The Andrew Cunanan Murders, 20 years later

An ABC7 I-Team Web Exclusive

ByChuck Goudie and Barb Markoff, Jackie Denn, Annie Esp and Sara Tenenbaum WLS logo

Thursday, May 4, 2017

CHICAGO (WLS) -- On May 4, 1997, one of Chicago's paramount real estate developers was found dead in his Gold Coast garage, the third victim in a multi-state murder spree by killer Andrew Cunanan.

Lee Miglin, 72, had been tortured, stabbed, slashed with a garden saw and his head wound mummy-style with masking tape.

Miglin was the victim of Andrew Cunanan, a gay gigolo from Southern California. Cunanan's cross-country killing odyssey began on April 25, 1997, near Minneapolis. He killed two men in Minnesota - an acquaintance and his then-lover - before he got away and drove to Chicago where he murdered Miglin. His next killing was five days later in New Jersey, and he ended his spree on July 15 in Miami, Florida, where he killed icon fashion designer Gianni Versace on the steps of his palatial mansion. He committed suicide in Miami the next week.

In May of 1997 the ABC7 I-Team launched an investigation of Cunanan and his crime spree that held the nation spellbound for three months. Here is some of that coverage in a video timeline:

A timeline of original reporting by the I-Team on Andrew Cunanan's murder spree in 1997.

Lee Miglin's wife Marilyn, owner of a well-known Chicago cosmetics company, was devastated by the loss. Neither Marilyn nor their son Duke have spoken publicly about the painful day since the investigation was closed in 1997.

Duke Miglin, who has followed in his father's footsteps as a real estate developer, agreed to speak with ABC7 investigative reporter Chuck Goudie about the case. Here is the interview:

Andrew Cunanan murder victim Lee Miglin's son Duke Miglin sits down with Chuck Goudie to talk about his father's death for the first time since 1997.

Business associates of Lee Miglin were staggered by his barbarous murder on a Sunday morning. At the time, Mark Jarasek was a vice president of Miglin-Beitler, the victim's real estate development company. In an I-Team interview, Jarasek recalls the pain of the moment and how he has dealt with it over the years, including the creation of a song and music video about the Cunanan murder experience.

The song, "What to Believe," and the interview:

Mark Jarasek recalls the pain of the moment and how he has dealt with it over the years, including the creation of a song and music video about killer Andrew Cunanan.