Madsons family members suspected that he had accidentally walked in on the killing of Trail, and subsequently been taken hostage by Cunanan, and this is the version of events that plays out in American Crime Story. After killing Miglin, Cunanan left with his car, several items of clothing, $2,000 in cash, and some gold coins from the safe. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. In reality, there isn't much out there about the possible Cunanan-Miglin relationship. Simpson told the paper that producers also studied FBI records and witness accounts. But on "American Crime Story," Lee Miglin is shown talking with Cunanan on the phone. According to an article in Newsweek from May 1997, Miglin was found in his garage with stab wounds, and his throat slashed with a gardener's bow saw, his feet constrained, and his head covered in tape. "American Crime Story" executive producer Brad Simpson told the Chicago Sun-Times that he and his team came to the conclusion that Miglin and Cunanan knew each other because all of Cunanan's attacks were "targeted and specific" except for the one on William Reese. 72-year-old real estate tycoon Lee Miglin was found dead in the garage of his Gold Coast home on the morning of May 4. The show sticks closely to this gruesome version of events. The only source for the latter is Orth, who, quoting several anonymous sex workers, claims it was well-known in Chicagos gay community that Miglin was gay. A Chicago murder mystery becomes a mushroom cloud. Police also later found a duffel bag in Madson's apartment with Cunanan's name and a La Jolla, California address on it. His face was wrapped in masking tape, his feet were bound, and his throat was slashed. Investigators still dont know why Andrew Cunanan killed Gianni Versace. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital None of this information really explains why Cunanan did what he did. So what is the truth behind the artistic license? According to ABC-7 Chicago's recent look back at Miglin's death on the 20th anniversary of the murder, Cunanan covered Miglin's head and face with tape, tortured him with a screwdriver and. Morgan Doughty Filed A Lawsuit Against The Murdaugh Family, Heres How To Watch The Alex Murdaugh Trial Live, Sophie Turners Joan Charts The Rise Of A Famous British Jewel Thief, Alex Murdaugh Faces Life In Prison For Allegedly Killing His Wife & Son, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. From Vulgar Favors: I guessed Lee Miglin would never have left a Coke can in his sink or a pint of ice cream on his countertop, let alone a ham on his desk, said Stephen Byer, who came upon the crime scene with his wife Barbara. As ACS executive producer Simpson said, no one will ever know what happened in the moments leading up to Miglin's murder. "It was built by my father. In episode three, Cunanan shows up at Miglin's house and is invited in. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. Episode 3 of The Assassination of Gianni Versace tests whether well still be interested in the series without its title character, who is largely absent from the action. He was an early developer of business parks.His firm, at one point, proposed the construction of the Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle, which was planned to be the tallest building in . The murder comes when Cunanan leads Miglin to the garage under the guise that they are going out together somewhere and then Cunanan proceeds to kill Miglin in the garage. A socialite and philanthropist, Miglin was a resident of Chicago's wealthy Gold Coast Historic District. But some bizarre details about the crime scene began to emerge. Another connection that Orth investigated was one between Cunanan and Lee and Marilyn's son Duke. Cunanan became the most wanted and feared man in America, leaving the nation in a simultaneous state of terror and fascination as his grisly crimes played out over a period of more than two months. But the day Miglin's body was found, likely nobody knew Cunanan had been the killer other than Cunanan himself. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. By Brad Edwards, Richard Schlesinger, Adam Harrington, Dan Kraemer, May 4, 2022 / 4:53 PM [27] In fact, it seems likely that Miglins murder was equally random, if more elaborate, with Cunanan deciding he needed a new getaway car and somehow catching sight of the Lexus. On May 3, Cunanan drove to Chicago, Illinois, and killed 72-year-old Lee Miglin, a prominent real estate developer. The show also includes the rather creepy details about how Cunanan made himself at home at the Miglins' after the murder. Wednesday evening, police sources said the proximity of the Jeep to Miglin's Gold Coast townhouse remained the only concrete clue to link Cunanan to the Chicago slaying.. Miglins green Lexus was also missing from the garage. Cunanan's string of murders ended on July 23 of that year with his suicide by firearm. Egan has offered to allow the Miglins to continue using the garage if they pay $1,400 a month. After telling Miglin, Im in control now (a quote added for dramatic effect, since no one else was in the garage to verify), the fictional Cunanan gags the older mans mouth with a gardening glove, ties him up, and hits him repeatedly in the face. Federal investigators believed Cunanan may have been targeting gay men. Ms. Miglin called 911 and reported her husband missing, and also reported the couple's 1994 green Lexus missing from the garage. Initially, their interactions played out like the sex work viewers saw Cunanan engage in in the second episode of the series. On Wednesday, July 23, authorities surrounded a houseboat along Miami Beach, in which Cunanan had apparently holed up. The killer was Andrew Cunanan a spree killer who murdered a total of five people, including fashion designer Gianni Versace, before he took his own life. His wife Marilyn had become suspicious when she arrived home from a business trip to Canada that morning, only to find her husband missing and a handgun in a bathroom though the gun later turned out to be a replica. Andrew was thrilled and Eli couldn't believe it. Miglin was meant to pick Marilyn up from Chicago O'Hare airport that morning. Lee Miglin was born and raised in Westville, Illinois in 1925. According to Orth's report, a friend of Cunanan's had told the FBI that Cunanan had said he was going to start a movie set business with a friend. The only evidence there is points toward Cunanan killing Miglin for his car and his money, even if that means there is a lot left unexplained about the murder itself. But the murder of Miglin, and Cunanan's whereabouts, remained a mystery until Tuesday, July 15, 1997 when fashion icon Gianni Versace was shot on the steps of his oceanfront villa,Casa Casuarina, in Miami's South Beach neighborhood. His murder, which shocked the nation, is the focus of FXs The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Per Orth, Cunanan considered Trail to be his best friend, and referred to him as my brother." Orth called Madson the great unrequited love of Cunanans life and noted that although the pair had broken up in the spring of 1996, Cunanan kept a picture of Madson on his refrigerator door. After the standoff, police went in and found the body speculated to be Cunanan's inside though police were not yet identifying Cunanan at that point. Instead, the story delves into the crime Versaces killer, Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss), committed before heading for Miami: the May 1997 murder of successful Chicago real estate developer Lee Miglin. Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. Miglin family members have long denied Lee Miglin and Cunanan knew each other before the attack. On May 4, 1997, Cunanan drove to Chicago, Illinois, and killed Lee Miglin, a prominent real estate developer. Detectives had said Cunanan murdered Miglin in a crime of opportunity because he needed Miglin's car. "My father didn't get to see my children, he didn't get to meet my wifeThere's never really closure in a situation like this.". Time Life PicturesThe LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images, Diners at the Edgewater Hotel on Miami Beach sit under a large wanted poster of Andrew Cunanan in July 1997. Cunanans killing spree began in late April 1997 when he used a hammer to fatally beat Jeffrey Trail, a 28-year-old former naval officer he knew, in Minneapolis, for reasons that remain unclear, the FBI said. American Crime Story alleges otherwise. Criss Cunanan is nothing if not an unreliable narrator. "I don't think you healyou never close up that gaping woundbut you adjust," Marilyn told the Chicago Tribune. "I made an effort to be all right, so everyone else could be all right," she told the Chicago Tribune. Police believed Miglin had been murdered between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. the day before. Marilyn Miglin, who was married to Lee for 38 years, has remained relatively silent on the death of her husband. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Lee, portrayed by Mike Farrell of M*A*S*H, had his real estate company and Marilyn, played by Judith Light of Transparent, owns a cosmetics and fragrance company. Miglin home: Miglin was killed at his Gold Coast home on East Scott Street. Despite what the Miglin family says, The Assassination Of Gianni Versace gives a version of events where Miglin did know Cunanan. So it's important to remember that this episode is a dramatization of an incomplete set of facts. Miglins family has consistently and vigorously denied that Leeor his 25-year-old son Duke, a rising actor whose name Cunanan had reportedly dropped to friendshad ever met Cunanan. The nature of it suggests that it was personal just as police work 101 when it's up close that way, and stab wounds, all of these types of wounds that's generally people who know the victim. .css-1du65oy{color:#323232;display:block;font-family:NewParis,Georgia,Times,serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0.3125rem;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;-webkit-font-smoothing:auto;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-1du65oy:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1du65oy{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-1du65oy{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1du65oy{font-size:1.3125rem;line-height:1.2;}}Kate Recreated a Past Outfit for St. David's Day, Royals Confirmed to Attend Charles's Coronation. 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