2 men found dead at former South Beach Versace mansion on anniversary of fashion icon’s death

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Police are investigating after two bodies were found Wednesday at a South Florida hotel that was once the mansion of the late fashion designer Gianni Versace.

Miami Beach police and fire rescue responded Wednesday afternoon after housekeeping at The Villa Casa Casuarina found the dead men in a room, officials said. The scene was contained to the hotel room and detectives have launched a death investigation, police said.

Officials stated the preliminary investigation revealed it was an apparent double suicide. The official cause of death will be determined by the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s office during the investigation.

This picture taken from the FBI web site on the Internet 16 July shows Andrew Phillip Cunanan, the sole suspect in the murder of Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace. Versace was gunned down in front of his Miami home 15 July. AFP PHOTO/FBI (Photo credit should read H/O/AFP via Getty Images)

Thursday marks the 24th anniversary of Versace’s fatal shooting outside the South Beach landmark.

On the morning of July 15, 1997, Versace was returning home from the News Cafe, just a few blocks away from his Ocean Drive mansion. As Versace began to climb the steps to his home, serial killer Andrew Cunanan shot Versace in the head. Cunanan, who was suspected of killing four other men, killed himself on a houseboat eight days after Versace’s shooting.

Casa Casuarina was built in 1930 and purchased by Versace in 1992. It has operated as a boutique hotel since 2015.