Did Andrew Cunanan Murder Lincoln Aston?
Serial killer Andrew Cunanan - the man responsible for the murder of Gianni Versace - was known as a master manipulator, often using wealthy older men to finance his luxurious lifestyle. We're already familiar with Norman Blachford, an ex-boyfriend who appears in the American Crime Story series, and this week we're introduced to yet another one of Cunanan's conquests: Lincoln Aston.
Like several of Cunanan's ex's, including David Madson and Jeff Trail, Aston becomes the victim of a brutal murder - but in a head-scratching turn of events, it appears that Cunanan is not the one responsible. Or is he? This week's episode of American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace explores what really happened the night Aston was murdered. Here's what we know about him so far.
Lincoln Aston was a wealthy 61-year-old architect.
Cunanan seemed to have an eye for architects and developers: David Madson, his second victim, was a successful architect, and Lee Miglin, his third victim, was a real estate mogul. Aston, for his part, was a San Diego-based architect with investments in Texas Oil, according to The San Diego Reader. He lived a lavish lifestyle: he drove around in a black Mark V Lincoln Continental, and was deeply involved in the La Jolla and San Diego art scene as a patron and member. Cunanan met Aston simply by circulating through the local wealthy gay scene, according to Maureen Orth's account in Vulgar Favors, on which The Assassination of Gianni Versace is based. Aston was well-connected and liked to live loudly; he and Cunanan hit it off instantly.
He was found beaten to death in 1995 - two years before Cunanan committed his first murder.
By the time Aston was murdered, Cunanan had already taken up with his latest benefactor, Norman Blachford. Cunanan wasn't even a suspect in Aston's murder, as this was well before his own killing spree started. According to the NY Daily News, Aston was bludgeoned to death with a stone obelisk by a man named Kevin Bond. The 36-year-old drifter had met Aston in a bar. Bond confessed to the murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Cunanan and Blachford later moved into Aston's old home.
After Cunanan was identified as a spree killer, San Diego Police reopened Aston's case.
According to Orth, they ruled he was ultimately not involved. While a friend of the late Jeff Trail holds that the fashion in which Jeff and Aston were killed is suspicious, the San Diego Police remain satisfied with Bond's confession.
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