In Exclusive Interview, Versace’s Longtime Partner Says “I Heard the Shot. My Heart Just Stopped to Beat.”
Two-Hour Broadcast Also Features New Details and Interviews with Investigators, Victims’ Family And Friends
“The Death of Gianni Versace: A Dateline Investigation” Airs Friday, April 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, 8 p.m. CT
April 25, 2017 – In his first network television interview in the United States, Gianni Versace’s longtime partner Antonio D’Amico spoke to “Dateline NBC” correspondent Keith Morrison about Versace’s murder. “I heard the shot. My heart just stopped to beat … so I ran out and then I saw Gianni laying down on the stairs in blood,” D’Amico explained. To watch the exchange, click here.
Lead investigator George Navarro of the Miami Beach police department recalled finding out Versace’s murder was connected to a string of homicides, telling Morrison, “I got goosebumps. Because now this was bigger than just Gianni Versace getting murdered.” To watch the preview click here. The transcripts of the interview excerpts, which are part of a new, two-hour Dateline airing Friday, April 28, are included below.
The broadcast will also feature new details and an in-depth look at the case, which Morrison has reported on since the murders in 1997. The two-hour special includes interviews with supermodel Beverly Johnson, noted fashion journalist and Versace’s friend Hal Rubenstein, author Maureen Orth, Andrew Cunanan’s friend Stacey Lopez, Miami Beach police chief Richard Barreto and NBC News correspondent Kerry Sanders.
This year marks 20 years since Versace was murdered by Andrew Cunanan in front of his Miami Beach Mansion on July 15, 1997. Versace’s murder came amid a months-long manhunt for Cunanan, who was accused of committing four other murders throughout the country.
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ANTONIO D’AMICO: I heard the shot. My heart just stopped to beat. Something said to me ‘something happened.’ So I ran out and then I saw Gianni laying down on the stairs in blood.
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GEORGE NAVARRO: An FBI agent approaches me and says to me, ‘Can we talk about this case?’ I said, ‘Sure. What do you got?’ He goes, ‘I think we may know someone that may have done this.’
KEITH MORRISON: What was it like to hear that story from the FBI agent?
GEORGE NAVARRO: I got goosebumps. Because now this was bigger than just Gianni Versace getting murdered.
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ABOUT DATELINE NBC
Dateline NBC is the longest-running series in NBC primetime history. Now in its 25th season, Dateline is anchored by Lester Holt, featuring correspondents Andrea Canning, Josh Mankiewicz, Keith Morrison and Dennis Murphy. Airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, Dateline reaches more than 20 million people every week through its broadcast, and millions more through its social media platforms. David Corvo is the senior executive producer and Liz Cole is the executive producer. Follow “Dateline NBC” on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @datelinenbc.
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Dominique Cuce
NBC News
212-664-6192
dominique.cuce@nbcuni.com
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