LOS ANGELES — A mother wanted on a murder warrant has been arrested in California, nearly two years after her 5-year-old son's body was found inside a suitcase along an Indiana highway, police announced Friday. did.
Dejaune Rudy Anderson has been under investigation since an arrest warrant was issued in October 2022 for the death of Cairo Jordan.
A few months ago, a mushroom hunter in Indiana discovered a suitcase containing the body of his son Cairo, officials said. The Las Vegas-themed suitcase was discovered in April 2022 in a wooded area along a rural road in Washington County.
Anderson was arrested Thursday night in Arcadia, California, east of Los Angeles, by Indiana State Police Sgt. Carrie Hulse said at a press conference.
“It's still a sad and depressing moment during the investigation,” Hulse said. “But it's something we've been looking forward to and anticipating for almost two years.”
In October 2022, a Washington County judge issued an arrest warrant for Anderson on charges of murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, and obstruction of justice.
A warrant was also issued for another woman, Dawn Coleman, but she was later arrested, convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Anderson remained at large.
Things changed this week when Indiana State Police detectives “received information from a concerned citizen,” which ultimately led to Anderson's arrest in Arcadia, Hulse said.
Anderson was being held in a Los Angeles jail Friday, Hulse said. It wasn't clear Friday night whether she had an attorney who could speak on her behalf.
Authorities plan to bring Anderson back to Indiana to face charges.
Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with Cairo's death, Hulse said.
Hulse called Cairo's death “tragic and horrifying.”
Hulse said detectives are working tirelessly and police are confident Anderson will be arrested at some point.
“It was the break and the information they needed that they knew would come someday. We knew this day would come,” he said.
Coleman, the other woman charged, was arrested in 2022 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison in November.
State police said an autopsy determined Cairo died of vomiting and diarrhea, which led to dehydration.
The boy was buried in Indiana, and the community provided a funeral service and a headstone, Hulse said.
“There are still flowers placed at his gravesite and people still praying for him and his family,” Hulse said.
