Antonio D'Amico reveals in an interview that the late designer thought 'people looked ridiculous surrounded by these giant men.'
- Jul 28, 2018
AceShowbiz - Gianni Versace was once urged by his family to hire extra security guards.
The Italian designer, who helmed namesake label Versace - which is now run by his sister Donatella Versace - was murdered on the front steps of his Miami mansion in July 1997 by Andrew Cunanan.
His shocking death 21 years ago was the subject of the second season of Ryan Murphy's "American Crime Story" earlier this year, and People magazine have also analysed the case for a new episode of People Magazine Investigates, titled "Crimes of Fashion".
"We had lived a very safe life without any problems," Versace's former partner Antonio D'Amico told People, adding that the 50-year-old designer always refused to hire bodyguards and extra security despite his family's urging. "He thought people looked ridiculous surrounded by these giant men. We never felt in danger. He didn't want to draw more attention to himself than necessary with all the bodyguards."
Recalling the day of the shooting, D'Amico said his blood chilled when he heard the shots being fired just outside his front door. He also got a glimpse of killer Cunanan before he fled the scene.
"Right in that moment, I ran outside. We had this shocking vision of Gianni and then I saw this guy on the walkway and he turns back and looks at us with a kind of smile, a strange face, and I said to Lazaro (Quintana, a friend of Versace's), 'He did it, he did it, go get him,'" he remembered.
Cunanan was able to evade police and FBI agents for over a week, but as law enforcement officers closed in, the 27-year-old, who went on a killing spree before shooting Versace, shot himself.
"The FBI and the police couldn't find a single person that didn't like Gianni," D'Amico said. "They couldn't find a single reason why someone would want to kill him, because he was such a normal guy. He was a very normal, shy person."
