how did lee miglin and andrew cunanan meet

Lee Miglin was found in his garage with several shallow stab wounds, his throat slit by a bow saw, his feet bound, and his head wrapped in tape, according to a May, 1997 article in Newsweek. Check out Romper's new video series, Romper's Doula Diaries: Watch full episodes of Romper's Doula Diaries on Facebook Watch. Initially, their interactions played out like the sex work viewers saw Cunanan engage in in the second episode of the series. Police officers are later shown examining Miglins bloody body, which was surrounded by male pornographic magazines. 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. He left no suicide note or explanation for his crimes. At the center of their quarrel and legal fight is the garage where Miglin was brutally murdered. Another man, Jeffrey Trail, 28, had been found beaten to death with a hammer and rolled in a carpet in Madson's apartment on April 29, 1997. I dont know that its reminiscent of any bondage video.. The show sticks closely to this gruesome version of events. The car belonged to one of the men that Cunanan was suspected of murdering in Minneapolis. The Miglin family has always denied that there was any connection between them and Cunanan, with Lee's son Duke recently reiterating that stance to ABC 7 Eyewitness News. From Vulgar Favors: Lee, born Albert Lee Miglin, one of eight children of a central Illinois coal miner, began his career selling stainless steel flatware door to door and premixed pancake batter out of the trunk of his car.. The episode's version of events depicts that Lee Miglin knew Andrew Cunanan before Cunanan allegedly killed him. By the next night, authorities had positively identified Cunanan, and said he had committed suicide. The California native, who could speak two languages, dropped out of college and funded his lifestyle thanks to relationships with older, wealthier gay men, federal investigations found. Before killing Miglin in the episode, Cunanan confessed to his two previous crimes (of friend Jeff Trail and ex-boyfriend David Madson) and remarked that murder wasn't what anyone would have expected from him, a young man known for being cultured and intellectual. Miglin, however, strongly disputed this, telling ABC there was no relationship whatsoever. Andrew Phillip Cunanan (August 31, 1969 - July 23, 1997) was an American serial killer known to have murdered five people, including Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace and Chicago real estate developer Lee Miglin, during a three-month period in mid-1997. The show also includes the rather creepy details about how Cunanan made himself at home at the Miglins' after the murder. Miglin's son, Duke, added, "There was no relationship whatsoever.". Then Cunanan is shown laying Miglin down in his garage, wrapping his legs together with orange extension cord, strangling him, punching him in the face, throwing a bag of concrete on his chest and stabbing him. Maureen Orth wrote the book that The Assassination Of Gianni Versace is based on. The claims that the younger Miglin and Cunanan knew each other gained circulation, Orth said, after a Chicago bookseller repeated them to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, but the source then called a press conference to say he had been misquoted. Despite Miglin's wife and their son Duke vehemently denying any previous connection between Cunanan and Miglin, reports from several people indicate Miglin and Cunanan may have been involved on a romantic or even sexual level, according to ABC7Chicago. 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. Investigators remove Cunanans body from the Miami Beach houseboat on which he died. Simpson told the newspaper that producers for the true crime series studied Maureen Orth's book, "Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History" and also bringing her on as a consultant. From Vulgar Favors: Two leather coats were missing, one of them (Miglins son) Duke's, a couple of suits, along with some insignificant ladies jewelry and a dozen pairs of new Sulka black socks from the bedroom.. On the show and in real life, the Jeep provides a break in the case as a Chicago police officer notices the windshield is covered in parking tickets. Trail had been beaten to death with a claw hammer, and his body rolled up in a rug. A socialite and philanthropist, Miglin was a resident of Chicago's wealthy Gold Coast Historic District. In the one scene in which the police speak with Duke about Cunanan, he doesn't give any indication that he recognizes Cunanan's name from anywhere. Instead, she took care of Miglin's 98-year-old mother and brother-in-law, who was very close to Lee, the fourth of seven children. The Chicago Tribune also reported in 2018 that the couple was married for 38 years in 1997 and had two children. He began his career as a salesman for Arthur Rubloff & Co. in Chicago, as noted by the Washington Post. As youve already seen, FXs The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is less a show about Versace than it is about his killer, Andrew Cunanan, a social-climbing narcissist whose desperation to be admired and important ultimately propelled him into a murderous rampage. Miglin family members did not return a Tribune request for comment. What truly happened remains a mystery to this day, but Gregg McCrary, former supervisory special agent of the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit, told Vanity Fair that he thinks the possibility of Miglin's murder being random is unlikely. He wanted to destroy Miglin's legacy, an idea upheld by the fact that he later burned the plans Miglin had drawn up to build the tallest building in the world. Miglin had suffered multiple blows to the chest. But the plan fell through. CBS News Correspondent Dave Fehling reported the house was about two and a half miles from the Versace villa, but only blocks from the Normandy Hotel, where Cunanan was known to have been staying. The FBI believes that in addition to working odd jobs, Cunanan was a prostitute. Miglin was known for being meticulous, which is why his wife Marilyn found it strange that the front gate was unlocked when she returned home from a business trip Sunday morning. 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. Lee Albert Miglin (July 12, 1924 - May 4, 1997) was an American business tycoon and philanthropist. "We always wanted to be very careful; even though there were blanks to fill in, we tried really hard to fill them in with what we believed to be true and framed through the larger themes. That Sunday night, CBS 2's Jodine Costanzo reported police found Miglin, 72, with his throat slashed ear-to-ear and his feet bound with masking tape. I have wanted to share this with you for a long time, but never had the chance, Lee Miglin is shown saying to Cunanan as he divulges his plans for the Skyneedle, which at 1,952 feet and 125 stories would be the tallest building in the world. I promise you, this will happen, Miglin tells Cunanan. Versaces longtime partner and family have said portions of the series are inaccurate. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Yet, this version of events goes against what Miglin's family has. Naval Academy in Annapolis and a Gulf War veteran. Madson was so driven, he applied to law school and architecture school. Miglin's body had been found that morning in the garage behind the mansion at 25 E. Scott St. where he lived with his wife, cosmetics entrepreneur, "Home Shopping Network" host, and "Queen of Makeovers" Marilyn Miglin. About three years ago, Marlena Miglin added Egan to the title when she was trying to get a business loan. The minute you start feeling sorry for yourself, everyone else falls.". Miglin was also known for philanthropic activities, including fundraising for the University of Chicago Medical Center and the Museum of Science and Industry. 25 years ago: Andrew Cunanan's murder spree takes Lee Miglin's life. After taking the life of the one of the world's most famous fashion designers of the time, serial killer Andrew Cunanan was on the run. Cunanan did not torture Reese like he did Miglin, and that makes it seem like perhaps there was something more personal about Miglin's murder. Marilyn Miglin is shown telling Rodriguez two leather coats, two suits, $2,000, some inconsequential pieces of jewelry, gold coins, a dozen pairs of Sulka black socks and Miglins Lexus are missing. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. People who knew Cunanan also told Orth that he often sought out wealthy, older, gay men to date in his personal life. Ive never seen any credible evidence to show that there was a relationship, Robert Milan, a former assistant states attorney for Cook County, told ABC News. Cunanans ride: Cunanan is shown parking a red Jeep with Minnesota plates near the Miglin home before the attack. Here's what we know about Miglin and his family. While those are the facts of the gruesome murder, what isn't known is why Cunanan targeted Miglin specifically, if in fact he did. In addition to running her business, Marilyn is a recipient of the Raoul Wallenberg International Humanitarian Award. But that doesn't mean that what The Assassination Of Gianni Versace portrays is fully accurate. Finally, as in the show, Cunanan really did make off in Miglins beautiful Lexus sports car. Meanwhile, investigators later learned that after murdering Miglin, Cunanan not only ate some ham and left a sliced ham on Miglin's desk, but he also hung around at the Miglin home to shave and take a shower. According to Cunanan's friends, Cunanan considered David Madson to be the love of his life, even though their relationship ended in the spring of 1996. Miami Beach Chief of Police Richard Barreto said later that night that a caretaker had heard gunshots in the houseboat and had called police. There has been speculation in the quarter century since. Cunanan didnt leave a note when he killed himself in July 1997, and Wednesdays episode relies heavily on alleged dialogue between Cunanan and Lee Miglin. Cunanan fled the scene on foot. So what is the truth behind the artistic license? Maureen Orth's Vulgar Favors recounted the horrifying details: Miglin had been bound and gagged with a glove, his head wrapped in tape like a mummy. The Miglin family has vociferously denied that Lee or his 25-year-old son, Duke, a fledgling actor in Hollywood who has a bit part in this summer's Air Force One, ever met Cunanan. On May 8, 1997, everything changed in the investigation theories about random street crime were no more. Andrew Cunanan was entirely dependent on the property of others, who really did have power in social environments. Miglin was not so lucky. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. 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. That check showed that the Jeep was being sought by Minnesota authorities in connection with the two killings there. "I lived the life of a fairy princess and I had a prince for 38 years, and then one day my prince went to war and didn't come back," she said. Egan is trying to evict his mother-in-law from the garage. While American Crime Story season two is based on the real-life murder spree Andrew Cunanan committed in the Spring and Summer of 1997, there are a number of events the producers had to create by imagining what would have transpired because there are no people still alive who can give firsthand accounts of what happened. But where the television series begins to diverge from some reports is in what relationship Cunanan had to the Miglin family, if any. Crime specialists told Orth for her Vanity Fair article that Cunanan randomly killing Miglin didn't make sense to them. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. "Lee Miglin built that garage for his . 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. There are a few places [in the TV show] where things didnt happen at all, Orth told Vanity Fairs Still Watching podcast. Police also claimed that Miglin's leather jacket and wristwatch were missing, as well as $2,000 from Miglin's briefcase. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. But you know, who knows?" Despite Miglin's wife and their son Duke vehemently denying any previous connection between Cunanan and Miglin, reports from several people indicate Miglin and Cunanan may have been involved on a . Miami Beach police and FBI agents surround the houseboat where Andrew Cunanan's body was later found. His neck was partially severed and all of his ribs had been broken. Cunanan's fourth victim, William Reese, was also reported as a crime of opportunity: Cunanan needed his truck, so he shot Reese in the head and stole it. But on American Crime Story, Lee Miglin is shown talking with Cunanan on the phone before the 27-year-old makes that fateful trip to Chicago. Cunanan had reportedly been living in Miami Beach for two months prior to killing Versace. And if we didn't know, we really tried to allow for interpretation. But in published reports, Miglin's family has consistently maintained there was no connection between Miglin and Cunanan. He stole Miglin's care and got a head start on what became a nearly. He said if you don't help me I'm going to proceed to file a lawsuit against you, your mother and your wife for the garage," Duke said. It was later determined that Cunanan likely killed Reese solely for his truck, and not for any of the more complex and personal reasons that seemed to define his other four murders. Dirty dishes in the kitchen and beard stubble in the bathroom sink were Marilyn's next clues that something was amiss. After a five-hour standoff, a SWAT team moved in and there were reports that police had pulled the body of a man who might have been Cunanan. "It's very difficult," Miglin's son Duke told ABC7Chicago. Rodriguez, played by True Detective alum Alex Fernandez, gets a fair amount of screen time on the episode. Marilyn Miglin, who was married to Lee for 38 years, has remained relatively silent on the death of her husband. Criss Cunanan is nothing if not an unreliable narrator. The Tribune explores what Wednesdays episode got right and wrong about the events that occurred in Chicago, based on reporting at the time. In a 2017 interview with ABC7, the local Chicago affiliate, Duke denied that he or his father ever knew Cunanan. But clearly the show is saying the two had a relationship. Did Cunanan somehow meet Miglin through Gamma Mu, a secretive gay men's fraternity? Its unclear how much of this were meant to take at face value, and how much is Cunanans delusional, grandiose idea of the relationship he feels he deserves to have with Versace. And the Museum of Science and Industry ABC there was no connection between and! Is the truth behind the artistic license, '' Miglin 's son Duke told ABC7Chicago engage.: Watch full episodes of Romper 's new video series, Romper 's Doula Diaries: Watch full episodes Romper! Was trying to get a business loan applied to law school and architecture school wrote! 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