So it's important to remember that this episode is a dramatization of an incomplete set of facts. After murdering Miglin in his garage, Cunanan went into the family's home, ate a ham sandwich, shaved and rested. Miglin home after the attack: Marilyn Miglin immediately knows something is wrong when she returns home from her business trip and gets help from a couple walking by the home. Cook County medical examiner Edmund Donoghue dismisses the element of ritualistic torture. And in its 2017 article on Duke Miglin, ABC7 also noted, "The FBI looked into a few claims that Cunanan knew Miglin or his family, but no link was ever nailed down.". Marilyn Miglin died just this past March at the age of 83, and maintained to her death that her husband and Cunanan never knew each other. An open pint of chocolate ice cream and a Coke can are shown on the kitchen counter. A knife is stuck in a ham on a desk. ", "In the Miglin case, this was such a horrible crime. CBS 2's Brad Edwards went back to our archive to watch a Betamax tape of our 10 p.m. news from May 4, 1997 "News 2 Chicago," as our news was known at the time anchored by Lester Holt and Linda MacLennan. Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. His face was wrapped in masking tape, his feet were bound, and his throat was slashed. Police still did not know why Cunanan had tortured and murdered Miglin and after Cunanan took his own life without leaving a suicide note, there was no way to find out from him. And in her Vanity Fair report on Cunanan, she wrote that he was a sex worker. Sample Page; ; Then in May, Cunanan repeatedly stabbed Lee Miglin, a 72-year-old Chicago real estate developer and wealthy businessman, according to authorities. 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. The mentions of Cunanan's connection to the Miglin family are more along the lines of his actually knowing Duke, the Miglins' son. The FBI believes that in addition to working odd jobs, Cunanan was a prostitute. The series, which premiered Jan. 17, is slated for a nine-episode run. Death. Rodriguez, played by True Detective alum Alex Fernandez, gets a fair amount of screen time on the episode. Egan has offered to allow the Miglins to continue using the garage if they pay $1,400 a month. "I've never seen any credible evidence to show that there was a relationship," said Milan. Matt Rodriguez. The FBI believed Cunanan may have been seeking revenge on former lovers or clients who may have given him HIV, records show. "We know who we are and what we stand for.". A lot of false things were brought up and they were very hurtful, very painful, for me personally and there were attacks on me as well that I really didnt appreciate. 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. But some bizarre details about the crime scene began to emerge. The answer is no. The episode builds on the scene from the previous week where Cunanan sells his services to an older, successful man, whom he subjects to some BDSM that looks like its going to go too far and end tragically before Cunanan relents. Authorities believe Cunanan targeted Reese so that he could steal his truck. Madson was described an intelligent, handsome, young man with a promising future; he was the entire package. "I can tell you unequivocally that we have not found a link between Andrew Cunanan and anyone in the Miglin family," former Chicago police superintendent Matt Rodriguez told ABC in July 1997. As told by the FX series, Miglin was a closeted, 72-year-old real estate magnate who paid for Cunanan's services as a gigolo while his wife (played by Judith Light) was out of town. But that doesn't seem to account for the grotesque violence of Miglin's death. "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. The only evidence there is points toward Cunanan killing Miglin for his car and. Cunanan fled the scene on foot. Marilyn Miglin called the police around 8 a.m. that Sunday, after discovering a 9 mm handgun in the bathroom. As noted in published reports, Miglin was born in 1924 in downstate Illinois the son of a Lithuanian immigrant coal miner. Either [Cunanan] knew of the guy or knew his son. 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. After he murders Miglin, he takes the businessmans dark green Lexus to continue his killing spree. 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. The episode's version of events depicts that Lee Miglin knew Andrew Cunanan before Cunanan allegedly killed him. In The Assassination of Gianni Versace, Cunanan is played by Glee star Darren Criss. 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. "It was built by my father. Miglin's family said the same, releasing the following statement after Cunanan's suicide: "(The car) was taken by a complete stranger in a random act of violence who had no connection whatsoever to any member of the Miglin family.". "Because they are refusing to let him have access to the garage, we filed a demand under the law to demand access," said Berton Ring, Egan's eviction case attorney. The drama introduces a note of ritual humiliation, with Cunanan telling Miglin that when his body is found he will be wearing ladies underwear and surrounded by gay porn magazines. At the time of his death, Versace was one of the most high-profile fashion designers in the world, dressing the likes of Princess Diana, Madonna and Elton John. 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. 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. It was actually DNA evidence from the beard trimmings that definitively tied Cunanan to Miglin's murder. The Assassination of Gianni Versace writer Tom Rob Smith and producer Ryan Murphy based the series on a book by veteran Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth, who reported extensively on the case before writing Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in US History. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Miglin's son, Duke, added, "There was no relationship whatsoever.". His body was found five days later on the shore of East Rush Lake near Rush City, Minnesota (approximately one hour from Minneapolis by car), with gunshot wounds to his head and back. 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. At any rate, the FBI looked into these claims that Cunanan knew Miglin or his family, but no link was ever established. His wife Marilyn Miglin was also known as the Queen of Makeovers for her work as a successful perfume and cosmetics entrepreneur and for her involvement with the Home Shopping Network. By Brad Edwards, Richard Schlesinger, Adam Harrington, Dan Kraemer, May 4, 2022 / 4:53 PM Police response: Chicago Police Supt. Cunanan would later try to pawn one of Miglin's coins in Miami prior to his murder of Versace. The episode's version of events depicts that Lee Miglin knew Andrew Cunanan before Cunanan allegedly killed him. Investigators still dont know why Andrew Cunanan killed Gianni Versace. Twenty years after the murder, Cunanans motive is still unclear. 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. 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. Cunanan's third murder in a spree that spanned Minneapolis to Miami was not immediately linked to him by authorities. Dirty dishes in the kitchen and beard stubble in the bathroom sink were Marilyn's next clues that something was amiss. Cunanan had reportedly been living in Miami Beach for two months prior to killing Versace. Scenes for American Crime Story were filmed in September outside 2104 N. Fremont St., in Lincoln Park. But the high-profile killing of Versace forced Cunanan to keep a lower profile for the final week of his life. 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 72-year-old real estate agent was found bludgeoned and stabbed by the man who later killed Versace. Tying Miglin up and wrapping his head, Donoghue said, was strictly practical, to keep him quiet and to keep him from moving around. "A lot of false things were brought up and they were very hurtful, very painful, for me personally and there were attacks on me as well that I really didn't appreciate. The fashion designer was returning home from his morning walk to the News Caf, where he went to purchase magazines, when a man approached and fired two shots into his head. All this actually happened. "He asked me if I would be willing to talk to my sister about helping him settle his divorce proceedings. Schlesinger said, "Cunanan was not a normal guy.". Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles. Cunanan wanted to disgrace Miglin. This Is How Andrew Cunanan Died. The SUV had Minnesota license plates that had been registered to Minneapolis interior designer David Madson, 33, whose body had been found near a lake in Chisago County, Minnesota the day before Miglin's body was found. Cunanan would then travel to Miami before shooting Gianni Versace on the front steps of his mansion on July 15, 1997. In the show, Cunanan drives to New York in the Lexus and then almost immediately heads south. The car belonged to one of the men that Cunanan was suspected of murdering in Minneapolis. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. All rights reserved. A night later, it remained a mystery who had so brutally murdered Miglin. But that doesn't mean that what The Assassination Of Gianni Versace portrays is fully accurate. She loves owls, hates cilantro, and can find the queer subtext in literally anything. CBS 2's Mike Parker reported Chicago Police had been aching to talk with Cunanan about the murder of Miglin. Cunanan had tucked Miglin's body under a car in the garage and attempted to obscure it with trash cans, according to the Chicago Tribune. Heres what to know about suspected serial killer Andrew Cunanan: Hours after Versaces shooting death, authorities identified Andrew Cunanan as the prime suspect. The source also said Miglin had been covered with a plastic bag, and masking tape wrapped around his throat. The reason Andrew Cunanan murdered real estate developer Lee Miglin is uncertain, and it's not any more clear after the third episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace. Seem to account for the grotesque violence of Miglin 's death, hates,! Evidence to show that there was a prostitute to allow the Miglins to continue killing. We are and what we stand for. `` spree that spanned Minneapolis Miami... 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