LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Two years ago, a five-year-old boy was found dead in a suitcase in southern Indiana.

Cairo Jordan's body was found in the woods in Washington County, Indiana, on April 16, 2022. Police said a man who was mushroom-hunting found the body of a boy in a wooded, secluded area in Washington County that evening, about 80 feet off a rural road near New Pekin, Indiana.

A vigil to honor Jordan was held at Crown Hill Cemetery in Salem, Indiana, on Tuesday. People from around the community lit candles and said prayers to remember the child.

"We just didn't want anybody to forget about him," said Yvonne Casey. 

Since Cairo was found, Casey and her mother, Janet Irk, have held vigils and made t-shirts, hoping and praying for justice. They're among a group of women who got together after Cairo was found, rallying the community together to bury him in Crown Hill Cemetery, selling t-shirts to pay for a proper service. 

"My heart just broke, and I knew I had to do something," Casey said. "To keep the memory alive."

Vincent Jordan, Cairo's father, held a vigil on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. But he also wanted to witness what strangers are doing for his little boy, so he Facetimed WDRB News. Vincent spoke to the mushroom hunter who found Cairo, thanking the man for finding his son. 

Organizers of the vigil in southern Indiana said they have been praying to find the person responsible. 

"It just gives us a little bit of, you know, closure when you get together and everybody and pray, you know, so we have something to pray for this time," said Casey.

An arrest warrant was initially issued for Dejaune Anderson, Cairo's mother, but she was on the run for almost two years. Police thought she was somewhere in the western part of the United States.

In March, Anderson was arrested in Arcadia, California, — outside Los Angeles — on a murder warrant. Her other charges include neglect of a dependent resulting in death and obstruction of justice.

Earlier this month, Washington County Circuit Judge Larry Medlock asked for a mental evaluation of Anderson to determine her competency to stand trial on those charges. That order came after Anderson's strange first court appearance on April 2, where she made some bizarre comments to Medlock, including a claim she's under federal surveillance. She also gave an alias to the judge, said she wants to represent herself in the case, and said a Space Force military detail has been following her everywhere she goes. Anderson is expected back in court in late April.

In November 2023, a Louisiana woman was convicted in connection to the death of the 5-year-old. Dawn Coleman, 41, of Shreveport, was sentenced to 30 years in prison with five years suspended to probation.

A probable cause affidavit states that Coleman admitted to walking into a bedroom of a home where she witnessed Anderson lying on top of the child, who was face down on the bed with his face into the mattress, according to a news release. Coleman told police "it was already done," when she walked in. She said Anderson asked her to help put Cairo in a trash bag and then into the suitcase.

Cairo Jordan grave 3-15-24

The grave of 5-year-old Cairo Jordan in Salem, Indiana, on Friday, March 15, 2024. (WDRB photo)

Prosecutors said the two women then drove to an area outside of Pekin, where they dumped the suitcase in a wooded area.

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

Cairo would have turned 7 years old last October.

Donations helped fund a funeral at the Weathers Funeral Home in Salem, Indiana, and his final resting place at Crown Hill Cemetery. The grave marker first read "A beloved little boy known but to God." But the headstone was engraved with the boy's full name: Cairo Ammar Jordan, after he was identified. 

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