Andrew Cunanan
Encyclopedia
Andrew Phillip Cunanan was an American
serial killer
who murdered at least five people, including fashion designer Gianni Versace
, during a three-month period in 1997, ending with Cunanan's suicide
, at age 27. On June 12, 1997, Cunanan became the 449th fugitive to be listed by the FBI
on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
list.
, to Modesto Cunanan, a Filipino American
, and Mary Anne Shilacci, an Italian American
. He was the youngest of four children. Modesto Cunanan could not attend his son's birth, as he was serving in the US Navy
in the Vietnam War
at the time.
In 1981, his father enrolled him in The Bishop's School in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego
, California
. At school, Cunanan was remembered as being bright and very talkative, testing with an I.Q.
of 147. As a teenager, 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.
After graduating from high school in 1987, he enrolled at the University of California, San Diego
, where he majored in American history
. After graduating from UCSD, he settled in the Castro District
of San Francisco. While there, he frequented high-class gay bar
s and prostituted
himself to wealthy older men.
When Cunanan was 19, his father deserted his family to avoid arrest for embezzlement. That same year, his mother learned of Andrew's homosexuality
. During an ensuing argument, he threw her against a wall, dislocating her shoulder.
Before the murders, Cunanan was involved in petty theft and drug dealing.
salesman, on April 25, 1997, in Minneapolis.
The next victim was architect David Madson, who was found on the east shore of Rush Lake near Rush City, Minnesota
, on April 29, 1997, with gunshot wounds to the head. Police recognized a connection, as Trail's body had been found in Madson's Minneapolis loft apartment.
Cunanan next drove to Chicago
and killed 72-year-old Lee Miglin
, a prominent real estate developer, on May 4, 1997. Following this murder, the FBI added him 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. 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. He even used his own name to pawn a stolen item, knowing that police routinely check pawn shop records for stolen merchandise.
On July 15, 1997, Cunanan murdered fashion designer Gianni Versace
. A witness attempted to pursue him but could not catch him. The vehicle he used, as well as the clothes he had just been wearing, an alternative passport, and newspaper clippings of his murders, was found in a nearby garage by the police who responded.
On July 23, 1997, eight days after murdering Versace, Cunanan shot himself in the mouth in the upstairs bedroom of a Miami houseboat
. He used the same gun he used to commit the other murders, a Taurus
semi-automatic pistol in .40 S&W
caliber
, which had been stolen from the first victim, Jeff Trail.
infection; however, an autopsy
found him to be HIV-negative.
In order to piece together a motive for his killing spree, police searched the boathouse where Cunanan died. However, Cunanan left behind few personal belongings, surprising investigators, given his reputation for acquiring money and expensive possessions from wealthy older men. 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.
His motivations remain a mystery. Various theories include jealousy for Versace's role as a "gay icon
", as well as necessity and opportunity in some of the other murders. Examination of his behavior from reports also indicate that he may have suffered from psychopathy
, a personality disorder
characterized by an abnormal lack of empathy
.
Americans
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
who murdered at least five people, including fashion designer Gianni Versace
Gianni Versace
Gianni Versace was an Italian fashion designer and founder of Gianni Versace S.p.A., an international fashion house, which produces accessories, fragrances, makeup and home furnishings as well as clothes. He also designed costumes for the theatre and films, and was a friend of Madonna, Elton John,...
, during a three-month period in 1997, ending with Cunanan's suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, at age 27. On June 12, 1997, Cunanan became the 449th fugitive to be listed by the FBI
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, 1990s
The FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives during the 1990s is a list, maintained for a fifth decade, of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation.-FBI 10 Most Wanted Fugitives to begin the 1990s:...
on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, and William Kinsey Hutchinson, International News Service Editor-in-Chief, who were discussing ways to promote capture of the...
list.
Early life
Cunanan was born in National City, CaliforniaNational City, California
National City is a city in San Diego County, California. The population was 58,582 at the 2010 census, up from 54,260 at the 2000 census. National City is the second oldest city in San Diego County and has a historic past.-History:...
, to Modesto Cunanan, a Filipino American
Filipino American
Filipino Americans are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipino Americans, often shortened to "Fil-Ams", or "Pinoy",Filipinos in what is now the United States were first documented in the 16th century, with small settlements beginning in the 18th century...
, and Mary Anne Shilacci, an Italian American
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
. He was the youngest of four children. Modesto Cunanan could not attend his son's birth, as he was serving in the US Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
at the time.
In 1981, his father enrolled him in The Bishop's School in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. At school, Cunanan was remembered as being bright and very talkative, testing with an I.Q.
Intelligence quotient
An intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a score derived from one of several different standardized tests designed to assess intelligence. When modern IQ tests are constructed, the mean score within an age group is set to 100 and the standard deviation to 15...
of 147. As a teenager, 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.
After graduating from high school in 1987, he enrolled at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, where he majored in American history
History of the United States
The history of the United States traditionally starts with the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776, although its territory was inhabited by Native Americans since prehistoric times and then by European colonists who followed the voyages of Christopher Columbus starting in 1492. The...
. After graduating from UCSD, he settled in the Castro District
The Castro, San Francisco, California
The Castro District, commonly referenced as The Castro, is a neighborhood in Eureka Valley in San Francisco, California. The Castro is one of America's first and best-known gay neighborhoods, and it is currently its largest...
of San Francisco. While there, he frequented high-class gay bar
Gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
s and prostituted
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
himself to wealthy older men.
When Cunanan was 19, his father deserted his family to avoid arrest for embezzlement. That same year, his mother learned of Andrew's homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. During an ensuing argument, he threw her against a wall, dislocating her shoulder.
Before the murders, Cunanan was involved in petty theft and drug dealing.
Murders
The first known murder was that of his friend Jeffrey Trail, a former US naval officer and propanePropane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
salesman, on April 25, 1997, in Minneapolis.
The next victim was architect David Madson, who was found on the east shore of Rush Lake near Rush City, Minnesota
Rush City, Minnesota
As of the census of 2010, there were 3,079 people, 844 households, and 524 families residing in the city. The population density was 990.3 people per square mile . There were 908 housing units at an average density of 292.9 per square mile...
, on April 29, 1997, with gunshot wounds to the head. Police recognized a connection, as Trail's body had been found in Madson's Minneapolis loft apartment.
Cunanan next drove to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and killed 72-year-old Lee Miglin
Lee Miglin
Lee Miglin was a Chicago real estate developer who made millions in the building boom of the 1980s. Miglin was the third victim of Andrew Cunanan's 1997 murder spree...
, a prominent real estate developer, on May 4, 1997. Following this murder, the FBI added him to its Ten Most Wanted list.
Five days later, Cunanan, who took Miglin's car, found his fourth victim in Pennsville
Pennsville Township, New Jersey
Pennsville Township is a Township in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 13,194. The township is named for William Penn....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, at the Finn's Point National Cemetery
Finn's Point National Cemetery
Finn's Point National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Pennsville, New Jersey in Salem County, New Jersey. It encompasses , and as of February 2009, had 3,033 interments...
, killing 45-year-old caretaker William Reese. While the manhunt focused on Reese's truck, Cunanan "hid in plain sight" in Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
, for two months between his fourth and fifth murders. He even used his own name to pawn a stolen item, knowing that police routinely check pawn shop records for stolen merchandise.
On July 15, 1997, Cunanan murdered fashion designer Gianni Versace
Gianni Versace
Gianni Versace was an Italian fashion designer and founder of Gianni Versace S.p.A., an international fashion house, which produces accessories, fragrances, makeup and home furnishings as well as clothes. He also designed costumes for the theatre and films, and was a friend of Madonna, Elton John,...
. A witness attempted to pursue him but could not catch him. The vehicle he used, as well as the clothes he had just been wearing, an alternative passport, and newspaper clippings of his murders, was found in a nearby garage by the police who responded.
On July 23, 1997, eight days after murdering Versace, Cunanan shot himself in the mouth in the upstairs bedroom of a Miami houseboat
Houseboat
A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a human dwelling. Some houseboats are not motorized, because they are usually moored, kept stationary at a fixed point and often tethered to land to provide utilities...
. He used the same gun he used to commit the other murders, a Taurus
Taurus (manufacturer)
Forjas Taurus is a manufacturing conglomerate based in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Beginning as a tool and die manufacturer, the company now consists of divisions focusing on firearms, metals manufacturing, plastics, body armor, helmets, and civil construction.-History:Taurus produced its first...
semi-automatic pistol in .40 S&W
.40 S&W
The .40 S&W is a rimless pistol cartridge developed jointly by major American firearms manufacturers Winchester and Smith & Wesson. The .40 S&W was developed from the ground up as a law enforcement cartridge designed to duplicate performance of the FBI's reduced velocity 10mm cartridge which could...
caliber
Caliber
In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....
, which had been stolen from the first victim, Jeff Trail.
Motive
At the time of the crimes, there was much public and press speculation that Cunanan's motives were tied to a diagnosis of HIVHIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
infection; however, an autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
found him to be HIV-negative.
In order to piece together a motive for his killing spree, police searched the boathouse where Cunanan died. However, Cunanan left behind few personal belongings, surprising investigators, given his reputation for acquiring money and expensive possessions from wealthy older men. Police considered few of the findings to be of note, except multiple tubes of hydrocortisone
Cortisol
Cortisol is a steroid hormone, more specifically a glucocorticoid, produced by the adrenal gland. It is released in response to stress and a low level of blood glucocorticoids. Its primary functions are to increase blood sugar through gluconeogenesis; suppress the immune system; and aid in fat,...
cream and a fairly extensive collection of the fiction of C.S. Lewis.
His motivations remain a mystery. Various theories include jealousy for Versace's role as a "gay icon
Gay icon
A gay icon is a public figure who is embraced by many within :lesbian, :gay, :bisexual and :transgender communities...
", as well as necessity and opportunity in some of the other murders. Examination of his behavior from reports also indicate that he may have suffered from psychopathy
Psychopathy
Psychopathy is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, and are very disproportionately responsible for violent crime...
, a personality disorder
Personality disorder
Personality disorders, formerly referred to as character disorders, are a class of personality types and behaviors. Personality disorders are noted on Axis II of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM-IV-TR of the American Psychiatric Association.Personality disorders are...
characterized by an abnormal lack of empathy
Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion. The English word was coined in 1909 by E.B...
.
Further reading
- Three Month Fever, by Gary IndianaGary IndianaGary Indiana is an American writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. He teaches philosophy and literature at the New School in New York City. He divides his time between New York and Los Angeles.- Fiction :...
. ISBN 0-06-019145-7 - Vulgar Favors, by Maureen Orth. ISBN 0-385-33286-6
- The A-to-Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, by Harold Schecter & David Everitt. ISBN 0-671-02074-9
- Thrillkillville, by Daniel Morris. ISBN 0-982-79280-8
- Film The Versace Murder (1998)