This week's episode of American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace will explore serial killer Andrew Cunanan's childhood, as if to better understand what led Cunanan to his five-victim killing spree, ending in the shocking death of fashion mogul Gianni Versace, and the young killer's own suicide.
The episode will also continue to uncover the real relationship between Cunanan and his father, Modesto 'Pete' Cunanan–played by Jon Jon Briones–the Filipino swindler whose own desire for luxury is speculated to be the catalyst for Andrew's wealth-lust.
Here's what we know about who Andrew Cunanan's father was.
Jon Jon Briones as Cunanan’s father Modest ’Pete’, and Darren Criss as Andrew.
He always maintained his son's innocence.
Following the murder of Gianni Versace, Modesto fled his apartment in a small town just hours north of Manila, Philippines, leaving behind a note that read: "My son was an altar boy. He is not a serial killer or a hom*osexual." He told to a Chicago Tribune correspondent that "my son is not like that," continuing, "He is innocent. He is not a hom*osexual; he had a Catholic upbringing and was an altar boy. . . . I don't believe he did what the American police say he did."
Months after Andrew's suicide, Modesto planned a documentary about his son's life.
While it's unclear whether this film came to fruition, Modesto told the LA Times in 1997 that he and a Filipino filmmaker sought to "sleuth" out the truth regarding his son's suicide and killing spree. As Modesto always maintained his son's innocence, he hoped the movie would give him the opportunity to revisit some of the facts and interviews employed by investigators. Simultaneously, Modesto planned to return to Los Angeles in an effort to be named the executor of his son's estate. The money, he claimed, would go toward "a church, a chapel or a temple" in his son's memory.
Modesto 'Pete' Cunanan was a Navy veteran-turned-stock-broker.
Though his given name was Modesto, the elder Cunanan often went by 'Pete.' The Assassination of Gianni Versace and the book on which it is based, Vulgar Favors, by Maureen Orth, reports that Modesto worked for such elite firms as Merrill Lynch and Prudential Bache, though according to Favors, Cunanan moved around between jobs often due to "lack of productivity."
He met his future wife, Mary Ann Schillaci, at a bar in 1961.
The two were 11 years apart, and on the night they met, Mary Ann—who later gave birth to Andrew—was swept off her feet. In Vulgar Favors, she details their initial encounter: "He was dressed in a white tuxedo, and I thought he looked like a Filipino Errol Flynn." Mary Ann was six months pregnant with Andrew's brother Christopher when they got married.
Modesto's children—Andrew's siblings—say that their father spoiled Andrew.
Andrew, the youngest child, was given preferential treatment amongst his siblings. He reportedly had the master bedroom in the family home, was given his own car, and was the only one of his siblings enrolled in an elite private school.
Andrew often claimed his father was Filipino royalty.
In The Assassination of Gianni Versace, Andrew brags about his father's elite history, claiming that his paternal family owned a pineapple plantation. Andrew also claims in the show that his father takes a young male lover, neither of which have been substantiated. In fact, Andrew had gone to live with his father for a time at his home in the Philippines, and returned home complaining to his mother about the "squalor" that Modesto lived in.
Like Andrew, Modesto longed for a luxurious lifestyle.
A close co-worker of Modesto's reported to Orththat "Pete always wore expensive suits, would buy expensive cars and expensive homes, and Andrew believed all that was real." His father's lavish buying was misled as he "definitely had a pattern of spending over his head." The book—and the show—imply that Andrew's subsequent need for fame and fortune was fostered by his dad's spending habits: "I know his father spoiled him rotten and gave him everything that he could possibly want."that "Pete always wore expensive suits, would buy expensive cars and expensive homes, and Andrew believed all that was real." His father's lavish buying was misled as he "definitely had a pattern of spending over his head." The book—and the show—imply that Andrew's subsequent need for fame and fortune was fostered by his dad's spending habits: "I know his father spoiled him rotten and gave him everything that he could possibly want."
Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan in this week’s episode of American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.
Modesto fled the United States in 1988.
His wife, Mary Ann Schillaci, accused him of "misappropriating $106,000 from his stock-brokerage business"—though according to Time, San Diego police have no record of charges against Andrew's father. Allegedly, because of these accusations, Modesto returned to the Philippines to avoid being brought to court. His departure left his wife and children destitute, forcing them to live off of his Navy pension for a time.
While living in the Philippines, Modesto joined a survivalist cult.
He was a follower of Elizabeth Clare Prophet, of the Montana-based Church Universal and Triumphant, according to the LA Times.
