SALEM – Dejaune Anderson, the mother of 5-year-old Cairo Jordan, is charged with murder, neglect of a dependent, resulting in death, and obstruction of justice in the young boy’s death.
Washington County Judge Larry Medlock assigned a public defender to Anderson’s case after she claimed she was under NSA surveillance for several months and claimed Space Force was tracking her movements during the two-year manhunt that came after her son Cairo’s body was discovered in 2022.
In new handwritten court documents filed on Tuesday, Anderson declared her court-appointed attorney, Alex Ooley, “the grandson of President Joe Biden.” She notified him of his termination on April 8 and proclaimed she would represent herself.
She wrote, “Any motions, filings, or pleadings on behalf of the entity Dejaune L. Anderson by Washington County Public Defender Office are null and void.” She filed additional motions requesting the judge allow her case to go without trial and argued her charges should be dismissed, citing alleged violations of her due process rights under the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment.
She identified herself as Princess Califia Hatun Tupak Bey II during her initial hearing. Anderson told Judge Larry Medlock she’d been under “NSA surveillance” for months and questioned how she could be considered a fugitive when she was already being monitored. She also claimed a “detail from the Space Force” watched her every move.
On Wednesday, Judge Medlock filed his motions, requesting Anderson undergo psychiatric evaluations by two doctors to determine her state of mind and see if she is competent to stand trial in August.
Anderson is being held at a Washington County jail without bond. She will return to court on April 25 for a pre-trial hearing.
On March 15, 2024, 38-year-old Dejaune Anderson was arrested in Arcadia, California, for the murder of her son. She was booked into the Washington County Jail on Easter Sunday.
Investigators say Anderson killed her child because she believed a demon lived inside the boy.
In April 2022, a mushroom hunter found Cairo Ammar Jordan’s body. His mother had stuffed his tiny body in a suitcase and thrown it in the woods.
An autopsy revealed Cario died due to an “electrolyte imbalance” most likely attributed to a “viral gastroenteritis.” Investigators say Cairo likely died from vomiting and diarrhea, leading to dehydration.
Anderson will appear in court for a pretrial hearing on April 26 at 9:00 a.m. A jury trial is set for August 6, 2024, at 8:30 a.m.
