David Madson (architect)

Madson was born in Waterloo, Iowa, on October 16, 1963, the son of Howard Madson and Carol Muller. He had two sisters and one brother, and grew up mostly in Barron, Wisconsin, and other locations in Wisconsin. In his high school years, Madson was involved with musical theatre and other artistic activities. For his outstanding career, Madson had received the President's Medal from the University of Minnesota in 1995, later attending advanced urban planning classes at Harvard University, with his boss John Ryan describing him as an "immensely talented person." == HIV/AIDS activism ==

A gay man, Madson was active in the LGBTQ+ movements in Minneapolis in the 1990s. He visited gay bars often and worked on a design thesis of a memorial for HIV/AIDS victims, during the HIV epidemic. Madson named it The AIDS Memorial: A Place of Healing, basing the concept on recognizing the past, healing in the present, and learning for the future, writing that he thought that the HIV/AIDS epidemic would "leave lasting effects." Madson was supportive of DIFFA, an AIDS charity, and was deeply moved by the New York City AIDS Memorial, taking a personal interest in designing a similar memorial for Minneapolis. His project was named by a NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt note. == Relationship with Cunanan ==

Madson had met Andrew Cunanan in November 1995, around the same time that he met Jeffrey Trail, Cunanan's first victim and friend of Madson too. Cunanan dated both men, keeping a friendship with them after the end of their romantic relationships. In an extensive report by Maureen Orth of Vanity Fair, Orth states that Cunanan was dining with friends at a restaurant in San Francisco when he saw Madson drinking alone and sent him a drink on his behalf, asking Madson to join the group afterward. Cunanan's friends said that the two men spent a "nonsexual sleepover" at Cunanan's room in the Mandarin Oriental. Between November 1995 and July 1996, Madson maintained a long-distance relationship with Cunanan, growing frustrated over time at Cunanan's lies and pretentions. Friends of Madson reported after his murder that several of Cunanan's friends, including one in common (Jeffrey Trail) warned him of Cunanan's "pathological lying." Given that Cunanan was receiving a monthly payment of $2,000 () from a millionaire named Norman Blachford, it is probable that he wanted to hide his relationship with Madson to avoid losing the money. During their relationship, Cunanan went to Minnesota in April 1996, and Madson visited California as late as May 1996. The collapse of the relationship between Madson and Cunanan came in July 1996, when Cunanan failed to go to Minnesota to spend the Fourth of July with Madson. After the breakup, Cunanan grew infatuated with Madson, telling Jeffrey Trail's boyfriend that Madson was "the love of (my) life, the man (I) want to marry." Cunanan's friends also stated that around that time, he kept a picture of Madson on his refrigerator. In the weeks leading up to Cunanan's first crime, between Valentine's Day and Easter of 1997, Orth says that he proposed to Madson, telling a friend that Madson had rejected him. After separating from Cunanan, Madson had two boyfriends, who were aware, as well as many of his friends, of Madson's apprehension at Cunanan's visits to Minneapolis. In November 1996, Rob Davis, Madson's then-boyfriend, pushed Cunanan against a wall and warned him against harassing Madson. Madson's boyfriend after Davis, Cedric Rucker, also stated that Madson felt uncomfortable by Cunanan's presence. == Murder ==

In April 1997, Cunanan travelled to Minneapolis and stayed at Madson's apartment, who reluctantly accepted him as a guest. When police found Trail's body and knew of the relationship with Madson, they suspected that Madson had killed him. Police sergeant Robert Tichich of the Minneapolis Police Department stated to Vanity Fair that, at the time, there was no possibility to connect it to Cunanan. Neighbors of Madson saw him with Cunanan on the elevator and walking Madson's dog without a leash on April 29. The following day, fishermen found Madson's body in a lake in Rush City, Minnesota, with gunshot wounds in the back and between his eyes. Until the finding of his body and Cunanan's suicide and FBI investigation, police falsely believed that Madson might have been involved in Cunanan's crimes. == Aftermath and in media ==

Madson's thesis was certified by the University of Minnesota after his death, and he was posthumously awarded a master's degree in architecture in May 1998. == References ==