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Hello and welcome back to Cult Leader. I'm your Cult Leader, Spencer Henry. What's up Cult Baves? Happy September. We have made it through like 70% of 2020. So you know, that's something quick note before we get started. My microphone is broken. So I'm using an old one. So the sound quality on this is probably not going to be like normal, but I bought a whole new setup. We're picking it up this week.

And we are taking Cult Leader to the next level. So get ready for the clearest. I'm going to fucking I'm going to sound like I am in the car with you, which maybe maybe you don't want, but look in your back seat here. I am. But anyways, I just I just had to let you guys know that because otherwise it'll drive me nuts. If you are not active on social media, you may have missed it, but I posted on the Cult Leader Instagram the other day. I am working on doing this advice column segment for an upcoming little leader. So if you have something that you would like my advice on, go ahead and send it on over to Spencer at Cult Leader.

com. And if you could be so kind as to put advice in the subject line, you will make my life 100 times easier. And while we're here while we're while we're doing this thing, follow along online at Cult Leader podcast and at Spencer Henry, you can rate and review on iTunes and hello. Join the Facebook group because there is a whole thread of episode request, which is where I picked today's episode from.

To be honest, I never really did that big of a deep dive into this story before the show came out about it because like I as probably most of you was really captured by this story from the TV series that Ryan Murphy did about the case called the assassination of Johnny Versace.

It was pretty solid from beginning to end, unlike some of his shows. I mean, at least and I'm just saying I know you have all come for me for this before, but a few seasons of American Horror Story start really good. And then like halfway through, go 10 different directions. And I get lost.

But really, I loved this. The casting Darren Chris played Andrew Kanunin and it was just everything. Now I go to Miami sometimes for work, most recently in January. And I was there and I was like, God, I really want to talk about this case so bad on Cult Leader. So I'm glad that day is now. Andrew Kanunin was voted least likely to be forgotten in high school. And boy did he live up to his reputation. I on the other hand did not because I was voted most likely to be on television.

So you can imagine my daily struggle when I'm sitting here on a podcast you because I you know, you're telling me that I got a face for radio and I guess that's fine. It's fine.

I know from Instagram stories that a lot of you play Cult Leader from your TV. So technically, if you want to get technical, I've made it. Fuck you everyone from my hometown. This is Stardom. This is fame.

This is the golden age of Spencer Henry unrolling before your very eyes or ears. But back to Andrew. He was born on August 31st of 1969. Wow, happy birthday. He was born in National City, which is like South South San Diego to his dad Pete Kanunin, who's really is Modesto. I don't know when he started calling himself Pete.

But I probably would too because Modesto, as far as I know, the only way I know Modesto is it's a kind of a grody city in California. No offense to the Modesto cult babes. Totally kidding. Love Modesto.

Beep beep every time I jack by it on the five and his mom Mary Ann with whom he had kind of an interesting relationship with which we'll get into in a little bit.

Andrew was the youngest of four. He had two older sisters, Elena and Regina, as well as an older brother named Christopher. And according to his siblings, Andrew was definitely the favorite.

He was the baby of the family and the old rumor mill says he was a bit of a Regina George. I guess his parents allowed him to have the master bedroom. And he was just like the apple of his father's eye.

Both of his parents were pretty strict. Like his dad was strict, but not necessarily mean. Although I've read some conflicting reports that the parents had a little bit of a tumultuous relationship, which we definitely see later on.

Pete was actually serving in the Navy when Andrew was born, but once he came back, he worked as a chief petty officer for a while. And then eventually got a job as a stock broker.

So the family moved around San Diego a bit, starting south in National City, eventually moving closer to La Jolla.

His mom on the other hand, who came from a really religious Italian family and made sure to create a similar environment for her children.

Andrew spent his elementary years in a public school where he was always just a smart kid. I feel like his whole attitude and personality was really bred more during his middle and high school years after he began attending a private school in La Jolla.

It was called the Bishop School and it was in the affluent La Jolla neighborhood in San Diego. And it's actually here where he meets his BFF Elizabeth Cote.

And we'll talk about her later on because she did a ton of press surrounding Andrew's story.

And she was kind of a constant calm in all of the craziness that was his life at school. He was again really bright.

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