David Madson (architect)

David Madson
Madson in an undated photo
Born
David Jon Madson

(1963-10-16)October 16, 1963
Waterloo, Iowa, U.S.
DiedMay 2, 1997(1997-05-02) (aged 33)
Chisago County, Minnesota, U.S.
Cause of deathGunshot wounds
EducationUniversity of Minnesota
Occupations
  • Architect
  • LGBTQ+ rights activist
  • HIV/AIDS activist
Partners

David Jon Madson (October 16, 1963 – c. May 2, 1997) was an American architect and gay rights activist, widely known for being the former boyfriend and second victim of spree killer Andrew Cunanan.

Early life and career

Madson was born in Waterloo, Iowa, on October 16, 1963, the son of Howard Madson and Carol Muller.[1] He had two sisters and one brother, and grew up mostly in Barron, Wisconsin, and other locations in Wisconsin.[2] In his high school years, Madson was involved with musical theatre and other artistic activities.[1]

After graduating from Barron High School in 1981,[2] Madson enrolled at the University of Minnesota Duluth the following year to study political science and communications, obtaining a bachelor's degree in the former in May 1987.[1] In the fall of 1988, he settled in Minneapolis and began taking courses at university college and the institute of technology, subsequently joining the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in 1990 after being accepted into its School of Architecture.[3][1]

Throughout the 1990s, Madson continued his studies, pursuing a master's degree in architecture while also considering studying law. He began working while still attending college, holding several positions in different jobs, including at a law firm, a restaurant, and Saks Fifth Avenue.[1] His breakthrough as an architect came in 1996, when he joined a retail marketing company named JohnRyan Company. At JohnRyan, Madson began a successful architectural career, taking part in important projects for the firm.[4][5]

For his outstanding career, Madson had received the President's Medal from the University of Minnesota in 1995,[4] later attending advanced urban planning classes at Harvard University, with his boss John Ryan describing him as an "immensely talented person."[4]

HIV/AIDS activism

A gay man, Madson was active in the LGBTQ+ movements in Minneapolis in the 1990s.[1] He visited gay bars often and worked on a design thesis of a memorial for HIV/AIDS victims, during the HIV epidemic. Madson named it The AIDS Memorial: A Place of Healing, basing the concept on recognizing the past, healing in the present, and learning for the future, writing that he thought that the HIV/AIDS epidemic would "leave lasting effects."[1]

Madson was supportive of DIFFA, an AIDS charity, and was deeply moved by the New York City AIDS Memorial, taking a personal interest in designing a similar memorial for Minneapolis.[1] His project was named by a NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt note.[1][5]

Relationship with Cunanan

Madson had met Andrew Cunanan in November 1995, around the same time that he met Jeffrey Trail, Cunanan's first victim and friend of Madson too.[6][7] Cunanan dated both men, keeping a friendship with them after the end of their romantic relationships.[6] In an extensive report by Maureen Orth of Vanity Fair, Orth states that Cunanan was dining with friends at a restaurant in San Francisco when he saw Madson drinking alone and sent him a drink on his behalf, asking Madson to join the group afterward. Cunanan's friends said that the two men spent a "nonsexual sleepover" at Cunanan's room in the Mandarin Oriental.[8]

Between November 1995 and July 1996, Madson maintained a long-distance relationship with Cunanan, growing frustrated over time at Cunanan's lies and pretentions. Friends of Madson reported after his murder that several of Cunanan's friends, including one in common (Jeffrey Trail) warned him of Cunanan's "pathological lying."[8] Given that Cunanan was receiving a monthly payment of $2,000 (equivalent to $4,106 in 2025) from a millionaire named Norman Blachford, it is probable that he wanted to hide his relationship with Madson to avoid losing the money.[8] During their relationship, Cunanan went to Minnesota in April 1996, and Madson visited California as late as May 1996.[8]

The collapse of the relationship between Madson and Cunanan came in July 1996, when Cunanan failed to go to Minnesota to spend the Fourth of July with Madson. After the breakup, Cunanan grew infatuated with Madson, telling Jeffrey Trail's boyfriend that Madson was "the love of (my) life, the man (I) want to marry."[8] Cunanan's friends also stated that around that time, he kept a picture of Madson on his refrigerator.[8] In the weeks leading up to Cunanan's first crime, between Valentine's Day and Easter of 1997, Orth says that he proposed to Madson, telling a friend that Madson had rejected him.[8]

After separating from Cunanan, Madson had two boyfriends, who were aware, as well as many of his friends, of Madson's apprehension at Cunanan's visits to Minneapolis. In November 1996, Rob Davis, Madson's then-boyfriend, pushed Cunanan against a wall and warned him against harassing Madson.[8] Madson's boyfriend after Davis, Cedric Rucker, also stated that Madson felt uncomfortable by Cunanan's presence.[8][5]

Murder

In April 1997, Cunanan travelled to Minneapolis and stayed at Madson's apartment, who reluctantly accepted him as a guest.[5] Cunanan met Madson's friends, who asked one of them what he thought of Cunanan, to which they described Cunanan as "flashy" and "big-spending."[5]

On April 26, 1997, the second night of his visit to Minneapolis, Cunanan stayed at Trail's apartment while Trail was out of town with his boyfriend Jon Hackett. Upon returning to Minneapolis, they did not find Cunanan nor his belongings, with Trail telling Hackett that he needed to have a "pretty important" conversation with Cunanan.[5] On April 27, Trail went to see Cunanan at Madson's apartment, entering the building at 9:45 p.m.[7] Cunanan had phoned Trail, asking him to come fetch his gun, which Cunanan had stolen when he stayed at the apartment the previous night.[5] When Trail arrived, Cunanan attacked him with a hammer and killed him in front of Madson, placing his body behind a sofa and rolled in a rug.[5][9]

When police found Trail's body and knew of the relationship with Madson, they suspected that Madson had killed him. Police sergeant Robert Tichich of the Minneapolis Police Department stated to Vanity Fair that, at the time, there was no possibility to connect it to Cunanan.[4] It is believed that Madson (presumably as a hostage) stayed with Cunanan at the apartment for two nights after Trail's murder.[10][11] Neighbors of Madson saw him with Cunanan on the elevator and walking Madson's dog without a leash on April 29.[7][5] Madson's neighbors took note of this detail because Madson always used a leash to walk his dog.[3]

On May 2, Cunanan and Madson were seen eating lunch together north of Minneapolis and driving Madson's Jeep.[12] The following day, fishermen found Madson's body in a lake in Rush City, Minnesota, with gunshot wounds in the back and between his eyes.[3] Then Sheriff of Chisago County, Minnesota, Randall Schwegman told Los Angeles Times that "(Madson) knew it was coming",[3] though it was reported that Madson had "no reason to fear" Cunanan before Trail's murder, which probably shocked him.[13] Until the finding of his body and Cunanan's suicide and FBI investigation, police falsely believed that Madson might have been involved in Cunanan's crimes.[14][4]

Cunanan would continue his killing spree, murdering businessman Lee Miglin in Chicago, William Reese in Pennsville Township, New Jersey, and fashion designer Gianni Versace in Miami, subsequently killing himself there on July 23, 1997.[15][3][6]

Aftermath and in media

Madson's thesis was certified by the University of Minnesota after his death, and he was posthumously awarded a master's degree in architecture in May 1998.[1] He was buried in the Wayside Cemetery in Barron, Wisconsin, and he is memorialized by pavers in the Garden of Seasons in Loring Park, Minneapolis.[1]

Madson was portrayed by Matt Servitto in the 1998 film The Versace Murder and by Australian actor Cody Fern in the 2018 Netflix series American Crime Story's second season The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.[16][1][17][18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barth, Noah (May 12, 2022). "Remembering Minneapolis architect David Madson". MinnPost. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  2. ^ a b Barth, Noah. "Madson, David Jon (1963–1997)". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e Taurinskas, Trisha (October 14, 2024). "Before he killed famous fashion designer Versace, he murdered 2 in Minnesota". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e Thompson, Avery (February 7, 2018). "David Madson: 5 Things To Know About Andrew Cunanan's Second Victim". Hollywood Life. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Orth, Maureen (August 5, 2008). "The Killer's Trail". Vanity Fair. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  6. ^ a b c Purdum, Todd S. (July 17, 1997). "Stark Images of a Suspect Who Lived Fast and Loose". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  7. ^ a b c Littlefield, Dana (January 17, 2018). "Double Life of the party boy: a dark side foretold years ago". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kosin, Julie (February 28, 2018). "The True Story Behind Andrew Cunanan & David Madson's Relationship on American Crime Story". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  9. ^ Johnson, Dirk (July 19, 1997). "First Killing May Offer Clues to Four Others". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  10. ^ Maranzani, Barbara (September 24, 2025). "Case File: Andrew Cunanan". A&E (TV network). Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  11. ^ "20 Years Ago, Andrew Cunanan's Killing Spree Began In Minneapolis". CBS News. May 3, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  12. ^ Achenbach, Joel and Suro, Roberto (July 27, 1997). "Death Removes Mystique from Cunanan's Life". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  13. ^ Miller, Julie; Robinson, Joanna (February 7, 2018). "Versace: Why David Madson Didn't Try to Escape Andrew Cunanan". Vanity Fair. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  14. ^ Mackelden, Amy (January 31, 2018). "Who Were Jeffrey Trail and David Madson? American Crime Story Explores Andrew Cunanan's First Victims". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  15. ^ Kastor, Elizabeth and Weeks, Linton (July 17, 1997). "Five lives cut short". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  16. ^ "Matt Servitto". TVGuide. 2025. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  17. ^ Robinson, Joanna (February 7, 2018). "American Crime Story: Gay Shame and the Redemption of David Madson". Vanity Fair. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  18. ^ Stack, Tim (February 28, 2018). "Assassination of Gianni Versace: Cody Fern on playing David Madson and joining House of Cards". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
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