John Annibel

Serial Killer

John Annibel – Convicted Murderer and Suspected Serial Killer

Overview

John Arthur Annibel is a convicted California murderer who has long been described by investigators, journalists, and true-crime researchers as a suspected serial killer. His name has been associated with several murdered or missing women in Northern California, particularly in Humboldt and Mendocino counties. However, an important distinction must be made: Annibel has been convicted of only one murder, the 1998 killing of Deborah “Debbie” Sloan. His suspected involvement in earlier deaths has never resulted in additional convictions. Annibel was born on December 4, 1957, and grew up along California's North Coast. His family lived in the southern Humboldt County area, including near Fruitland Ridge and Myers Flat. As a young man, he came under suspicion in the unsolved murder of teenager Sherry Lynn Smith. Four years later, his live-in girlfriend, Andrea LaDeRoute, disappeared under circumstances that again caused investigators to focus on Annibel. He later moved to Fort Bragg in Mendocino County and worked in the lumber industry. The suspicions surrounding Annibel might have remained part of Northern California cold-case history if not for the murder of Debbie Sloan in November 1998. After Sloan was found dead, Mendocino County investigators developed a case against Annibel, and he ultimately confessed to killing her. His arrest caused authorities in Humboldt County to take another look at the earlier cases connected to him.

Victims and Suspected Victims

• Sherry Lynn Smith – age 15 – May 1, 1976 – Southern Humboldt County, California: Smith attended a dance at the Firemen's Hall in Garberville on April 30, 1976. Witness accounts placed her with Annibel during the evening, and several people reportedly understood that she intended to leave the dance with him. Smith was killed during the early morning hours of May 1. Her body was discovered on May 2 on a secluded dirt road in the Fruitland Ridge/Eel Rock Road area near Miranda and Myers Flat. She had been beaten and strangled, and investigators concluded that she had been sexually assaulted. Annibel was questioned and became an important suspect, but he was never charged with Smith's murder. Her case remains officially unsolved.
• Andrea Edra LaDeRoute – age 21 – exact date of death undetermined, March 1980 – Fortuna/Carlotta, California: LaDeRoute was Annibel's live-in girlfriend in Fortuna. She disappeared in March 1980, with March 18 generally recorded as the date on which her disappearance was reported. Investigators quickly became suspicious of Annibel. Evidence recovered from the residence reportedly indicated that a violent event had occurred there, and blood evidence became an important part of the investigation. LaDeRoute was never found alive. On August 9, 2002, more than twenty-two years after she vanished, human remains including her skull were discovered on Pacific Lumber Company property near Carlotta. The remains were identified as LaDeRoute's. The location was significant because Annibel had worked on property in that area for years. Annibel has never been convicted of her murder.
• Deborah “Debbie” Sloan – age 42 – November 29, 1998 – Laytonville/Mendocino County, California: Sloan is Annibel's only confirmed murder victim by criminal conviction. She encountered Annibel during Thanksgiving weekend in 1998 in the Laytonville area. The two spent time together before eventually going to a motel room. During the encounter, Annibel attacked Sloan, struck her and strangled her to death. Her nude body was transported away from the motel and dumped along a remote section of Branscomb Road in Mendocino County. County road workers discovered her body on November 30, 1998. Investigators soon focused on Annibel. He was arrested on December 4 and ultimately confessed to killing Sloan. A Mendocino County jury convicted him of first-degree murder in September 1999.

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Confirmed Victims: (2)

Debra Sloan Age: (42), Date of Death: 1998

Suspected Victims:

Georgina Pacheco Age: (20), Date of Death: 1988-09-10

Andrea LaDeRoute Age: (21), Date of Death: 1980

Janet Lee Bowman Age: (19), Date of Death: 1975-09-30

Karen Ann Fischer Age: (21), Date of Death: 1976-01-14

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