Indiana State Police announced the arrest of one woman, and a warrant for the mother of a little boy whose body was found in a suitcase in rural Washington County in April.
“It’s a bittersweet day,” said Sgt. Carey Huls, Indiana State Police.
There were no matches to any missing children reports for police to work off of on the case. There were thousands of tips, but unfortunately none of them panned out.
An autopsy did not find any signs of physical trauma.
“No crime scene evidence technologies were spared,” Huls said about the investigation.
As a result of physical evidence, ISP detectives were able to identify two suspects and the little boy found dead.
Two felony arrest warrants were issued for 40-year-old Dawn Elaine Coleman and 37-year-old DeJaune Ludie Anderson who is the mother’s child.
Coleman was arrested in recent days in San Francisco, California. Police are still trying to locate Anderson.
The child was identified as 5-year-old Cairo Jordan from Georgia. He was never reported to authorities as a missing child. He would have turned 6 years old on Oct. 24.
“We want justice for Cairo,” Huls said.
A felony murder arrest warrant was issued for Anderson. She is currently at-large and believed to have last been in the Los Angeles area.
“Help us locate her for Cairo so that justice can be served for him,” Huls said.
According to court documents, police used technology to pull fingerprints from a trash bags the boy’s body was found in along with the suitcase. The documents claim the fingerprints came back a match to Anderson.
Anderson was arrested in South Carolina on March 12, 2022 for child endangerment, speeding over 25 mph and failing to stop for officers. Police claimed the pursuit lasted for 30 minutes until Anderson ran out of gas. Coleman was in the car with her and police said Anderson told them Coleman was her sister.
13News has also learned, just about two weeks before the boy’s body was found, Anderson was arrested in Louisville for shoplifting and assault. That incident happened March 31.
Court documents allege Anderson’s Facebook page had pictures of Cairo and the images matched the autopsy photos of the boy. She also allegedly posted about needing to do an exorcism on her son to remove a “very powerful demonic force.” She also allegedly made a post about telling her story in a book or podcast about living with a demonic child.
Days later, Anderson and Coleman’s phones were pinged in Pekin, Indiana – not far from where Cairo’s body was found. Additionally, surveillance video from a property owner shows Anderson’s car stop on the road where the suitcase was found.
Police said Coleman’s Facebook page showed her with the same suitcase that the boy’s body was found.
On the same day the suitcase was discovered, video allegedly shows Anderson’s car driving across the bridge from Indiana to Louisville.
Last Sunday marked six months since a mushroom hunter stumbled upon a Las Vegas suitcase, deep in the woods and high in the hills on April 16, 2022.
The suitcase was not far from a dead-end road. A state police sergeant who has lived in Washington County his whole life told 13News he didn’t even know this road existed.
Inside, he found a dead child described by police as a 5-year-old African American male, about 4 feet tall with a slim build and short haircut.
A month later, ISP released autopsy results showing the boy died of an electrolyte imbalance.
The Washington County community laid the young boy to rest in June, marking his grave with the phrase: “In loving memory of a little boy known but to God.”
ISP officials said their investigation into the boy’s identity and who could be responsible for leaving his body in those woods, is still ongoing.
Anyone who recognizes the suitcase or has additional information on the incident should contact police using the tip line at 1-888-437-6432.
Tell us your thoughts...