Who is Andrew Cunanan?
Suspected killer led flamboyant lifestyle
July 17, 1997
Web posted at: 4:00 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT)SAN DIEGO (CNN) -- In public, acquaintences say he was softspoken and unassuming, an intellect who spoke several languages and easily discussed world affairs. They described him as handsome and gregarious, lavish and boastful, always dining with the social elite though he had no visible means of support; at parties, he craved attention.
He has been openly homosexual since high school. His own mother called him a "high-class homosexual prostitute," and his friends and acquaintances say he was a lover for older, wealthy gay men. His father has denied reports of the son's homosexuality, calling him "an altar boy" with a good Catholic upbringing.
Vanity Fair reporter Maureen Orth on why Cunanan might have gone on a killing spree: 
380K/34 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Andrew Cunanan, one of the FBI's most wanted men in America, has led authorities on a massive manhunt for his alleged role in a cross-country killing spree. Cunanan, 27, is the sole suspect in the murders of five men, the latest being Italian designer Gianni Versace.
Authorities and experts on serial killers speculate that if he's the killer, Cunanan's ego is inflated and that he's basking in the limelight generated by the murders.
"Short of leaving his name signed on the pavement in front of Gianni's house, there's not much else he could do to say, 'Look at me. I'm the one that did this,'" said Clint Van Zandt, a former FBI special agent.
Jack Levin, who heads Northeastern University's Program for the Study of Violence and author of three books on serial killers, added, "I would say he's euphoric at this point. If we don't stop him, he will kill again."
Cunanan 'changed'
News of the alleged killing spree has come as a shock to Cunanan's friends,who attended an extravagant going away bash for him in April after he said was moving to San Francisco.
Former FBI agent Clint Van Zandt on Cunanan's bravado: Criminologist Jack Levin on why he is still on the loose: 285K/25 sec. AIFF or WAV sound 331K/35 sec. AIFF or WAV sound One acquaintance, Anthony White, told CNN that Cunanan seemed to change in his last six months in San Diego, moving into an apartment in a modest neighborhood and cutting his hair shorter than his typical hairstyle. Some friends have suggested Cunanan snapped after being rejected by a lover and his best friend.
"People said that he just changed," White said.
Cunanan never made it to San Francisco. Instead he bought a one-way ticket to Minneapolis, where friends said he told them he had unfinished business to settle. He reportedly stayed with a former lover, David Madson, 33, and arranged for a fling with an old friend, Jeffrey Trail.
Trail's body was found wrapped in a rug in Madson's loft on April 29, his head bashed in; Madson's body was found four days later about 60 miles north of Minneapolis. He had been shot once in the head.
Authorities believe Cunanan then went to Chicago and killed real estate investor Lee Miglin with a saw blade and pruning shears. Cunanan also is charged on a federal count of killing William Reese, a caretaker of a New Jersey cemetery who was found shot once in the head.
Levin said he has studied hundreds of mass killers and serial killers, most of whom had suffered some loss or trauma. He suspects Cunanan may have experienced a similar tragedy.
He added that Cunanan might be operating in a fashion different than past serial killers.
"Most serial killers kill at home as a hobby on a part-time basis. But (I think) this guy has made it into a career. He roams the country and he could be in my state next, in your state next, and that's very terrifying," Levin said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
- Message Board: Post your comments on the Versace shooting
Related stories:
- Law blankets Florida looking for Cunanan - July 16, 1997
- Serial killer suspect is wanted in Versace slaying - July 15, 1997
- FBI brought in to probe Versace slaying - July 15, 1997
- Police: Gunman targeted famed fashion designer - July 15, 1997
- Versace brings serene touch to fall - March 15, 1997
- Versace spring '97: Soft, sweet and vulnerable - October 10, 1996
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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