The report that Andrew Cunanan did not have the AIDS virus has only deepened the mystery into his motives for allegedly killing five men in a cross-country crime spree.
Rumors that Cunanan was HIV positive spurred the theory that the slayings were motivated by "AIDS rage."But tests performed during an autopsy showed the 27-year-old Cunanan did not have the virus, The Miami Herald reported Friday.
The rationale behind Cunanan's actions may never be known. The man suspected of killing designer Gianni Versace and four other men did not leave a suicide note when he shot himself July 23 aboard a Miami Beach houseboat.
"Many of the questions are unanswerable," said Coleen Rowley, an FBI spokeswoman in Minneapolis, where two of the victims were killed.
According to local television reports, the autopsy also found that Cunanan shot himself at 3:46 p.m., just before police got a call saying a caretaker had discovered a man on the houseboat. The caretaker, Fernando Carreira, told police he heard a shot before calling for help.
Miami Beach Assistant City Manager Jose Pinon said Friday that the investigation into Carreira's role has been completed and he expects that Carreira will get a $45,000 reward from police.
Cunanan's HIV test results are not being disclosed by the medical examiner's office because Florida law prohibits disclosure in most cases unless a court order is obtained.
Weeks of talk show speculation by everyone from serial killer profilers to psychics have shed no light on what prompted the killings.
"That must be what he intended," said Vernon Geberth, a former New York City homicide commander. "He could have laid the whole thing out and it would have been a best-seller," Geberth said in a phone interview. "He was not going to give the authorities the pleasure of having him in custody and questioning him. He took control and left everybody hanging."
The AIDS question was fueled by a report from San Diego that Mike Dudley, who identified himself as an AIDS counselor, said Cunanan became agitated after he warned him to be more cautious sexually. He never told Dudley he was infected.
Dudley told The San Diego Union-Tribune Thursday night: "I'd be very glad if he wasn't (infected), but I'd be kind of sad at the same time because in my opinion, he thought he was HIV-positive."