On the morning of 15 July 1997, Versace took a walk on Ocean Drive to retrieve his morning papers. Usually, Versace would have an assistant walk from his home to the coffee shop to get his morning papers, but on this occasion, he decided to go himself. Versace had returned and was climbing the steps of his Miami Beach mansion when he was shot in the head at point-blank range with a .40 caliber Taurus PT100. He was subsequently pronounced dead at Jackson Memorial Hospital, at 9:21 a.m. He was 50 years old at the time of his death. Versace's murder was witnessed by his former UK senior Stylist, Dean Aslett, who was on vacation in South Beach, Miami, and had partied with Versace a few days prior.