Getty A poster of Andrew Cunanan, the number one suspect in the killing of designer Gianni Versace, is displayed at the entrance of a bar in West Hollywood, CA. The city of West Hollywood and the West Hollywood sheriff's station were launching an informational offensive urging residents and visitors to West Hollywood's many nightspots to be on the look-out for Cunanan. The 27-year-old former resident of San Diego was the prime suspect in the murder of several gay men in other parts of the country.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace is based on true events, surrounding the death of fashion legend Gianni Versace, but, it is also shown from the fabricated point of view of Versace’s murderer, serial killer Andrew Cunanan. The show is not a docuseries, but it does incorporate various facts in its story. Cunanan did hide out on a houseboat after shooting Versace on the steps of his iconic home in Miami, Florida. Inside this houseboat is were Cunanan took his own life, shooting himself with the same gun that he used on several of his victims in 1997. As a police assault team swarmed onto the boat, Cunanan is reported to have killed himself with a bullet through the mouth.
According to the NY Times, Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Barreto stated during a news conference, just after Cunanan’s death, that, “He was a desperate person with very little room to move about … I’m happy that this has been brought to closure without another victim.” The article also reveals that Cunanan had tried to attain a fake passport just days before his suicide. When it comes to the owner of the houseboat on which Cunanan was staying, the NY Times reported that it belonged to a Leipzig businessman, who also was a fugitive. He was wanted, from Germany, on fraud charges and was arrested in Frankfurt during the month after Cunanan’s suicide.
A member of the Miami Medical Examiner’s office places a stretcher, carrying the body of serial killer Andrew Cunanan, into a van after the body was removed from a boathouse in Miami Beach. According to authorities, Cunanan shot himself after he was trapped inside the boathouse by a SWAT team and the Miami police.
In an article by the Miami Herald, Cunanan was reported to have been hiding out on Indian Creek in Miami Beach. He killed himself a week after his final murder, killing Gianni Versace. A source told the Miami Herald that after Cunanan’s body was found, law enforcement was trying to contact Versace’s family in Italy “so they could find out before the world does.” At first, police did not confirm that the body belonged to Cunanan. Later on, a fingerprint confirmed the identity.
The houseboat was located at 5250 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida, 41 blocks north of Versace’s mansion. Helicopters, boats and dogs surrounded the houseboat. Police fired eight rounds of tear gas into the home before huddling behind shields and entering the home. This all began around 4 p.m. ET and, at 8:03 p.m. ET, the Miami Herald reported that witnesses heard a muffled shot from inside the boat. This is believed to have been the moment Cunanan took his life and this was before police had entered the boat.
Miami Beach police and FBI agents surround a houseboat that was stormed by a police SWAT team on a canal in Miami Beach late July. Police are waiting to see if the body found inside the boat is that of Andrew Cunanan, who is the lead suspect in the killing of Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace.
So, how did the police track down Cunanan, who had been on the run for months? Once Cunanan settled in on the houseboat, a caretaker of the houseboat, named Fernando Carreira, reported that he saw an “unauthorized stranger” inside, according to The Washington Post. His description matched the looks of Cunanan, so police zeroed in on him. Cunanan had actually been on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List for months.
Houseboat owner Torsten Reineck reportedly was the owner of a Las Vegas club called the Apollo Health Club and Spa. Reineck had actually been trying to sell the boat and, according to The Washington Post, the houseboat actually sank months after Cunanan’s suicide, in December 2017. The boat reportedly had a problem with its bilge pump.
This photo shows a houseboat that was stormed by a SWAT team in Miami Beach on reports that Andrew Cunanan was inside. Police found a body in the boat and were verifying the identification at the time.
Cunanan’s remains were reportedly argued over by his parents, but ultimately, Romper reported that his body was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in San Diego, California. He was put inside a mausoleum for his final resting place. Cunanan was 27 years old at the time of his death.
To view the actual photo of Cunanan’s dead body, a website featuring horrific and graphic crime scene pictures, has posted the very graphic photo here. The website features some of the most gruesome crime and death scene photos of famous killers and cases.
Medical examiners remove the body of Andrew Cunanan from the houseboat that was stormed by a police SWAT team on Indian Creek in Miami Beach. Andrew Cunanan, who was the lone suspect in the slaying of Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace, is reported to have shot himself in the head.