Woman accused of involvement in death of child found in suitcase in Indiana makes a plea deal

SALEM, Ind. (AP) — A Louisiana woman accused of involvement in the death of a 5-year-old Atlanta boy whose body was found in a suitcase in Indiana last year has reached a plea deal with prosecutors, news outlets reported.

Dawn Coleman, 41, of Shreveport, will be sentenced Tuesday, at which time details of the plea deal will be released, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quoted prosecutor Tara Coats Hunt as saying in a report Friday.

Coleman is accused of playing a part in the death of Cairo Ammar Jordan. The child’s body was found inside a suitcase in the woods about 35 miles (56 kilometers) northwest of Louisville, Kentucky, in April 2022. Coleman was charged with “aiding, inducing or causing murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death and obstruction of justice.”

A felony murder arrest warrant was issued for the child’s mother, Dejuane Ludie Anderson, in November 2022, but she has eluded authorities for more than a year, WTHR-TV reported.

An autopsy found that Cairo died from vomiting and diarrhea that led to dehydration, Indiana State Police said. Investigators said the boy had died about a week or less before a mushroom hunter discovered his body.