As we approach the 20 year date that Gianni Versace was taken from us by someone that both Anthony and I knew, Andrew Cunanan, I came across an interesting piece of journalism that I hadn't seen before and it reminded me of my friend Jeff Trail, whom I was friends with and was Andrew's first victim in this crime.
A Naval Academy graduate from Annapolis, Jeff was a super guy. Really smart, really cool and one of the good guys in Hillcrest. At the time of this interview, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was the rule in the military and I wanted to humanize my friend a bit to show you what kind of person Jeffrey really was. He was super smart and really good for the community and the U.S. Navy. He believed in this country and believed in LGBTQ issues.
Laurie likes to tell people that she "knew Andrew Cunanan and Jeff Trail," but she didn't. Anthony and I knew them both. We both liked Jeff, and neither of us liked or cared for Andrew very much. Laurie has never met Andrew Cunanan, whom we knew as DaSilva, and she is horribly obsessed with telling people that she knew him. She didn't. She knows very well that I didn't like him and that my friends use to tease me, way before this killing, about my bad feelings about him. Andrew didn't know I had these feelings about him and he was very friendly with my then boyfriend, Ashley. I was very vocal about my dislike for this guy. My boyfriend though him to be eclectic and funny.
Andrew liked military guys which my boyfriend was. I just wanted you all to see the other side of my friends whom are much like I am. We are community based and proud of being gay. We aren't afraid of who we are or appearing on television to speak about it. Jeffrey was an exceptional man, but typical of my friends. He is missed and it is a shame that someone like Andrew took him from us. It is no small wonder that Laurie would be a fan of Andrew's and I would be a bigger fan of Jeff's.
To see the interview, click here ====> Jeff Trail's Interview on 48 Hours
