"That Storm Got Very Dark": AP on the Reaction to Andrew Cunanan's Death, 1997

Name: "That Storm Got Very Dark": AP on the Reaction to Andrew Cunanan's Death, 1997
Uploaded: 2015-07-21T00:00:00Z
Duration: 4 min 36 s
Description: Two days after Andrew Cunanan killed himself on a Miami Beach houseboat, an Associated Press edit gathered reaction from San Diego's Hillcrest neighborhood, the White House and Miami Beach's gay community.

Two days after Andrew Cunanan killed himself on a Miami Beach houseboat, an Associated Press edit gathered reaction from San Diego's Hillcrest neighborhood, the White House and Miami Beach's gay community.

Subject: Andrew Phillip Cunanan
Recorded: about July 25, 1997
Runtime: 4:36

Content warning: Concerns a suicide and a series of murders. No graphic detail.

The Interview

This is a 4-minute-36-second Associated Press Television edit dated July 25, 1997, two days after Andrew Cunanan shot himself on a houseboat in Miami Beach, and posted by AP Archive in 2015. It has no narration. It strings together reaction from people who are not named in the audio: residents of Hillcrest, the San Diego neighborhood where Cunanan had socialized ("he's basically from here," one says); a commentator on his motive; a White House spokesman; a man speaking for the gay community in Miami Beach; and a speaker worried about copycat violence. Cunanan is not heard.

Historical Context

Between late April and mid-July 1997 Andrew Cunanan was suspected of killing five men: Jeffrey Trail and David Madson in Minnesota, Lee Miglin in Chicago, William Reese in New Jersey and the designer Gianni Versace, shot outside his Miami Beach home on July 15. The FBI placed Cunanan on its Ten Most Wanted list on June 12, 1997. On July 23 he was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a houseboat in Miami Beach, and he was identified the next day. He died before any charge against him could be tried.

Circumstances

The reactions were gathered as the manhunt ended and the questions began: why the five men had died, and how he had evaded police in Miami Beach for more than a week after the Versace murder. The White House remarks come from a press briefing that also dealt with tax legislation.

What the Interview Covers

A Hillcrest resident says people are "pleased that it's over with" but would have liked to know "why he went, you know, to such extremes," and that the publicity "doesn't give Hillcrest a good name." A commentator describes Cunanan as "a young gigolo" dumped by his "last benefactor," who then went to Minnesota, "where the love of his life, David, was," and suffered "another rejection." The White House spokesman says the President learned the news that morning and praised law enforcement at "the federal, state and local level." In Miami Beach a man says the gay community is angry: "We've been exploited," and the authorities "didn't even inform us that we had a killer in our midst." A final speaker worries about copycat attacks and everyday violence that gets less attention.

What Makes the Recording Significant

It records same-week public reaction across three cities, including the Miami Beach gay community's criticism of the authorities and the official White House response.

Archival Importance

A companion to the AP report of the day before on Cunanan's death in the houseboat. Its value is as a record of reaction, not of the killer.

Important Caveats

Cunanan is not heard. None of the speakers is named in the audio, and AP's shot list for this edit could not be read; they are identified by role only. The YouTube description belongs to another edit: it quotes Miami Police Chief Richard Barreto and FBI Deputy Director Bill Esposito, who are not heard here, and it should not be reused as a description of this video. The commentator's account of Cunanan's motive is his own interpretation. The Miami Beach speaker's "killed two straight people" and "18 murders here last week" are his words, not checked. The White House speaker is not identified on air; do not name him. AP's title calls Cunanan a "serial killer"; he died before any charge was tried.

Hillcrest Resident: I would say overall everybody is, is pleased that it's over with. And I'm sure nobody is happy that he's dead, but it's, they would have liked to probably found out why he went, you know, to such extremes. But overall everybody is happy that it's over with, and, uh, they can get on with their lives. [00:32 to 00:41: natural sound.]

Hillcrest Resident: It doesn't give Hillcrest a good name at all, you know. There's been a lot of publicity for this area because he's basically from here, and it's just not, not good for our community.

Commentator: This story was about rejection [unclear: "of" (captions) / "and" (Whisper)] a young gigolo that was no [unclear: "longer" (captions) / "younger" (Whisper)] anymore, coming to the end of the road, facing reality that his last benefactor had dumped him, accepting that fact, and then focusing to Minnesota, where the love of his life, David, was, as he's told people, trying to rekindle this relationship, trying to get this relationship back on track. Another rejection. That storm got very dark. [01:29 to 01:47: natural sound.]

White House Spokesman: ...very specific ideas on how we want to bring tax relief to the American family, and they differ with the [unclear: "bills" (Whisper); a word missing in captions] that have been presented. And the President, uh, learned of that this morning, as most Americans did. He had watched some of the coverage, uh, last night. I think the President believes at this moment most Americans will have in their thoughts and prayers the families of the victims. And the President also, uh, expressed his praise, uh, to the law enforcement officials at the federal, state and local level that worked to, uh, locate and ultimately find Mr. Cunanan.

Unidentified Voice: Shallots, tomato, parsley, [unclear: "spretzel" (captions) / "sprezzel" (Whisper)]. [02:25 to 02:47: natural sound.]

Unidentified Voice: They found him? [02:48 to 03:15: natural sound.]

Reporter: Do you think the gay community has been particularly damaged by all of this?

Miami Beach Man Speaking For The Gay Community: I think the total community has been devastated by this. Uh, we have a self-hating homosexual that went on a rampage and killed two straight people. And, uh, but we also had 18 murders here last, uh, week, the worst we've ever had. So the issue for me is, I think the gay community is angry. We've been exploited. We've, uh, we have no human rights in Dade County, and I think these politics and the policies that, uh, didn't even inform us that we had a killer in our midst [unclear: "are" (captions) / "or" (Whisper)] things that have to be, uh, reformed big time. Not just with the gays, but the, the total community. We all suffered because of this, uh, homophobia and bigotry. [03:56 to 04:04: natural sound.]

Unidentified Voices: "So, as we were talking about, about the South Beach stuff." "Yeah, but in the back of the [unclear: "each of them"], like obscure, like hole in the wall, that's like..." "South Beach." "Right."

Speaker On Copycat Violence: My concern is about copycat attacks, about an increase in violence, uh, and the kind of violence that happens every day that doesn't get the kind of attention that, that this case has gotten. [04:27 to 04:36: natural sound; no speech in the captions.]