A child whose body was found in a suitcase in rural Indiana more than six months ago has been identified as a 5-year-old boy from Atlanta, officials announced Wednesday. The boy’s mother is now wanted on murder charges but remains at large in a case that spans the entire country.
The case began April 16 when the body was found in the woods off a dead-end road in southeast Indiana near the town of New Pekin, about 35 miles northwest of Louisville, Kentucky, according to Indiana State Police (ISP). Zipped up inside a distinctive Las Vegas-themed suitcase, the boy’s body showed no signs of physical trauma, ISP spokesman Sgt. Carey Huls said during a news conference Wednesday morning.
An emotional Huls said the boy had been identified as Cairo Ammar Jordan of Atlanta. Jordan would have turned 6 on Sunday, Huls said.
An autopsy revealed Jordan’s cause of death was an electrolyte imbalance likely caused by a viral infection, Huls said. The autopsy results also showed no signs of physical trauma and the child’s toxicology report was clean, according to ISP.
The GBI has assisted ISP with locating and contacting the boy’s family in Georgia, Huls said.
Using physical evidence from the scene, detectives were able to link two suspects to Jordan’s body and secure warrants for their arrest.
Credit: Indiana State Police
Credit: Indiana State Police
“No crime scene evidence technologies were spared, including those available only to federal and state authorities,” Huls said.
Dawn Elaine Coleman, 40, of Shreveport, Louisiana, was arrested last week in San Francisco, California, on charges of neglect of a dependent resulting in death and obstruction, Huls said. Officials did not say how Coleman was linked to Jordan’s death.
The second suspect was identified as the boy’s mother, 37-year-old Dejuane Ludie Anderson, of Atlanta, Huls said. Detectives from Indiana traveled to her last known location in Los Angeles, California, after arresting Coleman in San Francisco, but could not locate Anderson. She is wanted on a murder charge, along with the same charges leveled against Coleman, Huls said.
During Wednesday’s news conference, Huls held up a photo of Anderson that had been shared by the Louisville Metro Corrections Department, he said. Anderson had been arrested by Louisville Metro Police several weeks before Jordan’s body was found, according to Huls, though he did not say why she had been arrested.
During the course of the six-month investigation, Huls said Anderson traveled to several locations, including Houston, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; and San Francisco.
Anderson’s last known location was the Echo Park area of Los Angeles. Officials are asking for help from the public as they continue to search for her.
Huls said Jordan was never reported missing. The case is being handled in Indiana by the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office.
Anyone with information on Anderson’s whereabouts is asked to call the dedicated tip line for this case at 1-888-437-6432.
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