According to new information from an updated police affidavit, the 40-year-old Louisiana woman currently in custody and charged in the death of 5-Year-old Cairo Jordan, told police during an interview shortly after her arrest in San Fransisco, that Cairo Jordan was smothered by his mother in Louisville and then packed in trash bags, put in her own suitcase and driven to a wooded area near Pekin.
Jordan’s body was found two days later by a local mushroom hunter.
Dawn Elaine Coleman was arraigned Monday afternoon with Washington Circuit Judge Larry Medlock setting her bond at $5 million and also set her trial for next May.
She was apprehended on October 19 after Indiana State Police identified her fingerprints on a black garbage bag Cairo was wrapped in when it was found in a suitcase on Saturday, April 16 by a mushroom hunter along Holder Road.
Coleman was arrested in California by ISP Detectives Matt Busick and Chris Tucker and taken to the San Francisco Police Department for an interview.
Coleman advised the police she knew Dejuane Anderson, Cairo’s mother, and had been traveling through multiple states with her and the child for about a year.
(Anderson is wanted by police and believed to be on the run)
Coleman advised that she babysat for Cairo when Anderson was held in jail in Louisville after an arrest for shoplifting at Oxmoor Mall on March 31.
Anderson was charged with 2nd Degree Robbery for shoplifting in Von Maur. She was stopped by mall security when she exited the store after loss prevention staff saw her conceal clothing items in a bag.
According to police, when Anderson was stopped she became violent and punch the security officer in the face.
While in custody, police say Anderson made two calls to a woman believed to be Coleman. Coleman allegedly told Anderson “We are OK” and that they were staying at her cousin Vera’s house.
Coleman told police she and Cairo picked Anderson up from jail on April 11 and the three of them stayed at her cousin’s house in Louisville.
Coleman and Anderson posted quite a bit about a child having demons inside them. SEE AMENDED POLICE AFFIDAVIT HERE – Amended Probable Cause
On April 12, Anderson updated her status on her Twitter account stating she had “survived the death attacks from my 5-year-old through the 5 years he has been alive. I have been able to weaken his powers through our blood. I have his real name and he is 100 years old. Need assistance.”
Coleman told police on April 14 she walked into a bedroom of the house they were staying in to find Anderson laying on top of Cairo, who was face down on the bed, with his face in the mattress.
Coleman stated to police: “It was already done,” when she walked in.
Coleman told police there were trash bags in the room and Anderson asked Coleman to help put Cairo in the suitcase, which belonged to Coleman.
Coleman said she zipped up the suitcase with Cairo’s body inside.
According to Coleman, Anderson placed the suitcase in the truck of the same car they had been traveling in.
Coleman advised that after they got in the car, Anderson told her she thought Cairo was “something really bad” and that he “was a 100-year-old soul or some old soul that wasn’t supposed to be there.”
Coleman said they traveled to the location where she carried the suitcase into the woods.
Busick said he obtained a search warrant for AT&T cell phone data and between 4:30-5:15p on April 14, the tower location placed Anderson and Coleman’s phones in the area of Holder Road, where the suitcase was found.
The suitcase with Cairo’s body was found on evening of April 16.
Coleman has a pre-trial conference set for December 12 and a tentative date for a jury trial has been set for May 2, 2023.