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Andrew Phillip Cunanan (August 31, 1969 – July 24, 1997) was an American serial killer [1] who murdered at least five people, including fashion designer Gianni Versace and Chicago tycoon Lee Miglin, during a three-month period in mid-1997. On June 12, 1997, Cunanan became the 449th fugitive to be listed by the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. The killing spree ended with Cunanan's suicide by firearm. He was 27 years old.

In his final years, Cunanan had lived as a gay hustler, who befriended wealthy older men[2] and spent their money (or used their credit cards) to impress acquaintances in the local gay community, such as talking about socialite events at clubs or often paying the bill at restaurants.[3] One millionaire friend had dumped Cunanan in 1996, the prior year.[3]

Early life[edit]

A collection of photos from the FBI, showing the ease with which Cunanan could change his appearance.

C

unanan was born in National City, California, to Modesto Cunanan, a Filipino American, and Mary Anne Schillaci, an Italian American, the youngest of four children. Modesto Cunanan was serving in the US Navy in the Vietnam War at the time of his son's birth.

In 1981, Cunanan's father enrolled him in the Independent day school, The Bishop's School in the La Jollaneighborhood of San Diego. At school, Cunanan was remembered as being bright and very talkative, testing with an I.Q. of 147.[4] As a teenager, however, he developed a reputation as a prolific liar given to telling fantastic tales about his family and personal life. He was also adept at changing his appearance according to what he felt was most attractive at a given moment.

When he was 19, his father deserted his family to avoid arrest for embezzlement. That same year, his mother learned that Cunanan was gay. During an ensuing argument, he threw her against a wall, dislocating her shoulder. Later examination of his behavior from reports indicate that he may have suffered from antisocial personality disorder, a personality disorder characterized by an abnormal lack of empathy (earlier known as psychopathy).[5]

After graduating from high school in 1987, he enrolled at the University of California, San Diego, where he majored in American history.[6] After dropping out, he settled in the Castro District of San Francisco. While there, he frequented high-class gay bars and sold sex to wealthy older men, and became involved in petty theft and drug dealing.[7]

Murders[edit]

The first two murders, near Minneapolis (Minnesota), began on April 27, 1997, with the death of San Diego acquaintance Jeffrey Trail, a former US naval officer and propane salesman, who had moved to Minneapolis. Cunanan beat Trail to death with a claw hammer and left his body rolled in a rug in a closet in a loft-apartment belonging to David Madson, his next victim.[3]

Architect David Madson had been Cunanan's lover, and his body was found on the east shore of Rush Lake near Rush City, Minnesota, on May 3, 1997 (four days later), with gunshot wounds to the head and back.[8][9]

Cunanan next drove to Chicago and killed 72-year-old Lee Miglin, a prominent real estate developer, on May 4, 1997. Miglin had been bound with duct tape on his hands and feet and his head had been wrapped with it. He was then stabbed over 20 times with a screwdriver and had his throat sawed open with a hacksaw.[10] Following this murder, the FBI added Cunanan to its Ten Most Wanted list.

Five days later, Cunanan, who took Miglin's car, found his fourth victim in Pennsville, New Jersey, at the Finn's Point National Cemetery, killing 45-year-old caretaker William Reese and taking his red pick-up truck. Reese had been shot to death.[10] While the manhunt focused on Reese's truck, Cunanan "hid in plain sight" in Miami Beach, Florida for two months between his fourth and fifth murders.[11] He even used his own name to pawn a stolen item, knowing that police routinely check pawn shop records for stolen merchandise.[12]

On July 15, 1997, Cunanan murdered Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace, with two gunshots on the front stairway of his Miami mansion.[13] A witness attempted to pursue him but could not catch him. The red truck he had used, as well as the clothes he had just been wearing, an alternative passport, and newspaper clippings of his murders, were found in a nearby parking garage by the police who responded.[5]
Death[edit]

On July 24, 1997, nine days after killing Versace, Cunanan shot himself in the right temple in the upstairs bedroom of a Miami houseboat. He used the same gun he had used to kill Madson, Reese, and Versace:[5][14] a Taurus PT100 semi-automatic pistol in .40 S&W caliber, which had been stolen from the first victim, Jeff Trail. His cremated remains are interred in the Mausoleum at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in San Diego, California.[15]
Motive[edit]

Cunanan's precise motivation remains unknown. At the time of the murders, there was extensive public and press speculation that tied the crimes to Cunanan discovering that he was HIV positive; however, an autopsy found him to be HIV negative.[16][17]

Though police searched the houseboat where Cunanan died, he left no suicide note and few personal belongings,[2] surprising investigators, given his reputation for acquiring money and expensive possessions from wealthy older men.[2] Police considered few of the findings to be of note, except multiple tubes of hydrocortisone cream and a fairly extensive collection of the fiction of C. S. Lewis.[2][18][19]
In popular culture[edit]

The Cunanan case inspired the 1998 Law & Order episode "Castoff".

Cunanan will be portrayed by Darren Criss in the second season of the anthology series American Crime Story.[20][needs update]

References[edit]

Jump up

Sources[edit]

Golan, Menahem (writer-director) (1998). The Versace Murder. (non-fiction film)
Indiana, Gary (1999). Three Month Fever: The Andrew Cunanan Story. ISBN 0-06-019145-7. (non-fiction)
Morris, Daniel (2010). Thrillkillville. ISBN 0-9827928-0-8. (novel)
Orth, Maureen (1999). Vulgar Favors. Dell. ISBN 0-385-33286-6. (non-fiction)
Sanes, Ken. "How Andrew Cunanan Became a UFO". Transparency.now. (editorial article)
Schecter, Harold & Everitt, David. The A-to-Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. ISBN 0-671-02074-9. (non-fiction)

External links[edit]

Andrew Cunanan at Find a Grave

[1] "FBI — Serial Killers, Part 6: Andrew Cunanan Murders a Fashion Icon". FBI. Archived from the original on 2016-07-02.

[2] Jump up to:a b c d Dirk Cameron Gibson, Serial Murder and Media Circuses, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006. p. 138.

[3] Jump up to:a b c Dion Haynes and Bob Secter, Tribune Staff Writers. Dion Haynes reported in San Diego; staff writers Bob Secter, Andrew Martin, Flynn McRoberts and Eric Ferkenhoff in Chicago (May 16, 1997). "The Many Faces of Andrew Cunanan: 'He Could Win Anyone Over'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2017-04-30.

[4] Jump up^ Orth, Maureen (14 June 2000). Vulgar Favors. Dell Publishing. ISBN 978-0-440-22585-0.

[5] Jump up to:a b c Danielle Esposito; John E. Douglas; Ann W. Burgess; Allen G. Burgess (2006). "Case Study: Andrew Cunanan". In John E. Douglas; Ann W. Burgess; Allen G. Burgess. Crime classification manual: a standard system for investigating and classifying violent crimes (2 ed.). John Wiley and Sons. pp. 448–452. ISBN 978-0-7879-8501-1. Retrieved April 10, 2011.

[6] Jump up^ "Famous Criminals: Andrew Cunanan". Crimeandinvestigation.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2010-10-13.

[7] Jump up^ Black, Donald W., Larson, C. Lindon. Bad boys, bad men: confronting antisocial personality disorder

[8] Jump up^ "''America's Most Wanted'': Andrew Cunanan". Amw.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2010-10-13.

[9] Jump up^ "New Twist in Miglin Case". Chicago Tribune. 8 May 1997. Retrieved 8 October 2014.

[10] Jump up to:a b Kastor, Elizabeth, Weeks, Linton. "Five Lives Cut Short". Washington Post. July 17, 1997.

[11] Jump up^ Geringer, Joseph. "Andrew Cunanan: After Me, Disaster: Unlike a Fugitive"

[12] Jump up^ Phillips, Andrew. "Versace's Killer Kills Self" Archived June 30, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Maclean's August 4, 1997.

[13] Jump up^ Lecayo, Richard. "Tagged for Murder". Time Magazine, June 21, 2001.

[14] Jump up^ Janofsky, Michael (July 25, 1997). "Suspect's Suicide Brings Relief and Normality". The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2009.

[15] Jump up^ "Andrew Phillip Cunanan (1969–1997) – Find A Grave Memorial". findagrave.com.

[16] Jump up^ "Who is Andrew Cunanan?" Archived January 12, 2006, at the Wayback Machine., CNN.com, 17 July 1997.

[17] Jump up^ Cunanan, Andrew – Autopsy report #1997-01742, Miami Medical Examiner.

[18] Jump up^ "This Day in History: July 15: Gianni Versace Killed". Maxim. July 2009. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012.

[19] Jump up^ Tyler Stoddard Smith, Whore Stories: A Revealing History of the World's Oldest Profession, p. 172

[20] Jump up^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 15, 2017). "Edgar Ramirez & Darren Criss To Star In 'Versace: American Crime Story' On FX". Deadline. Retrieved February 16, 2017.

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Friday, July 14, 2017

Assasination of Stylist Gianni Versace

Contents

Early life[edit]

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

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