Andrew AJ Freund, a five-year-old boy from Chicago, died less than two months after telling a doctor in Illinois about all the terrible things his mother did to him. His parents have now been charged with his murder. An anonymous tip led police to Andrew’s house in December, and they went there to check on him. They discovered a huge bruise on the child’s hip; when questioned about it, he explained that it was caused by the family dog.
However, the doctor was unconvinced. When the physician inquired about the incident with AJ in the emergency department, he attempted to obtain more information to discover whether it was really the dog that injured him. When asked why, AJ provided a different explanation – an unbelievable and terrible explanation.
“Maybe someone hit me with a belt,” he said to the doctor. “Maybe Mommy didn’t mean to hurt me.”
The doctor submitted this information to the Department of Children and Family Services. Despite a variety of reasons for the bruise, the doctor was unable to determine the precise source of the damage. The doctor stated in his report that “a dog, belt, or football” might have caused the bruise. With no hard evidence to act on, the case was closed a month later owing to a lack of evidence.
The youngster was slain four months after AJ revealed the truth to the doctor. His body was discovered encased in plastic in a shallow grave four days later. Andrew Freund Sr., 60, and JoAnn Cunningham, 36, have been charged with murdering their five-year-old son since his body was discovered wrapped in plastic in a shallow grave four days later.
A pathologist discovered that the boy died as a result of blunt force head trauma.
DCFS had a large file on Andrew and his family. They have since made public the number of documents they have, which demonstrates their close relationship with Cunningham and Freund Sr. Throughout Andrew’s brief existence, DCFS officials made 17 unannounced visits to check up on him between June 2015 and March 2016. At that time, the employee discovered no indication of mistreatment but nothing unusual either.
However, on July 31, DCFS received another hotline tip that AJ was being neglected. That call was made the same day that AJ’s parents reported him missing. When police investigated, they gained knowledge from the parents, who subsequently revealed the location of the child’s shallow grave in Woodstock, about 10 miles from his family’s home in Crystal Lake.
The DCFS was contacted about Cunningham in 2012 because she was allegedly abusing prescription drugs and neglecting her foster kid. These events took place before AJ was even born. He entered the world into a chaotic household where his mother’s eldest son had been subjected to “environmental neglect and injurious environment.”
Cunningham tested positive for opiates and benzodiazepines when AJ was born. He was taken away from his mother for eight months before being returned to his natural parents.
What kind of punishment, if any, do you think the parents of this slain child should receive?
