Mother charged in death of 5-year-old found in suitcase arraigned in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A woman accused of killing her son and leaving his body in a suitcase in rural southern Indiana appeared in court in Louisville for the first time Monday.

Dejuane Anderson's case was dismissed in Washington County last week and her trial was moved to Louisville.

According to Washington County Prosecutor Tara Coats Hunt, a Jefferson County, Kentucky, grand jury returned an indictment Dec. 8 against Anderson in the homicide case involving the death of her 5-year-old son Cairo Jordan.

Anderson's charges include murder, manslaughter, criminal abuse and abuse of a corpse. She appeared in court Monday for arraignment and a judge kept her bond at $500,000.

A not guilty plea was entered on her behalf.

Anderson was charged after a mushroom hunter found 5-year-old Jordan's body stuffed in a suitcase in rural Washington County in 2022. At the time, investigators said the child was clean, clothed and showed no signs of being placed in the suitcase alive. They believed Cairo died in Indiana before being left in the woods.

Anderson's pretrial conference has been scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026.

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