Gunned down in cold blood ... the first victim on a trail of death

Gianni Versace's gay assassin began his trail of death six years ago - in a chilling dress rehearsal of the fashion king's brutal murder, the Sunday Mirror can reveal.

Andrew Cunanan's first victim was Carlos Badidoy, a 50-year-old homosexual fashion designer shot in the head at point-blank range in the Philippines capital of Manila in 1991.

Local police believe Cunanan, who was then 21, had a grudge against Badidoy because he would only hire male models under the age of 20.

The FBI wanted help from the Filipino authorities in tracking down Cunanan, the man they believe ruthlessly gunned down Versace on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion on Tuesday.

But in an amazing blunder, police in Manila have lost Cunanan's file and his passport picture.

After Badidoy's murder detectives arrested Cunanan - who was then using the first name Reynaldo - and he was put on an identity parade in front of a witness to the shooting.

He was not charged with the murder and while police continued to make their inquiries he fled the country.

Ironically, crack FBI agents probing Versace's murder believe Cunanan could have fled back to the Philippines, where his father lives.

Cunanan is also suspected of three other murders in Manila in the weeks following the death of Badidoy.

A gay hairdresser was gunned down in his exclusive city salon, a wealthy homosexual businessman was shot in the head at a cheap sex- for-sale motel, and an unidentified foreign tourist was killed outside his Manila hotel.

The files on all three killings are being re-opened by a team of specially chosen detectives, and first indications are the murders were all commited by the same killer, using a handgun and shooting at point-blank range.

Last night Inspector Peter Angelo, head of Manila's murder squad, said: "If he does come back here he won't get away again."

And immigration chief Edgardo Mendoza has ordered a 24-hour watch for Cunanan at all ports and airports.

He said: "If he gets in here it will be an embarrassment to the Philippines government, but if he does arrive we will get him."

Male model Cunanan used to wear Badidoy's designs on the catwalk in Manila before he became too old for the style guru. A police source said: "Cunanan must have been devastated when Badidoy dropped him. He was 21 when he killed Badidoy - a year too old to be a model for him."

Badidoy was one of the leading names in fashion in the Far East, with a list of top clients including Imelda Marcos and President Corazon Aquino.

He moved in the same circles as Versace, 50, but it is not known whether they were friends.

Cunanan stalked Badidoy to his luxury fifth-floor apartment in a gay district of Manila before blasting him to death - just as he did to Versace. His victim also had knife wounds.

Cunanan, who killed four other men in the States before shooting Versace, was linked to Badidoy's murder after his name was found in the designer's address book and his business card was in the dead man's pocket.

The killer still has relatives in Manila, including his cousin Maria Celeste Cunanan Cordero, who says he loved wearing expensive clothes and mixing with the gay community.

She said: "He was here with his father a long time ago. We all thought he was a wonderful boy.

"It's unbelievable to us that he's in so much trouble now.

"We were told by relatives in the States that the police were looking for him after the first murders in Chicago.

"They also warned us that he might come to Manila and there was a reward for his capture."

Cunanan's father Modesto, 50, lives with his second wife in a cheap rented apartment in a suburb of Manila.

He told the Sunday Mirror: "My son should not be convicted without a trial. His case is the same as OJ Simpson's. Everyone thought he was guilty and he wasn't.

"Andrew reads the Bible every day and always keeps a prayer book on him. "I wish he would surrender to the police to prove his innocence.

"People say he might kill Elton John. He would never do that because he loves Elton."

Modesto, who is wanted in the States for fraud, is a martial arts fanatic and a weapons enthusiast. Neighbours are scared of him because they claim he is prone to violence.

In Florida, where police believe Cunanan may still be hiding out, detectives have been piecing together his movements. The killer spent several weeks living under a false name in a pounds 150-a-week room at Miami's Normandy Plaza Hotel, only four miles away from Versace's mansion.

Hotel manager Roger Falin said: "He was very soft-spoken, neat and clean.

"He didn't look like a night clubber, though he went out at night. Nobody remembers him coming back with anybody or even talking to anybody."

While he stayed at the hotel Cunanan was a regular customer at the nearby Pleasure Emporium, an adult video and sex toy store where he bought gay pornographic magazines.

Manager Jeff Walter said: "He was very well-dressed, with expensive clothes, well-spoken, very quiet."

One theory being investigated by police hunting Cunanan is that he had contracted AIDS and vowed revenge on whoever might have infected him. Mike Dudley, a counsellor at an agency in California for people with HIV and AIDS which Cunanan visited, said: "He became agitated and he got up and kicked the wall and said, If I find out who did this to me, I'm going to get them."

Meanwhile Versace's brother Santo and sister Donatella announced that a memorial Mass for the murdered fashion king will be held in Milan's Catholic cathedral next Tuesday.

Santo, the business brains behind the multi-million-pound Versace empire, and Donatella, a talented designer and creator of the house's Versus brand, returned to Italy on Friday from Miami with their brother's ashes.

The ashes were laid to rest in a secluded cemetery in the village of Moltrasio, where for the past 10 years Versace had owned an 18th Century neo-classical villa on Lake Como.

The designer used the Villa Fontanelle as a retreat where he entertained some of his jet-set friends, including supermodel Naomi Campbell, rock stars Madonna and Bruce Springsteen and actor Sylvester Stallone.

Copyright 1997 MGN LTD
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