Dejaune Anderson, mother of Atlanta boy found dead in suitcase, has trial delayed again
Cairo Ammar Jordan (Family photo)
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ind. - Two years after a damning indictment against the mother of a 5-year-old Atlanta boy, whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase in southern Indiana, the trial of Dejaune Anderson has yet another delay.
Anderson was arrested in southern California in March of this year after being a fugitive for nearly than two years. She is accused of putting her son, Cairo Ammar Jordan, in a suitcase and dumping him along a rural roadway in Washington County, Indiana on April 14, 2022.
She and her friend, Dawn Elaine Coleman, were reportedly on a road trip to Indianapolis to see an exorcist, according to court documents. A probable cause affidavit for arrest filed by the Indiana State Police in Anderson’s arrest outlines discussions of demonic possession, exorcism, and "death attacks" by her young son.
Warrants for her arrest were issued on Oct. 14, 2022.
Dejaune Anderson trial delayed
Dejaune Ludie Anderson (Indiana State Police)
One reason for the delays is Anderson's insistence on representing herself. Over the summer, the judge ordered her to stop filing conspiracy-filled motions attacking her public defender, the Washington County Court, and others. The judge warned she could be held in contempt of court for failing to follow this order.
Another ruling was recently appealed to the state supreme court.
Her trial was scheduled to start on the two-year anniversary of her indictment, but it was postponed due to the numerous motions filed by Coleman. A new date has not been scheduled.
Dawn Coleman took plea deal
Dawn Elaine Coleman (Indiana State Police)
On Nov. 21, 2024, a Washington County judge sentenced Dawn Elaine Coleman, 41, of Shreveport, Louisiana, to 30 years with five years suspended to probation. She had pleaded guilty to a Level 1 felony charge of conspiracy to commit murder in connection with Cairo Ammar Jordan’s death.
Coleman must serve more than 18 years under the Indiana code, which requires those convicted of Level 1 felonies to serve 75% of their sentence, the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Investigators determined that Coleman was acquainted with Anderson, and the two women had stayed with Cairo together in a Louisville home.
What happened to Cairo Ammar Jordan?
Cairo Ammar Jordan (Family photo)
Cairo’s body was found inside a suitcase in a wooded area about 35 miles northwest of Louisville, Kentucky, in April 2022. An autopsy found that he died from vomiting and diarrhea that led to dehydration, Indiana State Police said.
Investigators said Cairo had died about a week or less before a mushroom hunter discovered his body in a hard suitcase emblazoned with a distinctive Las Vegas design.
This image released by Indiana State Police shows the suitcase the body of 5-year-old Cairo Ammar Jordan was found stuffed inside on April 16, 2022. (Indiana State Police)
He was buried last June at a Salem, Indiana, cemetery after a memorial service where a police chaplain called the then-unidentified child an "unknown angel."
Authorities released Cairo’s name after announcing that he had been identified and that Coleman and the boy’s mother, Anderson, were suspects in his death.