Gary Bitner, a spokesman for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, said there is no evidence to show that Sayoc worked for the tribe or was a tribal member.
Altieri, his cousin, said Sayoc's only connection to Native Americans was that he once dated a member of a tribe.
Sayoc was born in New York City. His mother was Italian and his biological father was Filipino, and his parents separated when he was a young boy, Altieri said. After his parents separated, Sayoc was "kind of rejected" by his family.
"When you get no love as a young kid, you get kind of out of whack," he said.
He enrolled at Brevard College in North Carolina in 1980 and attended for three semesters, said Christie Cauble, the school's interim director of communications. He then transferred to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, enrolling for the 1983-84 academic year. Buffie Stephens, director of media relations for the school, said Sayoc didn't declare a major. He played a few games as a walk-on player for the university's men's soccer team. There is no indication he ever completed a degree.
He moved to the Miami suburbs in the late 1980s. He had serious financial problems in recent years, including losing his home in foreclosure in 2009 and filling for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 2012.
In court records, Sayoc was described as having $4,175 in personal property and more than $21,000 in debts, mostly from unpaid credit cards. His monthly income at the time was $1,070.
