The mother of a five-year-old boy, who was found dead in a suitcase nearly two years ago in Indiana, was 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. Carey Huls told the Times.
Authorities were alerted by a “concerned citizen” and Anderson was detained while trying to board a train, Huls said. He declined to further specify how authorities were notified.
On April 16, 2022, a man searching for mushrooms in a rural, wooded area of Washington County, Indiana, found the body of a 5-year-old boy in a brightly colored suitcase, authorities said. The boy was identified six months later as Atlanta resident Cairo Jordan.
Dejaune Ludie Anderson in a photo from the Georgia DMV.
(Indiana State Police/AP)
An arrest warrant was issued for Anderson in October 2022, but the boy's mother had been on the run since then.
Investigators from Sellersburg, Indiana, were in Southern California over the weekend to try to speak with Anderson and continue their investigation, according to Huls. Anderson has a court hearing on Monday; The extradition process will depend on how he presents himself. If she does not oppose extradition, Indiana officials could take her into custody in the next week or two.
“If she fights extradition, then it will be at the mercy of the California courts whether it is carried out,” Huls said. “It would probably require an order from the governor and the judicial system will have to resolve it. It will be at least a month until that process begins.”
Anderson is originally from the Atlanta area and is not a resident of Indiana, Huls said. He has no known connection to Southern California.
Anderson's friend, Dawn Elaine Coleman, 41, of Shreveport, Louisiana, was sentenced to 30 years in prison with five years of suspended probation in connection with Cairo's death after reaching a deal with prosecutors in November. .
Coleman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, aiding, neglect of a dependent resulting in death and obstruction of justice, according to authorities.
Coleman and Anderson had known each other for about a year and were traveling with Cairo together; According to police, they were staying at a residence in Louisville at the time of the child's death.
Coleman told police he saw Anderson choking Cairo by sitting on top of him while he was face down on a bed, according to court records. Coleman said she “was done” when she entered her room and that Anderson asked her to help her put Cairo into a trash bag and then into a suitcase. They took Cairo's body to Washington County and left it there in the suitcase, she said.
Coleman and Anderson's fingerprints were found on the plastic bags containing Cairo's body inside the suitcase, investigators said.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Indiana State Police for Anderson's arrest, Anderson allegedly made references to exorcism and demonic possession regarding his 5-year-old son in Facebook posts in March 2022.
“I can't wait to tell my story: I had to raise my frequency, heal myself and past lives, heal my ancestors, heal m… in the universe, heal Gaia to exorcise a very powerful demonic force from within my son,” he said. she wrote, according to the affidavit.
Coleman posted similar messages on Facebook in April 2022, according to the affidavit:
“Just because the avatar is what we call a child doesn't mean it's actually a child; There are beings that are here that are not supposed to be here that choose avatars to hide behind and play roles to steal energy and ruin lives. You better check if the children you think are children actually have souls or if they are not melancholic. [sic] beings with a soul and in an Avatar child.”
The boy died of an electrolyte imbalance likely due to gastroenteritis or vomiting and diarrhea that led to dehydration, according to Indiana State Police, citing autopsy results. The boy had died a week before his body was found.
