There are a lot of questions surrounding the murder of 5-year-old boy Andrew “AJ” Freund Jr. In particular, people are wondering what authorities did and didn’t do about alleged serial abuse at his home. Cops in Crystal Lake, Illinois responded his family’s home 17 times over five years for abuse and drug allegations, according to an ABC 7 Chicago report published early Friday. A report from CBS Chicago said police were called to the home “at least 10 times” in the past five years.
DCFS has long history with family of Missing Crystal Lake boy. @cbschicago
“Involvement Andrew Freund began with his birth in 2013 and continued on and off through the end of 2018. pic.twitter.com/vArRn5klRb
— Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) April 19, 2019
One police report from December 2018 stemmed from an allegation that someone stole medication and a phone from the home, according to The Chicago Tribune. The responding officer, however, noted there was dog feces and urine on the floor all over the house. Some of the windows were broken or open, the flooring was broken, and AJ’s room with his younger brother smelled like feces, cops said. She noted a “suspicious” bruise on the boy’s hip. According to the cop, AJ and his mother JoAnn Cunningham said this might have been caused by a family dog.
Here’s more from that interview with the mother of #AJFreund. She told a @crystallakepd officer when he noticed a bruise on her son, she had no idea where it came from. Joann Cunningham said the bruise to the boy’s hip could be from a dog, a football, or a belt. @fox32news pic.twitter.com/9pHTnrYnF0
— Tia A. Ewing (@TIA_EWING) April 25, 2019
The officer told her sergeant that she was worried about children, and moved them to a police station. Nonetheless, an investigation by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) determined abuse allegations were unsubstantiated.
The video was cut off, but someone asked if the officer noticed all of that why didn’t DCFS… The reason they didn’t notice the conditions was because it doesn’t appear they ever were inside the home. The DCFS worker met the family at the police station during contact Dec. 2018. https://t.co/L39pM4S5do
— Tia A. Ewing (@TIA_EWING) April 25, 2019
Cunningham and the boy’s father Andrew “AJ” Freund Sr. forced him to stand in a cold shower, and beat him to death, police said this week. Charges include murder, aggravated battery, and concealing a death. 911 audio released by cops show the father claiming that he last saw his son the previous night, and that they couldn’t find him, no matter where they looked. Cops said they found young AJ’s body in a shallow grave in Woodstock, Illinois. Bond for the parents was set at $5 million, though they only have to pay $500,000. They are scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
Next door neighbor Janelle Butler told ABC 7 Chicago that she and others called cops when they believed AJ and his little brother were unsafe.
AJ’s family has been on DCFS’ radar ever since he was born with opiates in his system.
DCFS responds to the death of #AJFreund. The agency took the boy from his mother from birth until 2-years-old because he was born with drugs in his system. The family had several visits with DCFS, the last time was in December 2018 for allegations of abuse that were unfounded. pic.twitter.com/D9XBn7fBN6
— Tia A. Ewing (@TIA_EWING) April 24, 2019
DCFS has released their timeline of their interactions with the Freund family.
[Image via Crystal Lake Police Services]
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