Curtis Dean Anderson

Serial Killer

Curtis Dean Anderson: Northern California Serial Killer and Child Abductor

Curtis Dean Anderson was an American convicted murderer, kidnapper, and sexual predator whose crimes were centered largely in Northern California but whose own later confessions extended his alleged killing history into Arizona and Mexico. Anderson became publicly notorious after the abduction of a young Vallejo girl in 2000 ended with the child escaping from his vehicle. That escape led to Anderson's arrest and eventually helped investigators connect him to the disappearance and murder of 7-year-old Xiana Fairchild. Years later, while already serving what amounted to a life sentence, Anderson told FBI agents that Xiana had not been his only murder victim. In November 2007, he confessed to killing eight people in the United States, including Xiana Fairchild and missing 7-year-old Amber Swartz-Garcia. He also claimed to have murdered two additional people in Mexico. Most of the victims he described have never been identified, and investigators continued seeking information about them after Anderson's death.

A Long History of Predatory Crime

Anderson had an extensive criminal history before investigators knew him as a murderer. His record included offenses involving kidnapping, sexual misconduct, weapons, drugs, theft, and threatening behavior. His pattern showed a particular danger toward children and young females. Despite repeated encounters with the criminal justice system, Anderson continued offending. By the late 1990s he was moving between Northern California communities, including Vallejo and San Jose. He had worked as a taxi driver and was familiar with roads throughout the Bay Area. According to the confession he eventually provided to federal investigators, however, his killing had begun much earlier, possibly as far back as 1984.

The Alleged Murders of the 1980s

During interviews with the FBI in November 2007, Anderson described a series of previously unknown victims. His account placed his first claimed killings in Northern California in late 1984. He described one victim as a runaway in her late teens or early twenties whom he encountered in the Marysville area. Anderson claimed that after killing her, he disposed of her body near a local swimming hole. Only days later, according to Anderson, he encountered another young woman near Clearlake. He described her as a teenage hitchhiker. He claimed that he killed her as well. Neither woman has been conclusively identified, and because no identified remains have been connected to his account, exact dates of death remain unknown. Anderson claimed another killing occurred in early 1985. He described the victim as a female in her late teens who was living around Marysville and may have been a runaway from Oregon. Again, investigators were left with a description rather than a name, and the exact date of the alleged murder could not be established. His fourth claimed unidentified victim was a woman approximately 21 years old whom Anderson described as a light-skinned Black woman. Anderson said he met her at a bar on or near San Pablo Avenue in the East Bay in November 1986, approximately ten days after he had been paroled from San Quentin State Prison. He claimed he murdered her and disposed of her body in the Oakland hills. ...

Confirmed Victims: (2)

Xiana Fairchild Age: (7), Date of Death: December 9, 1999

Suspected Victims:

Unnamed female runaway Age: (lateteens/early20s), Date of Death: late 1984

Unnamed female hitchhiker Age: (lateteens), Date of Death: late 1984

Unnamed teenage girl Age: (lateteens), Date of Death: early 1985

Unnamed black woman Age: (21(approximately)), Date of Death: November 1986

Unnamed Navajo woman Age: (23-24), Date of Death: 1988/1989

Unnamed black/Hispanic woman Age: (early20s), Date of Death: February/March 1997

Unnamed victim

Unnamed victim

Kidnapping of Amber Swartz-Garcia - Wikipedia