Andrew AJ Freund died just months after alerting an Illinois doctor about all the horrible things his mother was doing to him. With his murder, his parents are now being accused.
]]>
When asked about the massive bruise on the five-year-Old’s hip, the boy told investigators that it was from the family dog. The authorities received a tip from an anonymous source and went to Andrew’s home to check on him.
And while in the emergency room, the doctor attempted to elicit more information from AJ in order to determine whether it was the dog or something else, as the doctor was not so sure. However, something more malevolent happened as AJ offered a different reason – a startling and shocking reason when the doctor asked about it.
“Maybe someone hit me with a belt, maybe Mommy didn’t mean to hurt me,” the young boy told the doctor.
In the report, the doctor wrote that the bruise could have resulted from “a dog, belt, or football.” Although the bruise was caused by a variety of factors, the doctor was unable to pinpoint the precise source of the damage, when the doctor submitted this report to the Department of Children and Family Services. However, when state officials investigated the claim, they determined there wasn’t enough evidence to take AJ into protective custody.
]]>
“That piece was missed,” Anne Gold, DCFS associate deputy for child protection, admitted to state lawmakers.
The boy was then murdered, four months after AJ told the doctor the truth, and with the murder of the five-year-old son, AJ’s parents, Andrew Freund Sr., 60, and his mother, 36-year-old JoAnn Cunningham have since been charged with the murder. His body was found wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow grave. The boy had suffered a blunt force injury that led to head damage, a pathologist discovered.
Between June 2015 and March 2016, DCFS agents visited the youngster 17 times without prior notice to see how he was doing. The employee could not find any indications of abuse at the time, and nothing suspicious was observed, as DCFS had a large file on Andrew and his family. They have since released a plethora of their records, which show their extensive interaction with Cunningham and Freund Sr. Throughout the boy’s short life.
AJ was being neglected, an anonymous source claimed as the DCFS received another hotline call. It was also the same day when AJ’s parents reported the boy missing. However, AJ’s body was found covered in plastic and buried in Woodstock, Illinois which was about 10 miles from the family’s home in Crystal Lake, after police squeezed information from the parents.
In 2012, DCFS was notified about Cunningham’s suspected prescription drug abuse and maltreatment of her foster child. These occurrences occurred before the birth of AJ. He was born into a dysfunctional household where Cunningham’s eldest son had experienced “environmental neglect and damaging surroundings.”
Cunningham and AJ both tested positive for opiates and benzodiazepines at the time of AJ’s birth. Before being reunited with his biological parents, he was taken from her care for eight months.
Watch the video report below for more details:
Sources: AWM, Cbsnews, Wfla