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Celebrity Handwriting Samples:
Profile of a Serial Killer - Andrew Cunanan
July 24th, 1997 - Miami, Florida
FBI and local authorities confirm reports that the suspected executioner of Gianni Versace, Andrew Cunanan, was found dead on a houseboat. Cause of death? One self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. What type of individual would storm across the country on a two month murdering spree targeting rich male homosexuals? Rumors have stated that Cunanam was HIV positive and was bent on "revenge". Perhaps a peak into the mind of the killer can shine light onto the dark side.
On this page is a sample of a recent signature of Andrew Cunanan. This signature was located on a purchase agreement from a Miami pawn shop, just days before the murder of Versace.
(AP Photo/Jeffrey Boan)
As a handwriting expert, having just a signature presents obvious and grand limitations to the amount of information that I can ascertain about the individual, when you compare the immense amount that can be derived from an entire page of writing. That being said, two traits simply jump off the page.
The shape of his letters m an n are very sharp and angular. This is typical of intelligent, fast thinking people that have little patience. In fact, angles and v shapes in any writing are often indicators of assertive or aggressive qualities (opposed to supportive/ motherly qualities). This trait alone is not typical of a killer. In fact, m's and n's like this are found in some of the most highly motivated and successful people in the world. Only combined with excessive anger or temper does this fast thinking quality become dangerous. Also, since sharp m's are a sign of intelligence, Cunanan's ability to elude capture after months on the FBI's most wanted list was no accident. (This was a bright man. Albeit warped.)
The second important trait is the hook shaped formation in the letter C. In our school, we refer to this as a "stinger"... you will not find mention of this trait in almost any other books on handwriting. (I give Dr. Ray Walker credit of it's discovery.) This stinger indicates Cunanan's deep-seated anger toward strong women. (Yes, most likely his mother... but we can't be sure from just this sample.) An intelligent person might ask the question, is his anger toward women perhaps a cause in his choice to live a homosexual lifestyle? The answer is probably "Yes, but..." You see, many, many people live in our culture with huge stingers that deal with this anger in a much different way. It is a very common trait among professional "strippers". Of course, for women it is an anger at men. People with stingers don't necessarily hate the opposite sex. They see them as a challenge and want to conquer them. Sometimes in a healthy way, sometime in a self-destructive way, that destroys the relationship and often themselves. Stingers aren't always bad, just take note.
A few other traits that are worthy of mention are: slanted to the right (extrovert, expresses his feelings.) Heavy handwriting (harbors emotions a very long time. May forgive, but never forget. In his case... he did neither.)
You can probably see many more traits that I did not mention. Again, he was a bright and intelligent young man with a sense of anger and resentment that went way out of control. Most of the individual traits I found in his handwriting are typical of many people's handwriting that I see. It is the unique combination of personality traits (many of which I haven't seen because of the small handwriting sample) and the situation that pushes someone off the deep end.
It is so sad when tragedies like this occur. There is no one to blame but Andrew Cunanan himself - not his mother, father, or the government. His suicide is no justice.
God bless his victims and their family and friends.
| Jeffrey Trail, 28
David Manson, 33 William Reese, 45 Lee Miglin, 72
Gianni Versace, 50 |
Bart Baggett,
Handwriting Analyst
Read Another Perspective on Cunanan's Writing...
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