Mother says slaying suspect a ‘high-class’ gay prostitute

SAN DIEGO (AP) _ The man being sought for questioning in the slayings of four people in the Midwest and New Jersey supported himself by having sex with other men, his mother said.

Mary Ann Cunanan of Eureka, Ill., said in today’s edition of the Chicago Sun-Times that she believes her son Andrew was a ``high-class homosexual prostitute.″

The statement comes amid growing confusion over whether Cunanan was a friend of aspiring actor Duke Miglin, whose wealthy father was slain this month in what authorities say could be a cross-country killing spree.

Bruce Kerschner, the owner of a gay bookstore in San Diego and an acquaintance of Cunanan, was quoted in The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune as saying Cunanan and Duke Miglin were friends. Kerschner then called a Sunday night news conference to deny that he knew of any such relationship.

Cunanan, 27, is charged with murder in the shooting of Minneapolis architect David Madson, 33, whose body was found May 3. He also is wanted for questioning in the beating death of Jeffrey Trail, 28, a gas company manager whose body was found in Madson’s apartment April 29.

Authorities said the three men knew one another and that Cunanan, who had a reputation as a ``party boy″ in San Diego’s gay community, had an intimate relationship with Madson.

The body of Chicago developer Lee Miglin, 72, was found May 4 in his garage and Madson’s stolen Jeep Cherokee was parked across the street. On Friday, five days later, Miglin’s 1994 Lexus was found at a military cemetery in New Jersey, along with the body cemetery caretaker William Reese, 45.

Reese’s red Chevrolet pickup was missing.

While the FBI and other authorities continued a nationwide manhunt, The Star Tribune on Sunday quoted Kerschner as saying Cunanan was a ``close friend″ of Duke Miglin, who has a small role in the soon-to-be-released movie ``Air Force One″ starring Harrison Ford.

But Kerschner, owner of the Obelisk Bookstore, said late Sunday that he was only repeating rumors when he talked to the newspaper.

``The reporter from Minneapolis asked if I had heard that Andrew may have known the son of the Chicago developer,″ Kerschner said. ``I told him I had heard over the past few days that they may have known each other somehow, but that I didn’t know personally if they actually did.″

Pam Fine, the paper’s managing editor, said the reporter ``accurately quoted what Mr. Kerschner said during the interview.″

Mark Jarasek, a spokesman for the Miglins, said the family did not know Cunanan. The Chicago Tribune quoted anonymous police sources who said no link was been established between Cunanan and the Miglin family.