Gianni Versace
David Lees/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesGianni Versace in the home that would one day see one of the fashion world’s most famous murders. Sept 20, 1986.
The shooting of fashion icon Gianni Versace in broad daylight in front of his mansion in Miami’s South Beach still perplexes the public to this day.
At the time of his death, Versace was a well-known fashion designer; the man who created the Versace fashion house. He was a superstar in the fashion world, dressing world figures like Princess Diana of Wales.
But on the morning of July 15, 1997, Versace was acting strangely. Witnesses say that, moments before his death, he went down to a local café, passed the entrance and then circled back to enter. A hostess later remarked that it seemed as if he thought someone was following him.
Versace then bought a newspaper and turned back to his multi-million-dollar Mediterranean villa, but he would never make it through the front door.
It’s unclear exactly how Gianni Versace’s murder went down.
Some witnesses said they saw a young man in his twenties approach Versace from behind and shoot him twice in the head. Others said that the men looked like they knew each other and were struggling over a bag when a gun went off. However it happened, one of the world’s most iconic fashion designers was dead.
The man who responsible was 27-year-old Andrew Cunanan. He had a reputation in the local gay community as a flashy gold digger who targeted older men to squeeze free trips and expensive items out of them. But many people also called Cunanan unhinged.
Getty ImagesThe steps of Gianni Versace’s mansion after his death.
In the three months before murdering Versace, Cunanan killed four other men across the country and landed himself on the FBI’s Most Wanted List.
However, Cunanan would never answer for his crimes or reveal his motive for killing Versace. He then killed himself inside of a Miami houseboat shortly after Versace’s murder, leaving behind no note and just a few belongings.
