Andrew Cunanan

Cunanan (1997)

Andrew Phillip Cunanan (August 31, 1969 – July 23, 1997) was an American serial killer and gold digger. He murdered five people,[1] including Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace and Chicago real estate developer Lee Miglin, during a three-month period from April to July 1997. He was a gay prostitute.[2]

Early life

Cunanan was born in National City, California. He lived in San Diego, California. He had antisocial personality disorder. Cunanan studied, but dropped out shortly afterwards from the University of California, San Diego.

Murders

Cunanan's serial killings began in Minneapolis on April 27, 1997, with the murder of his close friend 28-year-old Jeffrey Trail. He later murdered his ex-boyfriend David Madson by shooting him in the back near Rush City, Minnesota.[3] On May 4, 1997, he drove to Chicago where he killed real estate developer Lee Miglin at his Gold Coast home by stabbing him multiple times.[4] Five days later, Cunanan shot and killed 45-year-old cemetery caretaker William Reese and stole his red pickup truck.[5]

On July 15, Cunanan murdered Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace, shooting him twice on the front stairway of his Miami Beach mansion, Casa Casuarina.[6] A witness pursued Cunanan but was unable to catch him.

Final days and suicide

On July 23, 1997, eight days after killing Versace, Cunanan killed himself with a gunshot through the mouth while living in a boat as police officials were close to arresting him.[7] He was 27 years old.[2]

Pop culture

Cunanan was played by Darren Criss in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, which premiered on January 17, 2018. Criss won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie" and a Golden Globe Award for "Best Actor – Miniseries, or Television Film" for his portrayal.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "FBI – Serial Killers, Part 6: Andrew Cunanan murders a fashion icon". FBI. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 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.
  3. ↑ "America's Most Wanted: Andrew Cunanan". Amw.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
  4. ↑ Kastor, Elizabeth; Weeks, Linton (July 17, 1997). "Five lives cut short". Washington Post. Washington, DC: Nash Holdings LLC. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  5. ↑ Orth, Maureen (September 1997). "The Killer's Trail". Vanity Fair. New York City: Condé Nast. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  6. ↑ Lecayo, Richard (June 21, 2001). "Tagged for Murder". Time. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  7. ↑ Herzog, Kenny (March 21, 2018). "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: Fact-checking the season finale, Alone". Vulture.com. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  8. ↑ Nemetz, Dave (November 17, 2017). "American Crime Story: Versace gets January premiere date on FX". tvline.com. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2017.