One year later: Mom accused of leaving son's body in suitcase still on the run
A year has passed since Indiana State Police began investigating how the body of a little boy ended up inside a suitcase left in a wooded area, and one person they say is responsible for the killing is still on the loose.
The boy was found April 16, 2022, in a heavily wooded area in Washington County, Indiana, northwest of Louisville. His body was inside a distinctive suitcase with "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada" painted on its shell.
About six months later, police identified the boy as 5-year-old Cairo Ammar Jordan. He was buried in May with a headstone that said "In loving memory of a beloved little boy known but to God." His full name has since been engraved on a space left open at the time of his burial.
More: Mother of dead boy found in suitcase is still on the run, Indiana police say. What we know
When he was identified, police announced that two women - Cairo's mother and her friend - were responsible for his death and abandonment in the woods.
The friend - Dawn Elaine Coleman, 40, of Shreveport, Louisiana - was arrested in October but police are still searching for Cairo's mom, 37-year-old Dejuane Ludie Anderson of Atlanta.
The investigation is still ongoing, ISP Sgt. Carey Huls told The Courier Journal this week.
"We still believe she is out west, possibly still in LA and maybe also in Las Vegas at times," he said.
Anderson is about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and is believed to weigh about 135 pounds, according to police. Police believe she was last seen in Los Angeles but she is known to travel. During the six months after Cairo's death, investigators said she had been to San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Houston.
More: One suspect in Cairo Jordan murder case is back in Indiana, with another still missing
Anderson was arrested in Louisville less than a month before her son's death and charged with second-degree robbery after being accused of attempting to steal merchandise from the city's Von Maur store March 31, according to her arrest citation, and of hitting a security guard in the face once confronted.
She was released April 11 on her own recognizance. Her son's body was found five days later.
Both women had published several social media posts that referred to a child as a "demon" and "an avatar playing a character" ahead of Cairo's death, according to Coleman's arrest affidavit. At one point, Anderson is alleged to have written a post that referred to writing a "book about living with a demonic child."
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Fingerprints belonging to Coleman and Anderson were found on contents within the suitcase and phones owned by the women were found to have been in the areas where Cairo's body was found, police said. Additionally, Riverlink data found a car owned by Anderson had crossed a bridge between Louisville and Southern Indiana the day the body was recovered.
Huls said Cairo died due to an electrolyte imbalance "most likely caused by gastroenteritis, which in common laymans' terms would be vomiting and diarrhea. And that resulted in dehydration."
He was buried that month following a service in Washington County, where he was located.
Coleman was found and arrested in San Francisco, then extradited to Indiana. Investigators believe she had Cairo in her custody for about two weeks in during April. She's remained in jail since with a $5 million cash bond, court records show. A jury trial is set to start next month.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Dejuane Ludie Anderson, mother of Cairo Jordan, still on the run
