The mother of a 5-year-old boy who was found dead in a suitcase nearly two years ago in Indiana has been arrested in Arcadia in connection with his murder, according to authorities.
Dejaune L. Anderson was arrested Thursday by the U.S. Marshals Service on charges of murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death and obstruction of justice, Indiana State Police Sgt. Carrie Holz told The Times.
Authorities received a report from a “concerned citizen,” Holz said, and Anderson was arrested while trying to board the train. He declined to say more about how to report this to the authorities.
On April 16, 2022, a man searching for mushrooms in a wooded, rural area in Washington County, Indiana, found the body of a 5-year-old boy in a brightly colored suitcase, officials said. The boy was identified six months later as Cairo Jordan, an Atlanta resident.
Dejaune Ludie Anderson in a Georgia DMV photo.
(Indiana State Police/AFP)
An arrest warrant was issued for Anderson in October 2022, but the boy's mother has been on the run since then.
Investigators from Sellersburg, Indiana, were in Southern California over the weekend to try to speak to Anderson and continue their investigation, according to Hulse. Anderson has a court hearing on Monday. The delivery process will depend on how it is claimed. If she doesn't fight extradition, Indiana officials could arrest her within the next week or two.
“If you oppose her extradition, it will be at the mercy of the California courts until the order is enforced,” Holz said. “It is likely that an injunction will be sought and the court system will have to resolve that. It will take at least a month for that process to begin.”
Anderson is originally from the Atlanta area and is not a resident of Indiana, Holz said. She has no known connection to Southern California.
Anderson's girlfriend, Dawn Elaine Coleman, 41, of Shreveport, Louisiana, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, suspended for five years, in connection with Cairo's death after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors in November.
Coleman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, aiding and neglecting a dependent resulting in death and obstruction of justice, according to authorities.
Coleman and Anderson had known each other for about a year and had traveled to Cairo together. They were staying at a residence in Louisville at the time of the boy's death, according to police.
Coleman told police she saw Anderson choking Cairo by sitting on top of him while he was face down on the bed, according to court records. “It was already done” by the time she entered the room and Anderson asked her to help put Cairo inside a trash bag and then a suitcase, Coleman said. She said they transported Cairo's body to Washington County and left him there in the bag.
Investigators said both Coleman and Anderson's fingerprints were found on the plastic bags that contained Cairo's body inside the suitcase.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Indiana State Police for Anderson's arrest, Anderson allegedly referenced exorcism and demonic possession regarding her 5-year-old son in March 2022 Facebook posts.
“I can't wait to tell my story: I had to raise my frequency, heal myself and my past lives, heal my ancestors, heal people in the universe, and heal Gaia to exorcise a very powerful demonic force from within my son.” He wrote according to the statement.
Coleman posted similar messages on Facebook in April 2022, according to the affidavit:
“Just because the avatar of what we call a child doesn't mean it's actually a child. There are beings out here who aren't supposed to be here that choose avatars to hide behind to role-play steal energy and destroy life. You'd better check to see if the children you think are children have… Are they actually spirits or are they not evil? [sic] Beings with a soul and in the child's avatar.
The boy died of an electrolyte imbalance likely caused by gastroenteritis, or vomiting and diarrhea that led to dehydration, according to Indiana State Police, citing autopsy results. The boy died a week before his body was found.
