Woman who dumped 5-year-old’s body in suitcase sentenced to 30 years in southern Indiana
By Curadhan Powell
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WASHINGTON COUNTY, Kentucky (WLKY) — The woman who put the dead body of 5-year-old Cairo Jordan in a suitcase and dumped it in the woods of southern Indiana last year will spend a quarter century in prison.
Dawn Coleman, of Louisiana, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday, with five of them suspended to be served under probation.
She pleaded guilty back on Nov. 7 to conspiracy to commit murder and admitted to her role in the boy’s death.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Coleman told investigators she saw the boy’s mother, Dejuane Anderson, on top of Jordan with his face down on a mattress.
Then, the two women put his body in a suitcase.
Coleman told police she carried the suitcase into the woods and left it there.
Coleman’s fingerprint was identified on a black plastic bag containing Cairo’s body.
Following her arrest last year, Coleman told police she had known Anderson for about a year and had traveled extensively with her and Cairo.
An autopsy later showed Jordan died of dehydration.
An affidavit detailed chilling Facebook messages Anderson posted referring to her son as a “demonic child” and talking about an exorcism.
Community members showed up for the sentencing, one of them wearing a shirt with Cairo’s picture on it. There were no members of Cairo’s family present at the sentencing.
During the hearing, Judge Larry Medlock said to Coleman, “You packaged Cairo up like trash…and dumped him like garbage.”
“You chose not to stop it, not to call the authorities,” said Medlock.
Referring to the comments made by Jordan’s mother about demonic possession, Medlock said to Coleman, “the devil is in you.”
Coleman will spend a total of 25 years in prison, the five years suspended from the 30-year sentence as part of her plea deal.
Anderson remains at large and wanted for her son’s murder.
“We are committed to following this case through until the end,” said a chief prosecutor. “None of the law enforcement officers and agencies involved in this sad case will find closure until we have ensured Cairo’s mother is held accountable for her actions. This conviction is only the first step in obtaining justice for Cairo.”
More background on the case
A mushroom hunter found a suitcase with a Las Vegas sign on it in Washington County woods on April 16, 2022. This was the suitcase that Jordan was inside of.
Police also announced then that his mother, Dejaune Anderson, of Atlanta, was charged with his murder, and another woman, Coleman, of Louisiana, was charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death and obstruction of justice.
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