Mother wanted in death of her 5-year-old son – who was found inside a suitcase in Indiana – is arrested, police say

By Cindy Von Quednow and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

(CNN) — A mother who has been wanted by Indiana police since after her 5-year-old son’s body was found inside a suitcase in 2022 was found and arrested last week in Los Angeles, authorities say.

Dejaune Ludie Anderson, 38, is accused of killing her son, Cairo Ammar Jordan, whose remains were found inside a hard-shell suitcase in rural Washington County, Indiana, in April 2022, according to state police.

An arrest warrant was issued for Anderson in October 2022 for the charges of murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, and obstruction of justice, Indiana State Police said. But the mother avoided arrest for more than a year.

Last week, a detective received information from a “concerned citizen” that led authorities to find and arrest Anderson in Arcadia, California – a suburb of Los Angeles – as she was trying to board a train on March 14, police said in a news release.

Anderson is being held without bail, Los Angeles County jail records show. She waived extradition during a court appearance Monday and will be returned to Indiana, said the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, which represented her in the hearing. It is unclear if Anderson has obtained other legal representation.

The suitcase containing Cairo’s body had a “distinctive Las Vegas design on its front and back” and was found by a man foraging for mushrooms in a heavily wooded area, police said at the time.

An autopsy found that the child had died from electrolyte imbalance, likely caused by viral gastroenteritis, according to police. The condition is an inflammation of the stomach and intestines that results in vomiting and diarrhea, which can eventually lead to dehydration, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Another woman, Dawn Elaine Coleman, of Shreveport, Louisiana, was arrested in San Francisco in 2022 in connection with Cairo’s death, CNN reported.

Coleman eventually pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with five of those years suspended to probation, Indiana court records show. CNN has reached out to Coleman’s attorney for comment.

CNN’s Amir Vera and Stephanie Gallman contributed to this report.

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