Law blankets Florida looking for Cunanan

In this story:

Federal charges filed in New Jersey
Tip lines are flooded
Suspect may have fled in a taxi
'He's very intelligent, very cunning'
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July 16, 1997
Web posted at: 11:55 p.m. EDT

MIAMI BEACH, Florida (CNN) -- Hundreds of FBI agents swept across Florida Wednesday searching for Andrew Cunanan, an accused serial killer police think is responsible for the execution-style slaying Tuesday of fashion designer Gianni Versace.

As many as 400 federal agents took part in the manhunt, tightening airport security, distributing photographs and alerting businesses frequented by gays. Police Wednesday afternoon said that though Cunanan remained at large, they have made progress in the case.

A top federal lawman in Washington predicted an arrest would be made soon. "Now that this individual has been identified and (there is) this much focus on it, I'm sure we'll have a successful conclusion in the not-too-distant future," said Ray Kelly, in charge of law enforcement agencies within the Treasury Department.

"Right now we're looking at things that we believe are important," Al Boza of the Miami Beach Police said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference.

CNN's Robert Vito reports from Miami

CNN's Wolf Blitzer and his guests talk about the Versace murder

Clint Van Zandt, Former FBI Special Agent - Part 1
Jack Levin, Northeastern University - Part 2
Eddie Bianchi, Witness - Part 3
Mike Whitmore, Friend of Andrew Cunanan - Part 4
Maureen Orth, Vanity Fair - Part 5

Federal charges filed

Federal authorities charged Cunanan with the May shooting death of a New Jersey cemetery caretaker. U.S. Attorney Faith Hochberg said the charges are the first to be filed by the federal government against the fugitive.

According to the complaint, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Camden, New Jersey, one .40-caliber shell casing and bullet fragments were found near the body of William Reese, killed May 9 at Finn's Point National Cemetery in Pennsville.

The complaint said Versace was killed with a .40-caliber handgun. The casing found near Reese's body matches those found near the body of a victim identified by the government only as D.M. The bullet jackets also matched in both cases, the complaint said.

In Miami Beach, Boza said authorities have made progress tracking Cunanan and had obtained videos from surveillance cameras at Versace's mansion or nearby establishments. He declined to be specific.

Cunanan (pronounced koo-NAH-nin), described by his mother as a high-priced gay prostitute, is suspected in as many as four other slayings nationwide. Since May, police believe he has left a trail of bodies through Minnesota, Illinois and New Jersey. On Tuesday officials named him as the only suspect in the slaying of Versace, a world-famous fashion magnate who was gunned down outside his oceanfront Miami villa that morning.

Tip lines are flooded

Boza suggested that Cunanan may have stolen another car. "Another stolen vehicle wouldn't be outside of the realm of possibility," he said.

Callers have flooded police tip lines, providing many useful leads, he added. Tips on the Versace case should be called into the Miami Beach Police Department at (305) 673-7915 or Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-8477.

James Chambliss, a special agent in charge of the Florida Law Enforcement Division, said authorities were working on the assumption that Cunanan remained in the south Florida area. Other law enforcement sources said authorities in Tampa and Jacksonville were alerted that Cunanan could be headed their way.

Cunanan has eluded authorities since May, after police identified him as the suspect in a three-week killing spree. Despite hundreds of reported sightings nationwide and news reports on the case, the trail had gone cold.

Police linked Cunanan to the Versace murder after finding a truck at a parking garage near the murder scene that was stolen after the last slaying in New Jersey. The truck had a South Carolina license plate that had been missing for a month or two.

Suspect may have fled in a taxi

A suspect fitting the description of Cunanan was seen getting into a taxi near the parking garage and police said clothes linked to Cunanan were found near the truck. Investigators have said Cunanan should be considered as armed and dangerous.

The Versace family lawyer warned against trying to make any personal connection between Cunanan and the designer. Versace was gay, but investigators said they didn't know of any previous link between the two.

But a writer who researched Cunanan for an article to be published in the September issue of Vanity Fair said there is evidence they knew each other.

Writer Maureen Orth said on CNN's "Larry King Live" that friends described an incident a few years ago in which Cunanan encountered Versace backstage at the San Francisco Opera, and the designer said, "I remember you."

She said she believed Cunanan and Versace knew each other but weren't lovers.

Orth said Cunanan was known in San Francisco's gay community as "happy go lucky" and may have been involved in drugs. "There were parts to him that were sinister. He was an intelligent fellow who wanted to be the center of attention, but didn't want to work for it," she said.

'He's very intelligent, very cunning'

Cunanan is wanted in the killing of Minneapolis architect David Madson, an ex-lover, and is the prime suspect in the killings of Jeffrey Trail, a former friend; Lee Miglin, a prominent Chicago developer; and Reese, the New Jersey cemetery caretaker. Trail was found dead in Madson's apartment.

Last week, the FBI asked that Philippine police "monitor" relatives of Cunanan in the Philippines in case Cunanan attempts to hide out in that country. Cunanan is a Filipino-American who was born in the United States.

The search has been complicated by the cunning and elusive nature of the chameleon-like Cunanan.

"He's not your run-of-the mill ... serial killer," said Lt. Dale Barsness, head of the Minneapolis Police Department's homicide unit. "He's of above-average intelligence, speaks at least four if not more foreign languages very fluently.

"He's very intelligent, very cunning, a con man."