Morning in miami beach their lives collided. Andrew just walked up right behind him and shot him in the head. I heard the the shot and something said to me, something happened. Reporter after two decades, new details never before revealed. New stories never before told. He remembers Andrew Cunanan saying, none of you really know the truth. Reporter what triggered his crosscountry murder spree . There was so much hatred. Why wasnt he stopped sooner . One hapless mistake after another. Are we any closer to solving the mystery of Andrew Cunanan . He looked at me and he said, stacy, you have no idea what im capable of. Reporter im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with the death of Gianni Versace. Reporter once there was a true genius who conquered the capitals of fashion, and earned worldwide fame. And once there was a man who earned fame another way. This is the story of how brilliance met bitter envy. Of how, and maybe why, the bright light that was Gianni Versace, was snuffed by a failure named Andrew Cunanan. He was fixated by celebrity. He was determined to be remembered. Reporter and what cunanan killed was indeed true magic. No one understood that magic or the power of fame, the pull of celebrity. Quite like Gianni Versace. It was the hottest ticket in town. He was a major, major star. Reporter and all the stars wanted to go and be there. Yes. All of them dying to see versaces latest surprise. Hed dispensed with the tailored suits and shoulder pads and baggy pants of the 80s, and set out to celebrate the body. Reporter suddenly everything went sexy . Everything went sexy, and it had colors and it was loud. It was different reporter legendary model Beverly Johnson watched from the runway, as versace exploded on the world. You know, even the name had that kind of appeal. Versace reporter versace, his big brother santo and little sister donatella were born in the very toe of the boot of italy. Growing up, literally, among the the ruins of the ancient roman empire. His parents were modest, hard working people. Versace learned at the knee of his dressmaker mother, learned that every stitch mattered, that quality was paramount. He was 25 when he set out for the capital of italian couture, milan. This was the versace house. Reporter its here we met antonio damico, versaces partner in life and in business. So here is, see the medusa there. Yeah, yeah on the door. Reporter he told us the story behind versaces logo, the medusa, and how gianni spotted it, right on the front door of his new house. It was already there. Reporter and that was the idea for the logo . It was the idea to keep the medusa as a logo. Reporter what did medusa say to you . Medusa, you know, its a seduction. Something that you look at her, and you cannot take of the your eyes. Reporter yeah. You cant look away. So thats why seduction is, like, the and that was the fashion of versace, seduction. Reporter in myth, whoever looks on the face of medusa turns to stone. In reality, the fashions behind that logo were impossible not to look at. Ballet impresarios, movie directors, rock stars came running. Elton john became a friend. And remember miami vice . In its final season the stars wore versace. I mean some of these photographs of famous people in those clothes are are iconic. They theyre world famous still. Like Princess Diana in that blue sheath. She didnt want to wear like a english old style, so she asked gianni to make dresses for her. Reporter his Fashion Shows made history. Like the one in 1991 with cindy crawford, naomi campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington all on the same runway. Unforgettable, said the noted fashion journalist Hal Rubenstein. The music was amazing. The color was amazing. The men and women were breathtaking. This was him. This this is how he wanted you to see life. Life always came with fireworks. Gianni versace was not for the faint of heart. Because when you put that on from the time you walk out of your door, all eyes are on you. Reporter well, there were some famous ones too, right . Oh, yeah. The safety pins. Reporter elizabeth hurley. 1994. At her boyfriend hugh grants movie premiere. She wasnt really a star back then, but she was after she wore the versace safety pin dress. Safety pin dress pizzazz. It was a celebration of the womans body, and and really being proud of your sexuality. Reporter and versace wasnt just a brilliant designer. An openly gay man, he became a champion for a community badly in need of one by embracing his sexuality and showing others they could, too. Its even more amazing to realize what he did when you realize why and when he did it. And especially in america having come through the 80s when aids was so devastating, we became terrified of sex. Reporter but not versace. His designs made a statement, be bold. Be brave. I loved the audacity of what he did. I loved his fearlessness. Hes not apologizing to anyone. Its a force to be reckoned with. Reporter he talked to katie couric about his fashion philosophy when he visited the today show in 1996. It is very important for people to look themselves, to express themselves, thats the only heart in fashion, to be yourself. And i think we designers have to help people to be glamorous, happy and alive. Reporter by 1997 he was getting ready to take his company to a new level. This was an auspicious time in versaces life. Reporter maureen orth covered the versace case for vanity fair. He wanted to be the very first italian designer to get on the new york stock exchange. And he was getting his whole business ready for an ipo. Reporter taking his company public. He was on top of a mountain. He was happy as can be. Everything was right. Everything was going right. Reporter so, having met the moneymen in new york, Gianni Versace retreated to his luxurious mansion in miami beach. Blissfully unaware that the name versace would soon again be splashed across headlines, put there by a killer intent on stealing the fame of a genius. And who, even now, was eluding police as he drove inexorably toward his destiny. Wealthier men who could help keep him in a life that he aspired to. A life that would take one strange turn after another. He looked at me and he said, stacy, you have no idea what im capable of. And to top that off, every sixth mccafe beverage is free with our app. Only at mcdonalds. Hthats why new downyl can saprotect and refresh conditions fibers to lock out odors. So clothing odors dont do the talking for you. Lock out odors with new downy protect and refresh. It can seem like triggers pop up everywhere. Luckily theres powerful, 24hour, nondrowsy claritin. 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Andrew was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth but he was raised as if he was. He was the adored baby fourth child, and he was treated like a little emperor. Reporter maureen orth, a dateline consultant, wrote the book on cunanan vulgar favors. He was the product of an extremely dysfunctional family, a very unhappy marriage. A filipino father who was incredibly materialistic and pretentious, and a sicilian mother who was sort of beaten down by the father, who had her own Mental Health issues. Reporter andrew adored his father, mostly ignored his mother, and focused on getting what he wanted for himself. According to his close friend, stacy lopez. He always had a big want list, you know . Oh, i want that, i would like that. Fancy car . Yes. And i think going to a school like bishops , you know, some kids drove to school in a lamborghini. Reporter the exclusive Bishops School in ritzy la jolla. Andrews father pinched pennies to send him here. To get in, andrew wrote this admissions essay, illustrating just how much he wanted it too, despite the misspellings. I had long looked forward to my tour and interview at bishop envisions classrooms and teachers the like mr. Chips and miss jean brody. I was not disappointed. He knew, even then, that flattery will get you somewhere. Reporter roman jiminez, a freelance journalist, was editor of update, a san diego gay and lesbian newspaper. He had brains. And he had looks. And he had charm. I remember when he came to school, you know, he just had such a big personality. Even at that stage, huh . Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I thought he was very brave because back in the early 80s, generally people were not openly gay, and he was. Reporter out and proud but never at home. Due to religious reasons, he felt his family would not be as accepting. He hid his homosexuality from his family forever. Reporter but andrew and stacy accepted each other, unconditionally, as his inscription in her yearbook attests. Can you read that . Sure. Its too bad im gay, or id be madly in love with you. Love always, andrew. Reporter andrew started dating at bishops but not boys his own age. Andrew spent time with wealthier men who could help keep him in a life that he aspired to. He was a boy toy. Sure. Reporter a boy toy who liked to show off the gifts he received. He had come to the dance in this red leather jump suit and oh, boy. I remember going, wow, andrew. He says, yes, my boyfriend antony bought it for me. Reporter stacy liked to tease andrew about his dating choices. I said, oh, so whos your sugar daddy now . And he was like, oh wouldnt you like to know. Reporter at bishops, andrew cruised along academically. Most of us had to study. But you never saw him in the library studying. Coasted through . Exactly. Reporter so, was it a prophesy when, on graduation in 1987, he was voted most likely to be remembered. He just had a very dynamic personality and was very funny. And everybody loved him. Reporter after bishops, andrew tried college. But the boy who coasted through high school found uc san diego altogether too demanding and costly, so he bailed. There were problems at home, too. Andrews father, a stockbroker, was accused in a civil lawsuit of embezzling 100,000. And he fled the country, left his family, never came back. Without telling them, he sold their house out from under them. He took the money, and he went to the philippines and completely abandoned them. Reporter andrew was now on his own, and he turned to the older men he knew could support him. He cruised hillcrest, san diegos gay area, and fell deeper into his world of sugar daddies who took care of his financial needs. I think andrew grew up thinking that maybe the world owed him a living, and he didnt really have to work for things. Reporter for the older men in his life, and others, andrew invented a new identity for himself, Andrew Desilva, and made up stories about a gilded past, about accomplishments that never were. And impressed those men by appearing well read and cultured, told them he loved art. And opera. So andrew was moving in more elite circles now and traveling. He went to the San Francisco opera house in 1990. And a chance meeting afterwards would change his life and change history. That meeting was with Gianni Versace, who was in San Francisco designing costumes, as this sketch shows, for the opera capriccio. There was a party where versace was gonna appear. And andrews friend scored some tickets. And so, during the party, he claimed, and other people claimed, that andrew met versace. Reporter mind you, antonio remember him, versaces partner . He was at the party and claimed that meeting never happened. But andrews excitement was off the charts. He couldnt contain himself with some friends. He jumped on the foot of their bed, and said, i met versace. I met versace. I met versace. He was so thrilled that he had done it. Reporter he admired everything the superstar designer had achieved. Fame, fortune and freedom as a confident gay man. But there was one difference, as big as a runway is long. Andrew cunanan wasnt willing to work for any of it. And that meant disappointment, and trouble, might lay ahead. I remember he looked at me and he said, stacy, you have no idea what im capable of. Coming up, as versace rises, cunanan finds a spotlight of his own. Andrew would come here almost every night. He would hold court here. Hed pretend to the whole world that he was a rich kid living off a trust fund. When dateline continues. Nfor hollywoods biggest stars. And at kay jewelers, he designs thm for you, too. You know the saying, they dont make em like they used to . I still do. Kay, the numberone Jewelry Store for. Yes every kiss begins with kay no matter who was in there last. Protection. New lysol power fresh 6 goes to work flush after flush for a justcleaned feeling that lasts up to 4 weeks. Lysol. What it takes to protect. In san jose this winter are still high. On our homepage we re breaking down the details of a meeting with the Water District today and how fish played a Critical Role in the flooding. Add and buzzing on twitter right now. The giants ace, Madison Bumgarner is now likely out until after the allstar break. Bumgarner hurt his shoulder during a road bike accident last week. We re back in an hour. End reporter in the 1990s, almost anyone might have gotten a little thrill, meeting the fabulous Gianni Versace. But Andrew Cunanan . Something more than that for him. Versace seems to be somebody that he studied a lot because versace seemed to personify a lot that he wanted to be. Reporter but in 1991, when versace was launching his fall line, a dazzling supermodel studded event. Reporter andrew had dropped out of college and was working a menial job at a drug store. He was also dealing party drugs to his pals. In six years, everyone would know his name. But in 1991, Andrew Cunanan was living in obscurity and scratching around for his next meal ticket. Andrew didnt like to work really hard. But he liked nice things. I fully expected him to be in a relationship with somebody older that was catering to his needs. Reporter sure enough, in 1994, cunanan scored. He was still posing as Andrew Desilva when he met a wealthy older man who seemed, for a time, happy to pay the bills. Hes kept by this really rich guy, norman blachford, who gives him an infiniti to drive around. Reporter now, andrew was living in a beachfront condo in pricey la jolla. This new relationship put cunanan in rarified company. Of the sort he liked. A lot. Norman blachford belonged to a very secretive, very affluent gay fraternity called gamma mu. They would have these very lavish meals and brunches and dances. Reporter and when he wasnt brunching and dancing with the older guys. He liked hanging out with the beautiful young crowd in the hillcrest neighborhood, san diegos gay place to see and be seen. This bar right here flicks. Reporter maureen orth learned a lot about Andrew Cunanan when she came here. Andrew would come here almost every night, he would put people together here he would hold court here. Reporter he was the life of the party. And every night was a party. And he would just sort of sit and watch and see if there are any new cute guys in town and he would be the first guy to know who they were and, like, start presenting them around. Like a nonworking man about town . Yeah. Didnt seem to have any interest in having a job or no. A career of any kind . No, i think he he pretend to the whole world he was this rich kid living off a trust fund, and he didnt need to work. Reporter and for some reason, people bought his story. Jeff trail, for instance, an upstanding guy who became andrews friend. Jeff trail was the allamerican boy, a graduate of the naval academy. Politically conservative, he hated drugs, he didnt drink. Reporter one of jeffs closet friends was Jon Wainwright. People liked jeff. He just had a lot going on for him. Jeff was very tentative about coming out. He never came out to his family. Reporter the friendship worked for a time. And while jeff shied away from drugs, andrew didnt. Desperate to be noticed, he would do almost anything, legal or not. So he became the drug dealer, he became the procurer, he became the guy who connected people together. And he was the one who always picked up the dinner tab. Reporter with normans money, of course. But in 1995, as normans kept man, andrew met a handsome young architect named david madson. And fell in love. I think that david was a kind of a dogooder, lovely human being. Everybody remembers him from his small town. Reporter but david, according to maureen orth, did have a weakness for material things, which andrew was only too happy to cater to. He gave him fancy cartier watch and fancy suits and david always accepted his gifts. Reporter and andrew was on top of the world, finally living the good life he felt entitled to. This was the best it would ever get. Didnt they call him the mayor of hillcrest . That was one of the titles that and, you know, he reveled in it, you know, cause it was the center of attention. Reporter but and this is no surprise Andrew Cunanans happiness was built on a fragile foundation. For months, he juggled his benefactor norman and his lover david. Until, in the fall of 1996, the man with the money got wise. Andrew wanted a mercedes and he tells norman that, unless he can have a mercedes, hes going to walk out. And norman say