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The Department of Children and Family Services said it was investigating whether there were “shortcomings” in the agency’s oversight of a 5-year-old boy whose body was found Wednesday a few miles from his home in Crystal Lake.
Officials have not released a cause of death for Andrew pending an autopsy that was expected to take place this week, but both parents have additionally been charged with aggravated battery and aggravated domestic battery, according to Crystal Lake police.
In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Acting DCFS Director Marc Smith said the agency was “committed to conducting a comprehensive review of the entirety of our work with Andrew’s family to understand our shortcomings and to be fully transparent with the public on any steps we are taking to address the issues.”
Full story: https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/andrew...-services/
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Shortcomings? Holy shit. Howling now!
He looks pale and like he had dark circles under his eyes in that picture. In stories like this I often read about parental rights and how the authorities are loathe to remove children but what about the kids rights? Who speaks for them? What a shitty fuckin' system.
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Bail Hearing
AJ's piece of shit parents appeared in court today.
JoAnn Cunnigham and Andrew Freund had their bail set at $5,000,000 each; the judge noted that they would each have to post 10% bond ($500,000) to be released pending trial.
At the hearing, prosecutors alleged the parents forced their son 'to remain in a cold shower for an extended period of time' and struck him repeatedly on April 15 'knowing said acts would cause the death of [AJ]'.
April 15 th is three days before Andrew Freund called 911 to report that his son had supposedly just been discovered 'missing'.
Ref: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...d-son.html
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That poor boy. Man, what I could do to those parents..........for days.
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
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Cause of Death
The McHenry County Coronoer's Office confirmed today that AJ's cause of death was 'craniocerebral trauma as a consequence of multiple blunt force injuries.'
In other words, one or both of his parents beat his brains in. I won't be surprised if they point the finger at each other in attempt to get the best deal for themselves.
In any case, both parents engaged in a cover up and attempted to present themselves as victims. Vile motherfuckers.
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Thats what I figured the autopsy results would be. It makes me sick to think about it.
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Statement from the extended family of AJ Freund
“We, the family that lovingly cared for Andrew (AJ) during the first 18 months of his life and were then allowed to be in his life for another 26 months until the parents abruptly prevented us from having any further contact with him, want everyone to know that AJ was loved by us with all our hearts.”
“While we had him in our lives, he had a happy, fun-loving life. This smart little boy loved having books read to him, doing puzzles, his Thomas the Train, playing with his fire trucks, bulldozers, cement mixer, and Ninja Turtles. He was very curious and always wanted to learn about everything.”
“He was, and will always be, our loving and caring little boy. With his brave short life, AJ made the ultimate sacrifice to save his younger brother and unborn sibling. His life shall not be in vain. AJ will always be our little superhero.”
https://people.com/crime/aj-freund-made-...mily-says/
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The Confession
The parents of an Illinois 5-year-old found buried in a shallow grave allegedly killed their son after he lied about soiling his underwear, according to newly released court documents.
Authorities immediately became suspicious of the parents shortly after they first reported the boy missing on April 18.
According to a search warrant affidavit written by McHenry County Sheriff's Det. Edwin Maldonado and highlighted in court yesterday, it was a March 4 video discovered on JoAnn Cunningham's phone that prompted the parents' lies to unravel.
The video showed AJ "laying on a bare mattress in a crib" covered in bandages and bruises across his chest and head.
"AJ is seen to be naked except for some small bandages around both wrists and circling his hips," the affidavit reads. "AJ is seen to be holding an ice pack to his face and when he removes it he is seen to have deep red bruising around his eyes, and yellowish green bruising around his neck and upper chest.
In the background, a woman who sounds like his mother JoAnn can be heard "berating [him] for urinating on his bed."
Man, I really fucking despise these people.
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Investigators also discovered a shopping list on Freund's phone for items including duct tape, plastic gloves, air fresheners and bleach.
According to the court documents, Freund confessed to police investigators what actually occurred the night of AJ's death after they showed him the two-minute cellphone clip.
He told authorities his son died on or around April 15, after he was forced to take a cold shower for soiling himself -- a punishment Cunningham deemed "less violent" than the usual "hard physical beatings."
Freund said from there, he put AJ to bed "cold, wet and naked."
"Drew said JoAnn got up and checked on AJ and that was when she got Drew and used Drew's phone to search for child CPR," according to the affidavit. "Drew advised at some point that he believed AJ had died."
(continued)
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The following morning, Freund stashed his son's body in a tote bag before driving to an area near Woodstock, where he "dug a shallow grave for AJ, placed him in it, covered it with straw and left."
According to the court documents, Freund was able to take investigators to the grave on the vacant property, where they found AJ's body last month.
Prior to that, officers interviewed AJ's 4-year-old brother, who said his parents told him not to talk about the boy, and that AJ had "fallen down the stairs and has a lot of owies." He was removed from the home -- which Maldonado said had "hoarder-like conditions" -- and is currently in the care of the Illinois Department of Family Services.
Refs:
https://herald-review.com/news/state-and...3006a.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...l#comments
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It was also revealed this week that JoAnn Cunningham had been ordered to get medical treatment for AJ four months before his death because police noticed he had bruises on his hip. She told the investigator that the family dog had pawed him.
When the attending doctor asked AJ about how he sustained the injuries, AJ told the doc 'maybe somebody hit me with a belt; maybe mommy didn't mean to hurt me.'
The doctor documented it and reported his concerns of abuse, but since the doc couldn't definitively say that the injury was not caused by the dog, the investigator returned AJ to the custody of his parents and advised that the father stay around the house more just to be safe. You know, because dad was such a winner and protector and all.
Ref: https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/04/26/...unningham/
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He was little more than a baby. Those people did not deserve him and he sure as hell didn't deserve them as parents. I hope every day they are incarcerated is a fuckin' nightmare for them. They don't deserve the air they breathe. There are people out there who would have loved that child if only he had been taken from those monsters.
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Besides for not understanding how they could be such evil monsters, I don't understand why they would video him like that. Maybe I don't even want to know.
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Sickening. There are so many of these godawful stories :(
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(05-03-2019, 12:08 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: When the attending doctor asked AJ about how he sustained the injuries, AJ told the doc 'maybe somebody hit me with a belt; maybe mommy didn't mean to hurt me.'
The doctor documented it and reported his concerns of abuse, but since the doc couldn't definitively say that the injury was not caused by the dog, the investigator returned AJ to the custody of his parents and advised that the father stay around the house more just to be safe. You know, because dad was such a winner and protector and all.
This story as a whole is so heartbreaking. This part pisses me off though. This poor kid tried to tell the doctor, as best as he could in the situation.....and the doctor reported it but they still say they cant. Do anything. We've all been pawed at by a dog, or have seen it happen to someone....did their dog taking fucking boxing lessons or what cuz I've never seen a dog throw a paw with enough force to leave a bruise.
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