Lee Miglin

Lee Miglin
Born Lee Albert Miglin[1]
(1924-07-12)July 12, 1924
Westville, Illinois
Died May 4, 1997(1997-05-04) (aged 72)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Cause of death Multiple stab wounds
Nationality American
Occupation Real estate developer
Spouse(s) Marilyn Klecka
Children Marlena Miglin
Duke Miglin

Lee Albert Miglin (July 12, 1924 – May 4, 1997) was an American real estate developer, business tycoon, and philanthropist. He was murdered in 1997 by the spree killer Andrew Cunanan.[2]

Biography

Miglin was one of eight children born to a Roman Catholic family of Lithuanian descent; his father was a central Illinois coal miner.[3][4]

Miglin began his career selling silverware door-to-door and pancake batter out of the trunk of his car.[4] In 1956, at the age of 31, he began his real estate career, taking a job as a broker with Chicago real estate magnate Arthur Rubloff.[4]

Miglin went on to become a successful real estate developer. He and his partner, J. Paul Beitler, proposed the 125-floor skyscraper the Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle in Chicago; however, the building was never built.[5]

Murder

Miglin was murdered on May 4, 1997, by his frequent lover, the spree killer Andrew Cunanan. Miglin's body was found in the garage of his home in Chicago's Gold Coast Historic District. He had been bound at the wrists, and his head was bound with tape, with only a breathing space under his nostrils. He had been tortured with a saw and a screwdriver, his ribs had been broken, he had been beaten and stabbed, and his throat had been slashed with a gardener's bow saw.[2][6][7]

Cunanan was allegedly a gay escort already wanted in Minneapolis for murdering his friend Jeffrey Trail, 28, and ex-lover David Madson, 33, a few days earlier.[8] On May 9, 1997, Cunanan murdered 45-year-old William Reese, caretaker of the Finn's Point National Cemetery in Pennsville, New Jersey, then ditched Miglin's Lexus and stole Reese's red pickup truck. Following Miglin's murder, the FBI added Cunanan to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.

Cunanan also killed the Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace on July 15, 1997, two months after murdering Miglin. Cunanan committed suicide, by a gunshot to his head, on July 23, 1997.

Personal life

In 1959, Miglin married 20-year-old Marilyn Klecka, who was of Czech descent and, like Miglin, a Roman Catholic.[4] Klecka, a successful entrepreneur known as the Queen of Makeovers, owned a prominent perfume and cosmetics company and was a celebrity[8] on the Home Shopping Network.[3] At the time of Miglin's murder, the couple had been married for 38 years.[8] They had two children: Marlena (born 1968) and actor Duke Miglin (born 1971).[4]

Miglin is portrayed by Mike Farrell in the second season of the anthology series American Crime Story, titled The Assassination of Gianni Versace, which premiered on January 17, 2018. As Season 2 is based on Maureen Orth's book Vulgar Favors: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, Miglin is depicted as a closeted gay man who had a secret relationship with Cunanan, his long-time gay escort.[9]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.commercial-news.com/news/local_news/westville-honors-alumni-with-wall-of-fame/article_6e82fb02-9533-5b04-bfed-fb65f535506c.html
  2. 1 2 Chuck Goudie; Barb Markoff (May 2, 2017). "20 years after Cunanan murders, Lee Miglin's son talks". ABC7. Chicago. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  3. 1 2 McCormick, John (May 18, 1997). "A Lethal Road Trip". Newsweek. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Oarth, Maureen (December 5, 2017). Vulgar Favors: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. Bantam. ISBN 9780525482574.
  5. ↑ Kerch, Steve (May 11, 1997). "An Unbuilt Tower Is A Fine Legacy For Lee Miglin". Chicago Tribune.
  6. ↑ Martin, Andrew; Ferkenhoff, Eric (May 6, 1997). "The Mysterious Death Of Lee Miglin - Gold Coast Area Shocked By Slaying". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  7. ↑ Kastor, Elizabeth; Weeks, Linton (July 17, 1997). "Five Lives Cut Short". Washington Post.
  8. 1 2 3 Orth, Maureen (September 1997). "The Killer's Trail". Vanity Fair. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Mike Farrel as Lee Miglin for American Crime Story: Versace on FX". FX Networks.
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