Andrew Cunanan's infamous 1997 killing spree began on Sunday, April 27, when he murdered his best friend, Jeffrey Trail. Trail's death precipitated Cunanan's four-state murder tour, which ended after the deaths of four others, including Chicago real estate mogul Lee Miglin and internationally renowned fashion designer Gianni Versace. Cunanan then took his own life, by suicide.
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Why did Andrew Cunanan start killing people? Why did he start with Jeff Trail, a former navy lieutenant whom Cunanan called "my brother"? Though those answers died with Cunanan, we can discern some clues about their relationship from the people who knew him and Trail best.
Here, what we do know about Andrew Cunanan and Jeffrey Trail's friendship, according to interviews conducted by Maureen Orth for Vanity Fair and her book, Vulgar Favors, and reporting from the likes of People and the New York Times.
Andrew Cunanan and Jeff Trail met sometime in late 1992 or early 1993.
Trail was serving on the USS Gridley, a Navy cruiser docked in San Diego, around the time he met Andrew Cunanan, according to Vulgar Favors. At the time, Trail was struggling with his sexuality; he knew he was gay, but the military forbade homosexual people from serving. (President Clinton's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy would go into effect February 28, 1994, two years before Trail left the Navy.)
Around the time Trail met Cunanan, he anonymously took part in a 48 Hours interview where he discussed being closeted in the military: "Whether people like it or not, there are gays in the military. They're very top-notch performers. They know what they're doing," he told reporter Richard Schlesinger. "You're gonna weaken our national defense if you remove gays from the military. And you'll never be able to do it 100 percent. It's just whether or not you're gonna continue to hunt us and force us to fear."
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According to Orth in Vulgar Favors, when Trail met Cunanan, he "was in awe of the utter flamboyance and ease with which Andrew handled his sexual orientation."
Cunanan used to recruit Trail to vouch for his lies.
Within his social circle, Cunanan had a reputation for telling fantastical tales about himself. According to Vulgar Favors, in an effort to impress guests at his own 26th birthday party, Cunanan gave Trail a box containing Ferragamo shoes and told Trail pretend they were his birthday gift to him. He also gave Trail a pair of Ferragamo shoes to wear and and asked him to pose as a doctor for the evening.
People who knew Cunanan and Trail swear they never slept together.
Orth reports in Vulgar Favors that "almost everyone who knew [Trail and Cunanan] insists they never had a sexual relationship." In fact, Cunanan frequently set up Trail with other men, according to Orth.
Some of Trail's friends didn't like Cunanan.
Two friends of Trail's, Chris Gamache and her partner, Judy Fleissner, told Orth (via Vulgar Favors) that they told Trail, "You need to get this guy out of here. He's a jerk and an idiot." But Trail, for the most part, staunchly defended Cunanan. Trail's sister, Candace Parrott, told People in August 1997, "People would ask Jeff why he put up with Andrew. His friends told me Jeff would say, 'It’s kind of like having a black sheep in your family. You just put up with him and you just love him.'”
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Additionally, friends observed Cunanan often tried to emulate Trail. ''When Jeff got a haircut, Andrew had to have the exact same haircut,'' another sister of Trail, Lisa, told the New York Times in July 1997. ''When Jeff went to San Francisco and got a certain style of baseball cap, Andrew had to go to San Francisco and get the very same cap. When Jeff grew a goatee, Andrew grew a goatee.''
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Trail moved to Minnesota five months before Cunanan killed him.
In November 1996, Trail moved from San Diego to Minneapolis for a new job, according to NYT. Cunanan's ex, David Madson, also lived in the Midwestern city. According to Vulgar Favors, Cunanan took Trail's move as an opportunity to reconnect with Madson, even though he was not interested and seeing other people. Still, after Trail's move, Cunanan made a habit of showing up in Minneapolis unannounced and imposing on his friends' hospitality. Meanwhile, Trail and Madson, acquainted through Cunanan, became friends. In fact, Orth reports that Trail actually warned Madson about Cunanan: "You can't believe a word he says. He'll say anything to get a reaction."
Trail wanted to cut Cunanan out of his life at the time of his murder.
This was a long time coming. By July of 1996, according to Vulgar Favors, Trail was tired of Cunanan's erratic, ostentatious behavior. Daniel O'Toole, Trail's then-boyfriend, told Orth, "I don't recall a time I knew Jeff when he was comfortable with Andrew, when Jeff and Andrew were really close."
Some of Trail's friends theorize Cunanan, who dealt and consumed drugs, according to Vanity Fair, tried to get Trail involved in his business. Trail admitted as much to his friend Rick Allen in March 1997, a month before his death:
“What Jeff told me,” says Rick Allen, “was ‘Andrew talked to me about doing security work for his “import-export” business.’
"I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Rick Allen says he told Jeff.
“ ‘Drugs, Rick, drugs.’ Jeff was very hesitant to talk about it at all. He told me, ‘It’s not something I tell anybody about.’ I said, ‘What did you tell him?’ Jeff said, ‘I said, “Fuck you.” ’ ”
Before Cunanan left San Diego for Minneapolis for the last time, he told friends he needed to "settle some business" with Trail, NYT reported in July 1997, shortly before Cunanan's suicide.
Trail was the first person Cunanan murdered.
On Friday, April 25, 1997, Cunanan took a one-way flight from San Diego to Minneapolis, Minnesota. He spent Friday evening with Madson, who picked him up from the airport. Cunanan then apparently spent Saturday night alone at Trail's house (Trail was out of town for the night). Cunanan returned to Madson's apartment sometime on Sunday, and asked Trail to come over. That night, the evening of April 27, Cunanan brutally murdered Trail.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story airs Wednesdays at 10 PM on FX.
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