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Born in National City, and raised in Bonita and
the Rancho Bernardo area of San Diego, California,
Andrew Phillip Cunanan was the youngest of four
children. In high school, his classmates
prophetically named him, "Most Likely Not to be
Forgotten." From an early age Cunanan sought
to be the center of attention, and seemed
obsessed with status, or at least the illusion
of status, power and wealth. Those who knew
him described him as suave, erudite, vain,
articulate, and charming.
Openly gay in school, Cunanan was a veteran of
the San Diego gay nightclub scene by the time
he graduated from high school. Seeking to quickly
acquire the glamorous trappings of wealth he
so long desired, he became a "boy toy" for older,
wealthy gentlemen he met at gay bars. His mother
later referred to him as a, "high-class homosexual
prostitute." He reveled in the lifestyle for
years, but as he approached 30, he let his
appearance go. He gained weight, his drug use
increased, and he began dealing drugs. His life
as a gigolo was over, and with it, the lavish
gifts, clothes, cars, and money he'd received
from his wealthy lovers.
With no suicide note left behind, or other
definitive record of his motivation for the
killing spree to come, pundits were left to
speculate at what set Cunanan off.
His first murder was that of an old friend,
Jeffrey Trail, the evening of April 27th, 1997,
in Minneapolis, Minnesota, whom he bludgeoned
to death with a hammer. Andrew Cunanan's next
victim was his former lover, architect David
Madson, who was found dead near Rush City,
Minnesota. Lee Miglin was a wealthy Chicago
land developer, and became Andrew's third
victim on May 4th, 1997. This was, by far,
his most gruesome slaying. Miglin was tortured
before being stabbed with pruning shears and having
his throat sliced with a hacksaw. After stealing
his Lexus, some money, and gold coins, he headed
east. His next murder appears to have no motive
beyond his need for a change of vehicles. His
fourth victim was William Resse, killed May 9th,
1997, in Pennsville, New Jersey, in order to
obtain the keys to his pickup truck. Ditching
the stolen Lexus at the cemetery where Resse
was caretaker, Cunanan headed south.
He made no effort to conceal his tracks,
seemingly basking in the notoriety his
cross-country odyssey of death was causing.
His final murder would make headlines around
the world. The brazen daylight murder of Gianni
Versace, July 15th, 1997, on the front steps
of his mansion, "Casa Casuarina" at 1116 Ocean
Drive in Miami Beach, sent shockwaves through
the fashion industry. Relentless media coverage
of the murder, and renewed attention paid to
the previous killings, had most folks in the
Miami area on edge, and on the lookout for
Cunanan.
Andrew and his crimes were featured on TV's
America's Most Wanted, and he would be
added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list before
the case was brought to a dramatic finale by
his suicide on a houseboat in Miami Beach.
He shot himself in the head upon being
discovered in a houseboat he'd broken into.
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