What happened to Cairo Jordan? Mother arrested two years after 5-year-old found dead in suitcase in Indiana

The mother of a 5-year-old boy, Cairo Jordan, found dead in a “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” suitcase near a roadway in a heavily wooded area in Indiana two years ago, was reportedly arrested in a suburb of Los Angeles.

In a press release on Friday, March 15, 2024, the Indiana State Police announced that Dejaune Anderson, mother of Cairo Jordan, was located by the US marshals on Thursday in Arcadia, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. Anderson was subsequently taken into custody on a warrant out of Washington County, Indiana, in connection with the murder investigation of her son.

She was charged with murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, and obstruction of justice.

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Cairo Jordan was killed in Louisville, Kentucky before his body was abandoned in Indiana

Detailing the incident in the press release, the India State Police said the investigation began on April 16, 2022, when a suitcase containing the body of Cairo Jordan was found in a heavily wooded area in rural Washington County. At the time, the police enlisted the public’s help to identify the victim. In a press release, they wrote:

“At this time in the investigation, detectives need the public's help in identifying the child. He is described as being a young, black male between the ages of five years old and eight years old. The child is approximately four feet tall and has a slim build and a short haircut. Investigators believe the child's death occurred sometime within the last week.”

Six months after the discovery, the remains were identified, and police named the boy’s mother, Dejaune Anderson, and another woman, Dawn Elaine Coleman, 40, as suspects in his death.

Coleman was arrested in San Francisco on October 19, 2022, and she told the police she helped Anderson put the victim’s body in a trash bag and then in a suitcase in Louisville, Kentucky after she walked into a bedroom of the trio's home and found Anderson lying on top of Cairo Jordan. The suspects then drove across the Ohio River into Indiana, where Coleman abandoned the suitcase in the woods.

According to court documents cited in Crime Online, the duo reportedly made several posts referring to Cairo Jordan as a demon in the months leading up to his death. The cause of death was disclosed as dehydration, potentially caused by vomiting and diarrhea.

In November 2023, Coleman, who was charged with aiding, inducing, or causing murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, and obstruction of justice, was sentenced to 25 years in prison and five years of probation.

In a press release detailing fugitive Dejaune Anderson’s capture, authorities said earlier in the week that Indiana State Police detective Matt Busick in Sellersburg received a tip from a concerned citizen, which led to locating Anderson in California and arresting her as she attempted to board a public transit train. The suspect is currently awaiting extradition to Indiana.