A mother who had been wanted by Indiana police since her 5-year-old son's body was discovered inside a suitcase in 2022 has been located and arrested in Los Angeles, authorities confirmed. Dejaune Ludie Anderson, 38, stands accused of killing her son, Cairo Ammar Jordan, whose remains were found in a hard-shell suitcase in rural Washington County, Indiana, in April 2022, as per state police.
An arrest warrant was issued for Anderson in October 2022 on charges of murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, and obstruction of justice, according to Indiana State Police. Despite the warrant, the mother managed to evade arrest for over a year.
Last week, a detective received crucial information from a concerned citizen, leading authorities to locate and apprehend Anderson in Arcadia, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, as she was attempting to board a train on March 14, police disclosed in a news release.
Anderson is currently being held without bail, as indicated by Los Angeles County jail records. Efforts are underway to identify her legal representation.
The suitcase containing Cairo's body bore a distinctive Las Vegas design on its front and back and was discovered by a man foraging for mushrooms in a heavily wooded area, police revealed at the time.
An autopsy revealed that the child had succumbed to an electrolyte imbalance, likely triggered by viral gastroenteritis, as per police reports. Viral gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the stomach and intestines that leads to symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea, potentially resulting in dehydration, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a related development, another woman, Dawn Elaine Coleman, from Shreveport, Louisiana, was apprehended in San Francisco in 2022 in connection with Cairo's death, sources reported.
Coleman eventually pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with five years suspended to probation, as per Indiana court records. Attempts have been made to contact Coleman's legal counsel for a statement.
