SALEM – A woman who spent nearly two years on the run after a mushroom hunter found her son’s body in April 2022 stuffed in a suitcase appeared in Washington Circuit Court for her initial hearing.
Dejaune Anderson, 38, is charged with murder, neglect of a dependent, and obstruction of justice in connection with the death of 5-year-old Cairo Ammar Jordan. She is being held without bond.
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.
Judge Larry Medlock ordered her held without bond and told Anderson he’d revisit the bond issue if “Space Force comes forward” to say they’re “willing to monitor” her. Court records indicated she’d be due back in court later this month.
Anderson asked to represent herself. The court granted that request but also determined that a public defender would be appointed to assist in her defense.
Judge Medlock has approved several news media outlet’s requests to have cameras in the courtroom.
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.
According to court documents, Anderson was convinced a demon lived inside her son. Multiple social media posts showed Anderson wrote about hexes and curses, “protection spells,” and “reversal spells.” She wrote of rituals and said a 100-year-old demon inhabited her son’s body.
In October 2022, six months after the suitcase was found, Indiana State Police arrested Dawn Coleman in connection with the death.
Coleman, who admitted she’d helped Anderson dump Cairo’s body, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. In November 2023, she was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with five years suspended to probation. She agreed to testify against Anderson as part of her plea deal.
The search for Anderson ended on March 14, 2024, when US Marshals caught up with her in California. She was booked into the Washington County Jail on March 31.
