THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A KILLER; WHY DID ANDREW CUNANAN GO ON A MURDEROUS SPREE?Byline: John Pacenti Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Andrew Cunanan Andrew Phillip Cunanan (August 31, 1969 – July 23, 1997) was an American spree killer who murdered five people, including fashion designer Gianni Versace, in a cross-country journey during a three-month period in 1997, ending with Cunanan's suicide, at the age of 27. called someone he knew in a desperate effort to obtain a false passport - and failing that, he stuck a .40-caliber handgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger, the FBI said Thursday. The suspected serial killer serial killer Forensic psychiatry A person who commits serial murders Prototypic SK White ♂ age 30; 97% are ♂; 80% are sociopaths. See Dahmer, Depraved heart murder, Ice Man. Cf Megan's law, Son of Sam law. claimed his last victim - himself - late Wednesday, in the upstairs master bedroom of a houseboat in which he was holed up, 2-1/2 miles from the spot where fashion designer Gianni Versace Noun 1. Gianni Versace - Italian fashion designer (1946-1997) Versace was gunned down. Nine days after Versace's murder, after one of the most intense manhunts in the nation's history, authorities had Cunanan's body. What they lacked was answers. Why, in the course of three months, did Cunanan kill five men? Why did he kill these five men? How did Cunanan elude one of the FBI's most ferocious dragnets? And why did so clever a man stay close to Miami Beach Miami Beach, city (1990 pop. 92,639), Dade co., SE Fla., on an island between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean; inc. 1915. It is connected to Miami by four causeways. after Versace's murder? When the end finally came, Cunanan didn't explain. ``There was no suicide note A suicide note is a message left by someone who later attempts or commits suicide. It is estimated that 12-20% of suicides are accompanied by a note.[1] However, incidence rates may depend on race, method of suicide, and cultural differences and may reach rates as high and no correspondence to reflect why he committed the crimes,'' said Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Barreto. It is clear that he wanted to escape. William Esposito, deputy director of the FBI, said at a Washington news conference that a nervous and agitated ag·i·tate v. ag·i·tat·ed, ag·i·tat·ing, ag·i·tates v.tr. 1. To cause to move with violence or sudden force. 2. Cunanan was in touch with ``an associate'' within 48 hours of the Versace slaying. They discussed who on the East Coast might have passports. ``He was trying to reach out to these individuals for the purpose of obtaining false identification, especially . . . a passport, so that he could flee the country,'' Esposito said. Cunanan, a 27-year-old described by his own mother as a gay gigolo gig·o·lo n. pl. gig·o·los 1. A man who has a continuing sexual relationship with and receives financial support from a woman. 2. A man who is hired as an escort or a dancing partner for a woman. , was the FBI's most-wanted fugitive, the Fugitive, The (Dr. Richard Kimble) tale of wrongfully-accused man fleeing imprisonment. [TV: Terrace, I, 290–291] See : Escape prime suspect in the slaying of Versace and four other men in Minnesota, Illinois and New Jersey. He managed to elude capture even though his picture was plastered on television, newspapers, the Internet and wanted posters. After the Versace slaying, Cunanan is believed to have abandoned a stolen pickup truck belonging to the New Jersey victim in a parking garage and vanished. But he didn't go far. ``He was out of places to run,'' said Doyle Jordan of the Florida Department Florida is a department (departamento) of Uruguay. Population and Demographics As of the census of 2004, there were 68,181 people and 21,938 households in the department. The average household size was 3.1. For every 100 females, there were 100.4 males. of Law Enforcement. ``There was absolutely no other place to go.'' Residents in the area of the houseboat said they may have seen Cunanan roaming the neighborhood in the days after Versace's slaying. One man said his boat was burglarized a week ago. He said police took fingerprints from the boat, but never said if Cunanan was involved. On Wednesday afternoon, police got a break. Fernando Carreira, the caretaker of the houseboat owned by fugitive German businessman Thorsten Reineck, dropped by to check on the home along the Intracoastal Waterway Intracoastal Waterway, c.3,000 mi (4,827 km) long, partly natural, partly artificial, providing sheltered passage for commercial and leisure boats along the U.S. Atlantic coast from Boston, Mass. to Key West, S Fla. and he saw the door was not completely locked. As Carreira looked around inside, he saw slippers and a pillow and then heard a gunshot, investigators said. Carreira quickly retreated across the street and called police, never taking his eyes off the front door, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. an FBI affidavit. Dozens of police and SWAT officers converged, closed down busy Collins Avenue at rush hour and tried to communicate with the man inside. Then they fired tear gas tear gas, gas that causes temporary blindness through the excessive flow of tears resulting from irritation of the eyes. The gas is used in chemical warfare and as a means for dispersing mobs. inside and entered the home, quickly finding the victim's body on a bed in the upstairs master bedroom. Investigators didn't say exactly when Cunanan shot himself, but said he did it with a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun, the same type of weapon linked with Versace's death and two other murders. The FBI reported it found several items that might be used as evidence in some of the five slayings. A small safe was found near the body and the affidavit said ``there is probable cause Apparent facts discovered through logical inquiry that would lead a reasonably intelligent and prudent person to believe that an accused person has committed a crime, thereby warranting his or her prosecution, or that a Cause of Action has accrued, justifying a civil lawsuit. to believe the safe may contain more evidence related to the five homicides.'' The Dade County Medical Examiner's Office will test the body for the AIDS virus AIDS virus n. See HIV. . ``That's the normal procedure,'' said investigation supervisor Gwen Shorter. Prior reports have Cunanan learning he was HIV-positive several months ago, but authorities haven't been able to confirm he had the virus. Barreto noted the death of Cunanan, strongly believed to be Versace's killer, does not close out the murder investigation. Police initially reported Wednesday afternoon that no body was found inside the houseboat, a mistake attributed to miscommunication between police agencies. Even after the body was found, hours passed as investigators struggled to identify the body because the face was largely blown off. Fingerprints confirmed it was Cunanan. While Cunanan didn't leave an explanation on why he gave up the chase, one of the nation's leading serial killer experts offered a theory. ``Yesterday, he may have felt he had done what he had set out to do. He had evened the score against particular people or society as a whole and it was over, he was satisfied,'' said James Alan Fox, dean of the College of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University in Boston. Fox said Cunanan's self-destruction fit in with his forceful and manipulative personality. The flamboyant Cunanan, he said, wasn't the type to spend the rest of his life behind bars. ``He was still calling the shots, literally and figuratively,'' said Fox. ``He maintained control to the end. He became his own executioner EXECUTIONER. The name given to him who puts criminals to death, according to their sentence; a hangman. 2. In the United States, executions are so rare that there are no executioners by profession. rather than the state of Florida.'' The death of Cunanan brought relief for a tense Miami Beach and for numerous communities that had a Cunanan connection. ``It takes us out of the business of tracing a killer and back to welcoming tourists,'' said Miami Beach Mayor Seymour Gelber. ``I hope that Sylvester Stallone and Madonna enjoy their stay. That's what we thrive on.'' The FBI signaled the end of its search by placing a diagonal red ``Found Dead'' banner across Cunanan's picture on the agency's ``Ten Most Wanted'' list on its World Wide Web site. The FBI said agents had located Reineck, owner of the houseboat and a fugitive on fraud charges, and were interviewing him to find out if he had any relationship with Cunanan. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box, Map Photo: (1--Color) FOUND DEAD (Andrew Cunanan) (2--Color) Officials carry suspected killer Andrew Cunanan's body Thursday in Miami Beach. Associated Press Box: CUNANAN CHRONOLOGY Map: Cunanan found dead in houseboat Associated Press |
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