Few People Know the Infamous Andrew Cunanan Had a Chilling History in Minnesota

Although often overlooked in many national media accounts, the infamous three-month murder spree that ended in the death of Gianni Versace at the hands of Andrew Cunanan began in Minnesota. In late April of 1997, Cunanan traveled to Minneapolis to visit his friends Jeffrey Trail and David Madson. Shortly after his arrival, Cunanan's visit took a grisly turn. On April 29, 1997, a concerned co-worker discovered the body of Cunanan's first victim, Jeffrey Trail, rolled up in a rug in his dowtown Minneapolis apartment building.

Trail's body was found in David Madson's apartment. The co-worker came to check on Madson, who had not shown up for work for several days. At first, police suspected that Madson had killed Trail. Madson's friends and family members, on the other hand, insisted that Cunanan had kidnapped him. Eventually, police learned Cunanan had stolen Trail's handgun. He then lured Trail to Madson's apartment, ostensibly to retrieve the gun. When Trail arrived, however, Cunanan bludgeoned him to death with a claw hammer.

Tragically, Madson's family's suspicions proved correct. A few days later, on May 3, 1997, two fishermen discovered Madson's body on the shore of East Rush Lake, near Rush City, in Chisago County, Minnesota. Cunanan had used Trail's handgun to kill him.

On the same day, Cunanan drove Madson's Jeep to Chicago, where he bound and tortured renowned real estate developer Lee Miglin in a garage behind his Gold Coast townhome. Miglin was found stabbed to death.

Cunanan left Madson's Jeep and stole Miglin's Lexus, prompting law enforcement agencies to launch a nationwide manhunt for Cunanan, which was spearheaded by the FBI.

Cunanan fled Chicago and drove to New York, then Pennsylvania. He eventually ended up in New Jersey, where he killed his fourth victim, William Reese, on May 9, 1997, and stole his red Chevrolet pickup.

Reese was a caretaker at Finn's Point National Cemetery. His wife alerted authorities when he didn't come home for dinner. Police discovered his body in the caretaker's office at the cemetery. He had been shot with the same gun Cunanan had used to murder Madson. Law enforcement tracked Cunanan to South Florida, where he arrived around May 12, 1997.

Cunanan's trail went cold for more than two months, and the FBI added Cunanan to its "Most Wanted" fugitives list on June 12, 1997. On the morning of July 15, 1997, however, Cunanan re-emerged when he assassinated Gianni Versace in front of the fashion icon's Miami Beach home.

Versace had gone out to a cafe to buy magazines and was just returning when Cunanan ambushed him. Cunanan evaded capture for another eight days until law enforcement found him hiding aboard a houseboat on July 23, 1997.

A Miami Police SWAT team and FBI agents stormed the vessel, only to discover that Cunanan had fatally shot himself with the gun he'd used to murder Versace. Although Versace and Miglin are the most often mentioned victims of Cunanan's murderous rampage, the serial killer brought untold sorrow to the friends and family of his Minnesota victims, David Madson and Jeffrey Trail, as well—cementing the tragedy in North Star State history.

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