A woman in Louisiana has taken a plea deal after police accused her of aiding in the disposal of a 5-year-old boy’s body inside a suitcase, according to reports from news outlets.
Dawn Coleman has agreed to plead guilty to charges that include aiding, inducing or causing murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, and obstruction of justice, a report by WTHR revealed. McClatchy News reached out to Coleman’s attorney for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
The discovery of the boy’s body was made in April 2022 in a wooded area in Indiana, when a mushroom hunter came across a suspicious suitcase and found the body of 5-year-old Cairo Jordan, according to a report by WISH. Months later, Cairo’s mother, Dejaune Ludie Anderson, was charged with his murder.
According to court documents, Coleman and Anderson had previously posted on social media claiming that they believed Cairo was possessed by a demon. Furthermore, the day before Cairo’s body was found, Anderson wrote on Facebook expressing her belief about Cairo being inhabited by a demon in a child’s body.
The mother also attempted to contact a priest over Twitter to ask about an exorcism.
Coleman told investigators that she babysat Cairo while Anderson was in jail and that when Anderson was released, the two women and the child traveled together to Louisville. She also admitted that she saw Anderson on top of Cairo, who was face-down on the mattress, and stated that it was “already done.” Coleman said she then zipped up the suitcase with Cairo’s body inside and placed it in the trunk of the same car, driven to Washington County, Indiana, and left the suitcase in a wooded area.
Officials believe Jordan likely died from “an electrolyte imbalance, most likely due to vomiting and diarrhea, leading to dehydration.”
Coleman is set to be sentenced soon, while Anderson has not been apprehended.
