely admired member of the chicago

establishment. but days were going by and the investigation was going nowhere. until -- police stumbled on a red jeep parked literally around the corner from the miglin townhouse. >> you have a red jeep cherokee that's got three tickets on it and nobody bothers to check the v.i.n. number or anything until the fourth ticket after four days or five days? >> reporter: when the number came back a match to david madson's missing jeep, reporters chris graves and jim walsh, who'd been covering the murders in minnesota, began reporting on the chicago case, too. >> the question right away was, "what's the connection between cunanan and lee miglin who was an extremely wealthy older man?" >> reporter: beitler tried to stop the media speculation. >> we'd really like to make this known, the family has been, the family does not know cunanan. there's been no connection with the family whatsoever. >> reporter: then, beitler discovered a few chicago police were leaking tips to the media. >> what did they say?

>> they drew an inference that lee was known to be involved in the gay community in chicago. >> reporter: beitler, a major contributor to then mayor richard daley's campaigns, called the police superintendent to shut that down, too. >> i said, this is a character assassination that's going on right now. if you have evidence that you can bring forward that shows that what your detectives are offering to the media is true, then let's see it. it didn't take much on the part of the various people within the police department to realize that there was no upside to this investigation. that if they got out in front of this thing too far and they made mistakes, this could be a career changer. >> reporter: it appeared the investigation withered, says maureen orth. >> you know, the chicago police were so intent on not finding

out what happened. >> they were so intent on not finding out? what? >> they were intent on not finding out what happened. lee miglin was, quote, "a very happily married, very upstanding member of the community. all the most important, inflew mention people were calling it a random crime. therefore, the police aren't too stupid. they realized it was supposed to be a random crime. >> reporter: in a statement to "date line" this week, the chicago police department, said, in part, "we stand behind the work of department investigators who base their conclusion on verifiable facts and evidence." yet, in 1997, minneapolis reporter jim walsh flew to san diego and thought he found a connection between lee miglin and andrew cunanan. >> i interviewed a bookstore owner who said that andrew cunanan was friends with duke miglin, lee miglin's son. duke was a smalltime actor in holld

always talked about duke miglin, talked about him all the time, that he knew him well. they played tennis together. >> reporter: but less than 24 hours later, the bookstore owner denied that he'd ever heard about duke miglin directly from cunanan. back in chicago, duke miglin addressed the rumors with his father's staff. >> and he was very forthright. and he said, "look, i will tell you the truth. the truth is, no, i don't know cunanan. i haven't been engaged with cunanan." >> reporter: but by then, andrew cunanan had escaped, another dead man in his wake. flush with lee miglin's cash, at the wheel of miglin's lexus, which was his first miscalculation. that fancy lexus was equipped with a cell phone that could be traced. coming up -- police tip their hand. >> authorities had confirmed to the chicago media that the fbi was tracking andrew in lee miglin's car.

that immediately went out all over the airwaves. >> and cunanan was listening. >> he realized he had to get out of that car and find a place where he could get a vehicle. xarelto®... to help keep me protected. xarelto® is a latest-generation blood thinner... ...that's proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots from happening again. in clinical studies, almost 98% of patients on xarelto® did not experience another dvt or pe. here's how xarelto works. xarelto® works differently. warfarin interferes with at least six blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective... ...targeting just one critical factor, interacting with less of your body's natural blood-clotting function. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor as this may increase risk of blood clots.

or take longer for bleeding to stop. it may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you've had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or muscle-related signs or symptoms. do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures and before starting xarelto® about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. you've got to learn all you can... ...to help protect yourself from dvt and pe blood clots. talk to your doctor about xarelto®. there's more to know.

>> reporter: gianni versace not only designed fashions for sexy and elegant supermodels, he made clothes that everyone could wear. in may 1997, he was unveiling his ready-to-wear collection on a runway in istanbul. and what was andrew cunanan doing that may? he was running away. he had a big jump on the chicago police who had taken three days to figure out he killed lee miglin, and those two men in minnesota. police now realized an extremely dangerous killer was careening across the country and they put the word out. >> police say the missing lexus is black jade pearl. >> reporter: cunanan was driving east in the fancy lexus he'd stolen from miglin but had no idea that the car's built-in phone was pinging off cell towers.

or that by friday, may 9th, he'd picked up a tail, the fbi. cell phone surveillance was primitive back then and lacked pinpoint targeting. but agents were closing in. >> but that was when something really bad happened. the chicago authorities had confirmed to the chicago media that the fbi was tracking andrew in lee miglin's car. that immediately went out all over the airwaves. >> in philadelphia, police say a cellular phone was activated from the stolen lexus taken from murder victim lee miglin. >> andrew obviously heard it. >> he couldn't miss it at that stage. >> he couldn't. >> reporter: in her book, maureen orth called the police leak tipping off cunanan, quote, probably the most serious blunder of the entire manhunt. >> he then tried to destroy the antenna of the car. he tried to rip out the phone. but the phone box was in the trunk of the car, which he didn't know. but in any case, he realized he had to get out of

vehicle. >> a place where he could fly under the radar. way off the beaten path. where no one would know he was coming -- with a gun. he drove through miles of marshlands before finding this unlikely spot, a civil war burial ground, finn's point national cemetery in pennsville, new jersey. >> if i gave you directions or told you to put it in your gps, you probably would not be able to find it. >> reporter: allen cummings is the pennsville police chief. in 1997, he was a 32-year-old patrolman. >> i've never heard of andrew cunanan before that date. >> reporter: neither had this man, william reese, 45 years old, the caretaker at the cemetery. he was a kind and gentle man, said his wife rebecca. she spoke with us in 1997. he was a kind and gentle man, said his wife rebecca. she spoke with us in 1997. >> he was the kind of husband who would keep a list the entire year of things you said you wanted so at christmastime h

>> when my mom and i had off from school, we would always go see my dad at his work place, like surprise him with picnics. i loved being in the cemetery because i was with my father. >> reporter: troy reese was adopted by william and rebecca when he was 6. they raised him with love and special newt tur nurturing. he'd been born with fetal alcohol syndrome. troy said william taught him to never give up. >> every time i fell on my bike he would encourage me to get up, keep trying, never quit. bruise after bruise until i got it finally right. >> reporter: that friday, 12-year-old troy was waiting for his father to pick him up from school, but he didn't show up. >> and then my mom said, let's go look for your dad. >> reporter: at the cemetery, rebecca noticed her husband's red chevy pickup truck was gone. in its place, a black lexus, with illinois plates, parked in front of the garage. >> i could see a look in her eyes that a kid never wants to

see, because she knew something was wrong. >> reporter: they walked to william's office. the door was wide open. >> we went upstairs, searched for him. then we went to the middle floor, searched for him. >> reporter: the only place they didn't look was the basement. >> from what my mom told me there was a holy spirit guiding her away from the basement. >> she contacted the local police, and we sent an officer down there to look for him. >> reporter: and there he was, william reese. shot once in the back of the head. >> when my mom was crying, i knew something bad happened to my dad. she told me, your dad's never coming home but he's in a better place, in heaven. >> reporter: troy asked to watch his mother's interview, from back in '97. he had never seen it. >> and at that point i think my entire world began to crumble. >> reporter: this would not be troy's only loss.

his mother died of pancreatic cancer in 2005, forcing him to fend for himself at age 19. >> i just wish we could have a happy family like we once had when i was a kid. >> reporter: the different police agencies, lacking coordination, had been slow to understand how dangerous and apparently desperate andrew cunanan was. but they realized it now. >> the fbi has now joined local law enforcement agencies in san diego, minneapolis, chicago and new jersey in the search for cunanan. >> reporter: they could piece it all together because cunanan left so much evidence at the cemetery. in the basement, a shell casing from the same 40-caliber gun that killed david madson. outside, lee miglin's lexus. and, inside the car, his credit cards and a bloody screwdriver evidently used in his brutal stabbing. the pennsville pd was now part of that manhunt.

but chief allen cummings wonders today, as he did then, whether william reese's murder could have been prevented. >> we had found out that the philadelphia police was aware of him being in the area. but our police department was not advised of him possibly being in our vicinity. what if the information was put out to our community? maybe we could've prevented this horrible tragedy. >> one of the things about this investigation is that there were so many different police entities. and for a long time, they didn't cooperate sufficiently. >> reporter: and because of that, by friday night, cunanan had escaped another murder scene, and sped away in reese's red chevy pickup truck with jersey plates. >> which could be probably fairly easily identified. >> yes, but he stopped in south carolina in a walmart parking lot. he stole somebody's license plate to switch out reese's license plate. >> reporter: clever? no. mostly lucky. the stolen carolina plate was

and now the red pickup truck was in the clear and andrew cunanan was in the wind. coming up -- a killer who likes to party. >> he was lying low during the day. he was out at night. >> up to his old tricks. >> he brought one guy in and he was wearing a cardier bracelet and when he left, he was no longer wearing it. giant stuffed pastas, starting at just $12.99. for a limited time at olive garden. (vo) more "dper rollres for mom"

more "earning something you love" per roll bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50% longer than the leading ordinary brand. so you get more "life" per roll. bounty the quicker picker upper. let's[ whimpers ] dog. find ping-pong. find your awesome with the xfinity x1 voice remote. that's amazing!

continuing our story -- >> he said, stacy, you have no idea what i'm capable of. >> andrew cunanan was on a cross-country killing spree. >> there was so much anger in that murder. >> this time he made news around the world. >> i heard the shots. something said to me -- >> so many deaths, so many questions and one last mystery. >> he was either gone or he was dead. >> here again is keith morrison. >> reporter: andrew cunanan was hurtling down the east coast, wanted now in four murders, some of them quite grisly. and police, slow to realize who he was, had no idea where he was. so they sounded the alarm. and after william reese was shot to death, just for his car, the national media jumped all over the story. time and newsweek both focused

on the unlikely killer, a gay gigolo from san diego. >> reporter: and network television noticed, too. >> police say there's a serial killer loose in the country tonight, and law enforcement officials are racing against time. >> reporter: with murders in three states, the fbi was now overseeing the cunanan case. and no one seemed safe after the random murder of victim number 4. new york city, two hours from pennsville, new jersey, was on high alert, particularly in the gay community. >> cunanan could be in new york or on the way to new york. he seems to be targeting gay men. >> reporter: but he was nowhere near manhattan. in fact, he was 1,300 miles away heading for another popular island. on the night of may 11th, cunanan quietly slipped into miami beach in that stolen pickup truck with its switched-out plates.

south beach, to the crowds, the noise, the music, the lookie loos staring at each other. strange place to come for a man who had to know he was the subject of a massive manhunt. andrew cunanan decided to hide in plain sight. >> reporter: under an assumed name, he shelled out $29.99 plus tax, the daily rate, to stay at the normandy plaza hotel five miles north of the versace mansion. it may as well have been five million miles away, as far as luxury living goes. >> the plaza. what was the reputation of the place? >> it was a dump. >> police say -- >> reporter: correspondent kerry sanders covered the story for nbc news. >> you'd drive by and maybe even lock the door and roll the window up when you drove by. it was just -- it was a nasty place. >> reporter: which is why it's now out of business and boarded up. back then, it was a good place to hide out, especially for an unconventional tourist choosing to a

shadows. >> he was lying low during the day, he was out at night. he was an easy guy to blend in. he was half filipino, half italian. he could have passed for any number of ethnicities. >> reporter: once he lived large on a rich man's allowance in an oceanside condo, and picked up tabs for pricey dinners. now -- >> he's living off of maybe one submarine sandwich a day. >> reporter: and, once again, he was doing drugs and turning tricks. >> getting some old guys that probably had some money and he was robbing, doing petty robbery. he brought one guy in, and he was wearing a cartier bracelet and when he left, he was no longer wearing it. >> reporter: by mid-june, cunanan had been in miami beach for a month, and had settled into his seedy routine at the normandy. he wasn't moving but, for some reason, he did

he drove that red pickup truck to this garage, just two blocks from the versace mansion. versace wasn't home. he was preparing with his supermodels to show his fall-winter collection in paris. cunanan, in his own way, was also making a big name for himself. the fbi had just put him on its "ten most wanted" list, publicizing it on some relatively new computer technology. >> he was one of the very first people they ever put on the internet as a fugitive. >> reporter: the fbi had actually received a few tips that cunanan might be in florida, but they did not communicate that to the miami beach police. >> well, the fbi is notorious for sharing information one way, and that's from you to them. >> reporter: richard barreto was the miami beach police chief 20 years ago. >> they could have probably done a little better job in sharing information. >> reporter: then, a possible break, though it had nothing to do with the fbi. >> there's a desperate serial killer on the run. >> reporter: "america's most wanted" did a story on cunanan, and a counter man at the sub

it. >> i looked up and saw his face and i automatic -- automatically recognized him from "america's most wanted." >> reporter: he dialed 911. >> he's inside the store now. >> and they told me to try to delay his order. >> reporter: miami beach police responded within minutes. but it was too late. if it was cunanan, he'd already taken his tuna sub and soda, and left. there was no doubt, however, that it was cunanan who walked into the cash on the beach pawn shop. running low on money, he decided to pawn a gold coin. >> reporter: the shop owner, who didn't recognize him, paid him $190. cunanan actually signed his own name, and the owner submitted the paperwork to the miami pd, as required by law. then andrew cunanan returned to the normandy plaza, where the closest he got to his past life as bon vivant and cultural wannabe was in fantasy. >> he was surrounded by vogue and vanity fair and all these up scale magazines.

and he had art books and books of history and architecture. and all the things he all aspired to and that he pretended in his own fantasy world he was part of. >> reporter: no way of knowing what was in that mind of his. but we do know that the latest "vanity fair" had just come out. it had a splashy story and pictorial that featured the richest and gaudiest house in all of south beach, owned by a man cunanan bragged about meeting in better days. gianni versace. and the superstar designer was coming home. coming up -- gianni versace's love of miami beach. it was mutual. >> his eyes were always wide and, remember, he was staring at everybody so he was making eye contact. how are you not going to say hello? >> but someone had a different greeting in mind. ght i was manag my moderate to severe crohn's disease.

but then i realized there was. so, i finally broke the silence with my doctor about what i was experiencing. he said humira is for people like me who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. if you're still just managing your symptoms, talk with your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possible. (topher)he's my son.enberg, he loves taking pictures, and this camera, it's amazing.

s8's for the price of one. and with galaxy forever, you could upgrade to the latest galaxy every year. would that work for you? (topher) yea, it works for me! (vo) plus you could get unlimited for $30 per month per line for 4 lines. and for a limited time, the 5th line is free! would that work for your son? (topher) rosenberg, does it work for you? he says it works for him! (vo) don't let a 1% difference in network reliability cost you 50% more with verizon. for people with hearing loss, sprint, works for me. visit sprintrelay.com >> reporter: in the late spring of 1997, the fugitive andrew cunanan was living in the shadows. turning tri

drugs and scratching around for a little sandwich money in miami beach. all the while his one-time-idol was on top of the world, and enjoying a very different kind of life. may found gianni versace in milan, attending a press conference about his new men's collection. a stop in venice for the city's famous art expo, and then -- then paris, for a premiere of his new haute couture line. the new collection was a smash. >> i had been to the show in paris. it was amazing. >> reporter: after paris, versace and his partner antonio stopped in new york to make final plans to take his company public. on july 10th they joined their friend hal rubenstein for a dinner in manhattan. >> gianni loved to go out to eat. he said that he would go eat anything. but frankly he would only eat at places that basically had some version of pasta. so he would eat chinese food, because they had lo mein. >> reporter: andhe

time to relax. >> he was coming down to south beach where he often loved to just kick back after having an intense time. he loved it. it was his playground. >> reporter: versace's love affair with south beach -- the vibrant gay mecca on the island of miami beach began five years earlier when the town was enjoying a dazzling revival. that's when he got to know hal rubenstein. >> gianni was on his way to cuba. and, his plane, his charter got delayed about ten hours. and so he told the driver to take him someplace that isn't boring. so he took him to the news café. he sat there for about five or ten minutes and was astounded by what he saw. >> reporter: what did he see? >> beauty everywhere. beauty everywhere. ♪ it was the music. it was the rollerblading. it was the bodies. it was the beauty. >> reporter: antonio was with him. >> and gianni was kind of like, h,

this place is genius." >> gianni took one look at this, and basically in about five minutes cancelled his trip to -- >> reporter: to cuba? >> -- to cuba. and he said, "i want somebody to show me around. show me around. show me around." >> reporter: hal was then a "new york times" reporter and south beach denizen. a friend asked him to give versace a tour. so what did he say when he got -- came here? >> oh, he was deliriously happy. he just got -- he got to see people. he got to see people interacting, he loved to watch people flirting and coming on to each other. there's a certain kind of exhibitionism. >> reporter: uh-huh. yeah. >> i think that -- that is exhibited in miami. the fact that everybody's eating outside, that everybody's -- like i said, everybody's watching everybody else. >> reporter: versace decided to make it permanent. he set his sights on a tired old mediterranean villa on ocean drive. it would need a gut renovation of course. >> you know, it was beautiful. but inside we have to change things. we add, you know, the pool. we add a second paf

>> reporter: they made it spectacular in a versace kind of way. he chose every fabric, every bit of furniture, every stone and tile, insisted on getting it perfect, his way -- perfectly over the top. and from here he reigned as the crown prince of the new south beach. the "today" show came to call in 1994. >> yeah, i think it's like a global village. everyone is from cuba, from new york, from italy and german -- and that is modern to me, the mixture of people. you don't care if you are black or white, you care just of your heart or of your mind. it's cool. i like it. >> reporter: and the town loved him right back. >> people recognize him and say, "hello, mr. versace. how are you?" "oh, good, good. thank you, ciao." he had a very distinctive look. and he's just one of these people who sort of carried himself a certain way. gianni's face was always big, and open.

and his eyes were always wide. you a upz dk -- and he was -- remember, he was staring at everybody. so he was making eye contact. so how are you not gonna say hello? >> reporter: of course. did you worry about him? he was a big star. >> well, i never worrying about that. but his brother worried. santo talked to gianni about hiring some protection. >> reporter: so that conversation happened? >> yeah, yeah. >> reporter: his brother wanted him to have a bodyguard? >> yes, but he didn't want to. >> reporter: and so there they were in july of 1997, fresh from a whirlwind trip to europe and manhattan, and home in south beach. a rare chance to relax with dinner and a movie. >> we went to see a movie in coconut grove. and then we start to watch tv and then he was kinda, you know, falling asleep on -- on the couch. because, you know, after 9:00, it was always like that. but then, he had been pushing

you never know what tomorrow will bring. coming up -- two shots heard around the world. >> i heard the shot. something said to me -- when "dateline" continues. lethargy and lack of appetite. see your vet for more information on flea and tick protection you and your dog will love. nexgard. the vet's #1 choice.

at ikea, we believe that your dream bedroom, from a personalized closet, to a well-organized chest of drawers, to a cozy bed, can be yours for less.

save up to 20% at the ikea bedroom event. we take some unexpected extra steps to raise healthy chickens with no antibiotics ever. like putting oregano in their water. it has natural antioxidants and we don't have to use antibiotics in their diet. perdue. over 200 products no antibiotics ever.

we take some unexpected extra steps to raise healthy chickens with no antibiotics ever. for example, thyme. it's part of our 100% veggie diet and helps support their immune system. perdue. over 200 products no antibiotics ever. at ikea, we believe that your dream bedroom, from a personalized closet, to a well-organized chest of drawers, to a cozy bed, can be yours for less. save up to 20% at the ikea bedroom event.

>> reporter: july 15, 1997, a tuesday. gianni versace rose early, and before the heat and humidity became oppressive, he left the mansion on ocean drive and strolled down the street to the news cafe. a morning ritual. >> he loved to buy magazines and newspapers and get his coffee. >> reporter: he was, uncommonly, alone. and reading up on the latest fashion news. his own runway show was over -- but not the competitions. >> so he went there early because he wanted to see what was going on in paris in fashion week?

>> yes. usually we go together. he has to go by himself. you know, he couldn't wait. >> reporter: that same morning, said maureen orth, andrew cunanan most likely awoke in the pickup truck he'd stolen from his most recent victim, the truck he'd parked in a public garage two blocks from the mansion. but now, as the sun heated the air on ocean drive, he stood across from the mansion. watching, waiting. >> andrew was wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a baseball cap and a t-shirt. >> reporter: just before 8:45 am, gianni walked home. three blocks. he climbed his coral steps towards his medusa logo front gate, fidgeted with his keys. had no idea -- >> andrew just very boldly crossed the street, walked up right behind him and shot him in the head. >> reporter: two bullets, execution style. and andrew turned, and walked

>> i heard the shot. my heart just stopped to beat. something said to me, "something happened." anyway, so i ran out and i saw gianni lay down on the stairs in blood. >> 911 emergency. >> yes, emergency. 1116 ocean drive. >> reporter: from inside the mansion, versace's chef called 911. >> it's gianni versace. he was entering his house. we just heard gunshots. he's on the steps of the house. >> there was a woman who had just walked her daughter to school, she saw it completely and andrew just nonchalantly walked fast down the street. >> suspect was running northbound with a gun. >> what were you doing? >> i was in charge of the bike squad here on miami beach at the time, when the call went out. >> reporter: howard zeifman was sergeant then. he still serves as a reserve officer. >> so what was the situation when you got here? he

i saw that they were working a gentleman on the steps. i dent know that at the time -- >> like right here? >> right here. could be anybody walking by. because this was a famous mansion, people stopped by all the time and took pictures. one of the officers said, "hey, it's versace." >> reporter: at 9:21, gianni versace was pronounced dead at the local trauma center. he was 50, murdered in broad daylight. the miami beach police department is just blocks from the mansion. it was the hour of shift overlap, the night officers still around. chief richard baretto. >> we had a whole lot more policeman th -- on the street than we would have an hour later. >> and i asked people as they were walking by, you know, "did you see anybody running from here? did you see any people moving from the area?" >> reporter: one witness saw a man duck into the 13th street garage, two blocks away. >> we need a marked unit to a garage. >> reporter: zeifman and other officers rushed over. >> what did you find here on the third level? >> truck parked there. out-of-state plates. >> reporter: but what looked suspicious was outside the truck.

there was clothes laying on the ground. >> reporter: zeifman thought that the killer probably changed his clothes to avoid being identified. >> how would he have gotten out of here? >> you can go down the elevator, go down the stairs. people walking out, you just blend in with them. >> didn't catch him, but at least you locked down the island. >> locked down the island as quick as we could. >> reporter: the homicide chief was called in. he was taking charge of what would be the biggest case of his career. >> i went straight to the scene. >> reporter: it was now just past noon. blood was still on the steps. but so was a dead bird. and that caused rumors to fly. >> what is that, a signature of a mafia hit or something? >> it was back in the day. turns out we autopsied the pigeon and it was just a fragment of the round, one of the rounds that hit mr. versace ricocheted -- >> so the -- >> and hit the pigeon. it was the first and last time we autopsied a bird. >> reporter: it was that kind of a story. >> i quickly realized that this

because of the amount of media. >> buona sera. gianni versace -- >> media from around the world is covering the story of murder, mystery and high fashion. >> reporter: versace's murder was, of course, part of a much bigger case. but navarro, like the rest of his department, knew nothing about it, until -- >> an fbi algent approaches me and says to me, can we talk about this case? i said, sure, what have you got? and he goes, i think we may know someone that may have done this. >> reporter: the fbi man, cunanan's chief tracker, had eyeballed the shell casings at the scene and told navarro they might match cunanan's other murders. >> what was it like to hear that story from the fbi agent? >> i got goose bumps. because now this was bigger than just gianni versace getting murdered. and then he mentioned the last homicide of mr. william reese and the red pickup.

>> reporter: navarro knew his guys in the garage were all over a red pickup truck with south carolina plates that looked suspicious. >> so i called my detective that was running that scene at the garage on the radio. and i asked him to read the v.i.n. number on the vehicle. >> reporter: for navarro, it was like winning the lottery. >> and we made a match. we knew that was mr. reese's car. >> reporter: that night, chief barreto held a press conference to tell the global media that andrew cunanan was the killer and gianni versace was victim number five. >> cunanan is known to be a male prostitute who services affluent clientele. cunanan is well-educated, well-dressed, and is very articulate. >> reporter: so, at the end of day one, chief investigator navarro knew he had his hands full with a slippery killer who'd gotten away four times before. >> you're trying to think like he thinks. a cat-and-mouse game. you know, our job is to catch him and his job is to elude us.

>> reporter: cunanan was still at large, armed, desperate and more dangerous than ever. coming up -- the versace family quickly leaves town. >> he was cremated immediately and they left with his ashes and that was it. >> did cunanan also make a quick getaway? >> the director felt that cunanan wasn't on miami beach, that he had slipped away. discover card. i'm not a customer, but i'm calling about that credit scorecard. give it.

and checking your score won't hurt your credit. oh! i'm so proud of you. well thank you. free at at discover.com/creditscorecard, even if you're not a customer. at petsmart, we love all pets like these guys, zoe and bo. they eat natural balance pet food. the limited ingredient diets help support healthy digestion are made from a single animal protein source and they offer grain-free varieties. right now at petsmart spend $50 on any natural balance product and save $10 on your next natural balance purchase so they can feel as good as they look. and when you buy any bag of dog or cat food we give a meal to a pet in need. it's that simple. petsmart - for the love of pets.

>> reporter: there's a reason july is "off" season in

temperatures that mirror the humidity, drive all but hard core sun worshippers inside. in the days after gianni versace died on his mansion's coral steps, sergeant george navarro was most definitely feeling the heat. how much pressure was on you? >> oh, incredible. never had that much pressure on me. ever. literally working around the clock, sleeping two hours, three hours. >> reporter: how do you keep going? >> i was young back then. >> reporter: so much they didn't know. would he kill again? was this a vendetta against people who'd upset him? was he targeting gay men? was versace, the most prominent gay man in town, one of a list? the versace family wanted no part of finding out. >> versace's family obviously was devastated. how could they not be? however, they wanted to get him out of there. they got all kinds of privileged treatment, all kinds of

protocols were broken and he was cremated immediately, and they left with his ashes and that was it. the family skipped a miami beach memorial service. which investigators attended, hoping perhaps, cunanan would show up to revel in his kill. he didn't. >> the police dragnet is intense in south florida. >> reporter: the 230 investigators now assigned to the case chased more than a thousand leads in the 18 square miles of miami beach. knowing, given the intensive coverage, that cunanan had to be watching their every move. >> that's why we had to use runners and cell phones and landlines instead of our radios. >> reporter: in other words, you were trying to keep -- the media from finding out, because the media would be telling him directly. >> correct. but when you do that, it's kind of a double-edged sword. when you don't give the media what they're looking for, they try to go i

chris graves did. she followed the cunanan trail first to chicago, then miami. and here discovered a missed clue. >> so i'm in south beach. and there was a strip mall in the near vicinity. and i just start going door, to door, to door, to door to ask people if they knew andrew cunanan. >> reporter: at cash on the beach pawnshop, graves hit the jackpot. >> this woman came up and said, "yeah, we -- we know him." i said, "what? what?" >> it was the shop where cunanan had pawned that gold coin, signed his real name on the pawn slip, gave the normandy plaza address and provided his fingerprint. >> the guy didn't look like a serial killer. >> reporter: and remember, as required by law, the pawn shop sent police the transaction.

murder. >> lo and behold, the south beach police had a copy of that pawn slip days before gianni versace was dead. >> reporter: so, could they have prevented the murder? up in chicago, paul beitler read graves' story and -- do you remember finding out about this coin being found? >> oh, i couldn't believe it. i knew immediately what those gold coins were. in fact, they were probably the coins that i had actually handed to lee miglin. >> reporter: so that coin tied cunanan to lee miglin's murder, and revealed where he was hiding in miami beach, that is, if police had been looking. but before the murder, they weren't. even though cunanan was on the fbi's most wanted list. >> took a beating over the pawnshop. rightfully so. >> reporter: because the one officer whose job was to check pawn slips, didn't get to it. he was assigned elsewhere that week. >> it was sitting on his desk for almost a week. >> reporter: yeah. what did that detective feel

happened? >> he felt terrible. but like you said, it's that old murphy's law again. and a very antiquated system that we had back then. >> reporter: but the pawnshop discovery did point detective navarro to that rundown hotel, the normandy plaza. >> let's talk to everybody. let's interview all the employees. show pictures of andrew. nobody's ever seen this guy. >> reporter: and then, the next day, a memory suddenly improved. who does he most closely resemble? >> when the manager of the hotel all of a sudden remembered andrew cunanan -- >> reporter: okay. >> -- and remembered that he's under this name kurt demars from paris, france. >> reporter: by then cunanan was long gone, skipped out on his rent, another miss in a growing list of misses across four states. what was that like knowing that he -- you can't see him. he's not around. he's gone now, but -- >> very frustrating. it seemed like we were always on

>> reporter: then it got worse. >> the fbi pulled all of their special agents out except for four. >> why? >> the director felt that cunanan wasn't on mooiami beach that he had slipped away. at the time i was pissed because we still had leads coming in. hundreds, you know. >> then, eight days into the search, just when it seemed police would never catch a break -- >> we get a call on the radio from dispatch -- shots fired at this location, at this houseboat, and i thought to my self, what a perfect place to hide. coming up -- closing in on a killer. >> come on, let's go. >> he was like a trapped rat. >> when "dateline" continues.

if you're a stuntman, you cheat death. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. número uno! no matter who was in there last. protection. new lysol power & fresh 6 goes to work flush after flush for a just-cleaned feeling that lasts up to 4 weeks. lysol. what it takes to protect.

could ever give her. it still is. levian chocolate diamond jewelry. only levian makes jewelry with chocolate diamonds. levian at kay, the store for the chocolate she'll love forever.

>> reporter: eight days after the death of gianni versace, leads were still coming in, hundreds every day. and then, july 23rd, late afternoon -- >> okay. you're dialing 911. do you have an emergency? you have an emergency? >> yeah. >> reporter: the call came from a pier in miami beach. a caretaker had been checking on a powder blue houseboat. the owner was away. but it looked like someone was inside. and something was wrong. >> you saw a light on? >> yeah, all the lights was on. >> reporter: he approached the boarding door. and then, a gub gunshot. >> i hear a shot, boom! >> reporter: in an instant, hundreds of miami beach police, the fbi, out of town investigators, an army of reporters were converging on the

pier. it's gone now. the houseboat was knocked down years ago. only a few rotting posts and a square of concrete mark the spot. but that day, that moment. >> what color is it? >> it's the blue one! >> so when we first got here, uniform patrol had a perimeter set around the houseboat. we called marine partrol to cover the water perimeter. to make sure whoever was in there wouldn't get away. and then we called the swat team in. >> where were the cameras of the world? >> we took over that parking lot right next to the firestation. so that's where we set up the media staging area. so all the filming was being done from across the street. it was too dangerous to be here. >> sure. yeah. there were a few over there on the other side of the water? >> there were some on the other side of the water that snuck in. >> snuck in? what do you mean "snuck in"? >> snuck in. >> reporter: we actually knew what he meant. some of us from nbc, including me, found a perch across the waterway where we got a direct view of the houseboat.

scene around the houseboat, nbc correspondent kerry sanders found another way to get closer. >> a roadblock, police weren't letting anybody in. and i looked over to my left and i saw a construction worker who was on his bicycle. and he was riding home on the sidewalk. and i ran over to him and i go, "can you give me a ride on your handlebars?" and i hopped up on his handlebars. gave him $20. and he rode me down on the bicycle about four or five blocks to get to where this was all going on. >> reporter: a siege atmosphere settled in. >> how did you try to reach him to get word to him? >> so we had hostage negotiators on scene from the fbi and from the local sheriff's office and they attempted to make contact via a landline telephone. but he didn't answer it. so we tried a bullhorn and no response. >> reporter: everybody waited, the world watching. at one point, some officers moved in quietly, busted a window, and tossed a listening

>> and we were getting absolutely nothing from inside the houseboat. so we were pretty confident he was either gone or he was dead. >> gone? how would he be gone? >> he's slipped away from us before more than once. >> reporter: they gave it 30 minutes. and then it seemed clear that if someone was inside that boat they were not going to come out. there was a s.w.a.t. team standing by armed with teargas. >> ready to come out now, come on, let's go! >> when they went in what was it like? >> they cleared the houseboat. and when they went to the second floor bedroom they discovered a white male with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. >> reporter: was it him? maybe. maybe not. detective navarro had fans brought in to disperse the teargas. and then he and the fbi man went approximate with a camera. the space looked more like an apartment than a boat. >> we went upstairs without

touching anything. and we have, you know, booties on and gloves and went up there and looked at him. >> reporter: and they knew. after staring at pictures of that face for so many days, it was certainly andrew cunanan. >> we were very excited that it was over. we actually high-fived each other. we were happy that nobody else was going to die. >> the police camera captured cunanan's last refuge, his exit scene. >> what did he have in there with him? >> books and magazines and stuff. he was out of food. he was out of money. actually, that houseboat kind of gave me the sense he was like a trapped rat. >> in the living room, a spread of glossy magazines with their high fashion ads and reminders of a life he could never have. >> there was some pecans and stuff that were empty, the whole bowl was eaten, like there was no food left in the house.

>> there was a tv on the boat. police believe he had been watching and so knew that he was finally a famous man. >> and so at that stage of desperation when he knew he couldn't go anywhere, couldn't get food -- >> i think that's why he killed himself. i think what happened was, in cunanan's mind, when he hears the caretaker walk in and say something, whatever, he thought that was the police. i think he kills himself then. >> and when he did, he took his secrets with him. he left no note, no explanation for why he had killed jeff trail and david madson, lee miglin, william reese, gianni versace. but 20 years later, we've learned more about andrew cunanan and the consequences, the aftershocks of his terrible acts. coming up -- looking for answers.

saying good-bye. >> he took somebody away at the height of their career, the height of their happiness, devastated a close family. when "dateline" continues. a camera fast enough to catch this, and intelligent enough to understand what it sees. it connects you to home, and takes you anywhere you can imagine, which makes it infinitely amazing. ♪ what bad back?gels work so fast you'll ask what pulled hammy? advil liqui - gels make pain a distant memory nothing works faster stronger or longer what pain? advil. i've gotta hit the loo. we can't stay here! why? terrible toilet paper! i'll never get clean!

aww. (avo) charmin ultra strong. it's washcloth-like texture helps clean better. it's four times stronger and you can use less. beautiful view. thanks to charmin. and you, honeybear. awwwww. (avo) we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin? flea bites can mean misery for your cat. advantage® ii monthly topical kills fleas through contact. fleas do not have to bite your cat to die. advantage® ii. fight the misery of biting fleas. can you hear it? this ice cold coke is calling you. i'm just a dollar... ...at mcdonald's...come get me. ♪ don't let the ice cold, deliciously refreshing coke down. it's waiting for you. and the clock is ticking. so go now - like, right now and get any size soft drink for just $1.

donald's. ♪ the world and the media just didn't know. >> how insiders step forward. a "dateline" investigation. while the world's attention was focused on a fugitive

to this exquisite old theater in mila in: if gianni versace brought celebrities to the runway, celebrities paid their respects in kind. >> the world is coming. >> like a state funeral. >> he took somebody at the height of their career, at the height of their happiness, devastated a family, a close family. >> we watched on television as donatella and santo made their entrance, fashion stars like georgio armani and princess diana sitting with a tearful elton john. even then, what would happen to versace? so many others, model beverly johnson had her doubts.

it was over. and when donatella was going to take over, we were like, oh, wow. >> good luck with that. >> and then we realized how uber-talented she was it was a testament of the genius that that family had. >> reporter: in miami, moscow, new york, tokyo or countless cities in between, are reminders of the boy from southern italy who built a fashion empire. antonio d'amico is carrying on with his own designs, working on a new sportswear line. his first collection focuses on golf-wear. he lives a quiet life outside of milan surrounded by reminders of the man he loved. >> do you find yourself thinking about that? the -- what -- what you saw on the steps that day? does it come back to you often? >> it was a nightmare for years.

of timing. time, as they said, heals you but doesn't go away. >> reporter: the other men who lost their lives are equally mourned. the people who loved jeff trail and david madson understand that these two men simply befriended the wrong guy. >> reporter: and lee miglin. friends and family will not fully recover. ever. and even now, his death remains a mystery. was it a random killing? or was there some connection that made miglin a target? it's an unfinished chapter for paul beitler. >> and the only two people who can solve that riddle aren't on the earth anymore. >> are you done? i mean, if you found a string to pull, would you pull it? >> i'd pull it. i haven't given up. and if there's somebody out there that can solve this problem and this riddle and has

more information, love to hear it. >> now you live with it. >> yeah. >> what does he mean to you in memory? >> only good. only good. he was a giant of a human being. >> reporter: william resse left behind a loving son, who has never come to grips with the senselessness and awful luck that brought about his father's death, all for a pickup truck. >> this incident does haunt me every day because there's no reason why this serial killer had to choose my dad's cemetery and kill my father. >> reporter: troy isn't just sad. he's angry. >> andrew phillip cunanan took the coward way out by killing himself. >> reporter: george navarro, who now runs his own security consulting business, is also frustrated that cunanan took the easy way out. >> so was it an upsetting thing to hear? >> upsetting because i had a lot ofue

a lot of things that were left unanswered that, even today, 20 years later, i'd like to know the answer to, why he did it, you know, what the connection was with the victims and that sort of thing. >> reporter: the ordeal, five murders, three months, inexplicable violence, did teach law enforcement a tough lesson. >> one of those strong underlying themes of this whole story is just really the lack of participation, the lack of collaboration and corroboration among law enforcement authorities in so many different areas of the country. >> communication is so much better now. things do change. but one thing hasn't. the world's fixation with the famous and the puzzle, what drove a guy like andrew cunanan? what made him a killer?

answers. to this day, she thinks about her friend andrew and feels only confusion and pain. >> and it's not something that i talk about often. i mean, who do you talk to about something like this. yes, i loved a serial killer. i mean, it sounds so awful but he was a big part of my adolescence and he was my friend. >> did you find yourself mourning his passing or -- >> i found myself mourning the friend that i knew and i had a very hard time accepting what he had done. >> have you spent any time wondering what he was about? >> no. i don't care. i'll be honest, i'm going to cut you short on that one. >> i don't care. and put it this way, he's a footnote in history. just one more person with a gun. so -- screw you. you get nothing.

>> hall rubenstein would rather talk about his friend gianni, what he taught him about life. >> if you're going to still be here, don't sit here with one foot in the back door waiting to stop. no, no, you grab life as long as you get the chance and you grab it to yourself and you make the most out of it. that's all for this edition of "dateline." we'll see you again next friday at 9:00, 8:00 central. of course, i'll see you each weeknight on "nbc nightly news." i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, good night.

well it's a perfect nespresso hold on a second.orge. mmm. ♪ [mel torme sings "comin' home baby"] hey there. want a lift? ♪ where are we going? no don't tell me. let me guess. ♪ have a nice ride. ♪ how far would you go for coffee that's a cup above? i brought you nespresso. nespresso. what else? the search not suspended. police will work through the night to find an escaped inmate. >> tonight new pictures they want you to see.