Report: Cunanan in Miami Beach the past 2 months

Gay communities in 8 cities put on alert for suspect

July 18, 1997
Web posted at: 10:36 p.m. EDT (0236 GMT)

MIAMI BEACH, Florida (CNN) -- Andrew Cunanan, the prime suspect in a four-state killing spree, may have been living in a Miami Beach hotel for as long as two months before the shooting death of fashion designer Gianni Versace.

FBI agents and police Friday sealed off the Normandy Plaza Hotel, about four miles north of the oceanfront mansion where Versace was gunned down Tuesday. Cunanan is being sought in connection with his death, as well as four other murders since April in Minnesota, Illinois and New Jersey.

"Unfortunately, it appears as if he was living here for the past two months ... up to the day before the murder and did not pay for his last day here," hotel manager Roger Falin told CNN.

Amid a massive manhunt for Cunanan, law enforcement agencies have been besieged with numerous other reports of Cunanan sightings throughout South Florida. But he has continued to elude arrest, despite rewards of at least $65,000 offered for information leading to his capture.

FBI sends 'wanted' fliers to 8 cities

The FBI has begun providing hundreds of updated "wanted" flyers about Cunanan to leaders of gay communities in at least eight cities -- Atlanta, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago and New York.

Cunanan is gay, as were at least three of his victims, including Versace. South Beach, where Cunanan appears to have taken refuge after a May 9 murder in New Jersey, has a large gay population.

If he has left the Miami area, law enforcement officials think it is possible he might again seek refuge in another city with a large gay community.

Mourner: 'Versace made me fabulous'

Friends and admirers of Versace and dignitaries gathered to remember the world-renowned fashion maverick at a public memorial Mass Friday at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Miami Beach.

About 700 people -- many wearing Versace-designed clothes -- attended the service, which was piped through speakers to a crowd of a few hundred more who had gathered on the streets outside.

"What Salvador Dali did for art, Versace did for clothes. He brought colors and dreams to clothes," said David Barcenes, 34, a longtime admirer who came to the service dressed in a blue Versace suit, gold bracelet and a cellular phone holster adorned with Versace's trademark "Medusa head" logo.

"Versace made me fabulous," he said.

There was a heavy police presence at the service, with officers keeping an eye out for Cunanan in case he showed up.

The designer's family, who left Thursday to take his ashes home to Italy, issued a statement saying members were "profoundly moved by the incredible demonstration of esteem and affection shown by the whole world for Gianni."

The family was expected to hold a private service this weekend at the lakeside town of Como, where Versace had a villa.

Stolen vehicles tie suspect to murder spree

Cunanan is a suspect in the deaths of Jeffrey Trail, a friend, and David Madson, an ex-lover, in the Minneapolis area in late April; the May 4 slaying of Chicago millionaire Lee Miglin; and the May 9 shooting of William Reese, the caretaker of a cemetery in Pennsville, New Jersey.

A vehicle stolen from Madson was found outside Miglin's house; another taken from Miglin was found near where Reese was slain; and Reese's truck was found in a parking garage in Miami Beach after Versace's slaying.

There were reports that Cunanan's passport and some of Miglin's possessions were found in the truck.

Investigators also reportedly were checking for any possible link between Cunanan and Thursday's death of a Miami Springs doctor. Dr. Silvio Alfonso, 44, was found strangled in his home, about 15 miles (24 km) from where Versace was killed.

A witness said a man matching Cunanan's description was seen running from Alfonso's house after the killing. But police officials have said they have no evidence to link the crime to Cunanan, although they have not ruled him out as a suspect.

In addition, The Miami Herald reported that investigators were probing a possible Cunanan link to the May 12 beating death of a gay man, Casey Patrick Sigler, in his Miami Beach apartment.

Correspondents Brian Jenkins and Terry Frieden and Reuters contributed to this report.

Message Board: Post your comments on the Versace shooting

Related sites:

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Andrew Phillip Cunanan - FBI 10 Most Wanted
HeraldLink - online version of The Miami Herald
- Versace: Stylish life, brutal death - extended coverage from The Miami Herald
Giani Versace - information from Moda Online, including a biography.
Gianni Versace - 87 photographs
Versace Home Page - from VIABAZAAR, a web site dedicated to the best of Italian fashion
Broward County Sheriff's Office
Miami Beach Police Department
Serial Killer Info Site - information about serial killers and their minds including criminal profiling and forensics

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