Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
CARETAKER WHO FOUND KILLER LOOKS BACK
Gianni Versace was murdered 20 years ago on South Beach
Fernando Carreira vividly remembers the day, 20 years ago, when he stumbled upon serial killer Andrew Cunanan inside a Miami Beach houseboat.
“The police found Cunanan because I found him,” says Carreira, now 91 and living in a small South Beach studio.
In July 1997, South Florida was reeling from the murder of famed fashion designer Gianni Versace — in broad daylight outside his lavish Ocean Drive estate — and worried about the whereabouts of the man suspected in his death and that of four other men across the country. On July 23, it became known that Carreira had discovered Cunanan’s hideout.
As the anniversary of Versace’s death approaches, Carreira looks back on the day when his path crossed with Cunanan and how that day changed his life.
In news stories, Carreira was referred to simply as “the caretaker,” because he was charged with watching over the two-level houseboat on 52nd Street and Collins Avenue and was making his routine rounds that day with his wife, Luz Rodriguez.
On cue, he can recite the happenings of the day by heart. It was about 4 p.m. when Carreira tried to open the front door and found the top lock had been jimmied.
“I used my arm to push it open,” Carreira says.
To his surprise, the lights inside were on. Walking deeper down the hallway into the living room area, he saw a pair of sandals next to the sofa.
“When I saw the sandals, I told my wife, ‘Someone is here.’ ”
Carreira recalls drawing his .38 caliber Smith & Wesson gun from his waistband holster and taking a step forward when he heard a gunshot inside the house.
“Boom! We ran out. I thought the shot was for me.”
Outside, Carreira used his cellphone to call his son to alert authorities.
Police arrived within minutes. A SWAT team surrounded the houseboat. News helicopters hovered above.
About five hours later, police stormed the houseboat. Inside, they found Cunanan’s slumped body.
“He probably thought we could be the police or the FBI,” Carreira says. “He was probably downstairs when he heard me at the door … He preferred to kill himself than face the authorities.”
For a short time, Carreira was the toast of the media. He received reward money for Cunanan’s capture, including $10,000 from the New York City Anti-Violence Project. There also was a trip to Carreira’s native Portugal, he says, thanks to a TV station seeking an interview. In all, Carreira says he received more than $50,000 in reward money.
But he invested all of it in a plastic gun holster business. “I invested the money, and I lost it,” he says. “It was a failure.”
Eventually, the spotlight faded. And life went on for Carreira and his wife.
The couple of 41 years live in their studio with their dog Ace, a chocolate-colored mini Doberman pinscher. Lining the walls of the studio: three large frames filled with articles about Cunanan, Versace and Carreira’s time in the news.
“They are for memories,” says Carreira, standing before one of the framed news articles about Cunanan being on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.
The story of Cunanan’s murder spree is being retold in a 10-episode FX network series that recently shot scenes in Miami Beach, including in Versace’s former home, renamed The Villa Casa Casuarina. The couple hope the series, which has been referred to as “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” will dramatize the houseboat scene and Carreira’s role in helping police find Cunanan. Set to air in 2018, the series is based on the book, “Vulgar Favors,” by Vanity Fair correspondent Maureen Orth.
FX spokeswoman Roslyn Bibby says the role of the caretaker hasn’t been cast yet. The series continues to be filmed in California.
“I think it’s important that they show how he was found,” says Carreira’s wife.
“I just want the end to be the truth,” he adds.