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Andrew Cunanan

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Andrew Cunanan
Andrew Cunanan in April 1997
Andrew Cunanan in April 1997
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive
ChargesSerial murder
Description
BornAndrew Phillip Cunanan
(1969-08-31)August 31, 1969
National City, California, United States
DiedJuly 23, 1997(1997-07-23) (aged 27)
Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Cause of deathSuicide (Gunshot to the head)
NationalityAmerican
Status
AddedJune 12, 1997
Number449
Deceased prior to capture

Andrew Phillip Cunanan (August 31, 1969 – July 23, 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 string of murders by Cunanan ended on July 23 with Cunanan's suicide by firearm. He was 27 years old.

In his final years, Cunanan had lived without a specific job, befriending wealthy older men[2] and spending their money to impress acquaintances in the local gay community, such as boasting about social events at clubs or often paying the check at restaurants.[3] One millionaire friend had dumped Cunanan in 1996, the prior year.[3]

Early life

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

Cunanan was born in National City, California, to Modesto "Pete" Cunanan, a Filipino American,[4] 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 Jolla neighborhood of San Diego. At school, Cunanan was remembered as being bright and very talkative, testing with an I.Q. of 147.[5] 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).[6]

After graduating from high school in 1987, he enrolled at the University of California, San Diego, where he majored in American history.[7] After dropping out, he settled in the Castro District of San Francisco.

Murders

Cunanan's killing spree began in Minneapolis on April 27, 1997, with the murder of San Diego acquaintance Jeffrey Trail, a former US naval officer and propane salesman. Following an argument, Cunanan beat Trail to death with a claw hammer, and left his body rolled in a rug inside a closet of a loft apartment belonging to architect David Madson.[3]

Madson, who had once been Cunanan's lover, was the second victim to be killed; his body was found on the east shore of Rush Lake near Rush City, Minnesota, on May 3, 1997, 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 securing his hands and feet, and wrapped around his head. He was then stabbed over 20 times with a screwdriver, and had his throat sawn 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 Finn's Point National Cemetery, shooting and killing 45-year-old caretaker William Reese, and stealing his red pickup truck. While the manhunt focused on Reese's stolen truck, Cunanan "hid in plain sight" in Miami Beach, Florida, for two months, before committing his fifth and final murder.[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, shooting him twice on the front stairway of his Miami mansion.[13] A witness attempted to pursue him, but was unable to catch up to him. Responding police officers found Reese's stolen vehicle, as well as Cunanan's clothes, an alternative passport, and newspaper clippings of Cunanan's murders, in a nearby parking garage.[6]

Death

On July 23, 1997, eight days after killing Versace, Cunanan killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot to the right temple in the upstairs bedroom of a Miami Beach houseboat. He used the same gun he had used to kill Madson, Reese, and Versace:[6][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.

Motive

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;[15] 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

Cunanan was portrayed by Shane Perdue in the 1998 film The Versace Murder[20], by Luke Morrison in the 2013 television film House of Versace, and by Darren Criss in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, the second season of the anthology series American Crime Story, which premiered on January 17, 2018.[21]

The American Court TV (now TruTV) television series Mugshots released an episode covering Cunanan, titled Andrew Cunanan The Versace Killer.[22]

American rock band Modest Mouse's 2015 album Strangers to Ourselves has a song named after the case: "Pistol (A. Cunanan, Miami, FL. 1996)".

References

  1. ^ "FBI — Serial Killers, Part 6: Andrew Cunanan Murders a Fashion Icon". FBI. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c d Gibson, Dirk Cameron (2006). Serial Murder and Media Circuses. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 138.
  3. ^ a b c Haynes, Dion; Secter, Bob (May 16, 1997). "The Many Faces of Andrew Cunanan: 'He Could Win Anyone Over'". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois: Tronc. Retrieved April 30, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  4. ^ Welkom, Robert W. (September 19, 1997). "Cunanan's Father Plans Documentary on Son's Life". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California: Tronc. Retrieved March 2, 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  5. ^ Orth, Maureen (2000). Vulgar Favors. New York City: Dell Publishing. ISBN 978-0-440-22585-0.
  6. ^ a b c Esposito, Danielle; Douglas, John E.; Burgess, Ann W.; Burgess, Allen G. (2006). "Case Study: Andrew Cunanan". In Douglas, John E.; Burgess, Ann W.; Burgess, Allen G. (eds.). Crime Classification Manual: A Standard System for Investigating and Classifying Violent Crimes (2nd ed.). John Wiley and Sons. pp. 448–452. ISBN 978-0-7879-8501-1. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
  7. ^ "Famous Criminals: Andrew Cunanan". Crimeandinvestigation.co.uk. Archived from the original on July 9, 2009. Retrieved October 13, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "'America's Most Wanted': Andrew Cunanan". Amw.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Recktenwald, William; Martin, Andrew (May 8, 1997). "New Twist in Miglin Case". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois: Tronc. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  10. ^ Kastor, Elizabeth; Weeks, Linton (July 17, 1997). "Five Lives Cut Short". Washington Post. Washington, DC: Nash Holdings LLC. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  11. ^ Orth, Maureen (September 1997). "The Killer's Trail". Vanity Fair. New York City: Condé Nast. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  12. ^ Phillips, Andrew (August 4, 1997). "Versace's Killer Kills Self". Maclean's. Toronto, Ontario: Rogers Media. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009.
  13. ^ Lecayo, Richard (June 21, 2001). "Tagged for Murder". Time. Des Moines, Iowa: Meredith Corporation. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  14. ^ Janofsky, Michael (July 25, 1997). "Suspect's Suicide Brings Relief and Normality". The New York Times. New York City: The New York Times Publishing Company. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  15. ^ Cenite, Mark (March 1, 2005). "The Obligation to Qualify Speculation". Journal of Mass Media Ethics. 20 (1). Abingdon, Oxford: Taylor & Francis Group: 43-44. doi:10.1207/s15327728jmme2001_4.
  16. ^ "Who is Andrew Cunanan?". CNN. July 17, 1997. Archived from the original on January 12, 2006.
  17. ^ Cunanan, Andrew – Autopsy report #1997-01742, Miami Medical Examiner.
  18. ^ Raworth, Ben (July 2009). "July 15: Gianni Versace Killed". This Day in History. Maxim. San Antonio, Texas: Biglari Holdings. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  19. ^ Stoddard Smith, Tyler. Whore Stories: A Revealing History of the World's Oldest Profession. Adams, Massachusetts: Adams Media. p. 172.
  20. ^ Madigan, Nick (January 14, 1998). "Versace wraps case in Miami". Variety. New York City: Condé Nast. Retrieved February 10, 2018. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  21. ^ Nemetz, Dave (November 17, 2017). "American Crime Story: Versace Gets January Premiere Date on FX". tvline.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  22. ^ Ellen Goosenberg Kent (Director), John Parsons Peditto (Producer) (September 6, 2013). "Andrew Cunanan: Versace's Killer". Mugshots. TruTV. Fisher Klingenstein Films.

Sources

External links

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