Found Deceased IL - Andrew Freund, 5, Crystal Lake, 17 April 2019 *Arrests* - #3

[AgeofAquaruis]

I'm not going to fault LE on this case. It was DCFS'
responsibility and they have admitted they failed miserably.

"Wouldn't this raise red flags immediately?" said Rep. Anna Moeller. "There was no court involved here, DCFS never went to the court to ask he be taken out of that environment. It was allowed to persist."

A DCFS official admitted missteps in the case, saying the DCFS investigators should have further interviewed the boy, and the case should have been referred to a child abuse specialist for a second opinion because the doctor couldn't determine the nature of the injury.

Illinois boy found slain told ER doctor of possible abuse, welfare records show

LE Did everything in their power to get Andrew out of there.
The power was in DCSF hands,and that ER. DR. didn't even raise one brow, over what Andrew said.
WTF?
So all five years of Andrews short pain filled life
The parents words, rights over rode all else.
Everyone that had contact with Andrew,and power to to stop this, (other than LE,and Granparents,neighbors)coddled,and cowtoed to Joann,and Sr.
WHY? Why were these two treated like untouchables, above the law?
Why did those in power bend over backwards for them?


SMH.

 

[Whiteorchids]

It's possible, and it's possible that AJ buried him in March, not mid-April as the story has been released. LE will be able to determine that very quickly and they've released nothing to indicate the earlier timeline is the more accurate one.
I also don't think JC and AJ would have kept the child's body in the house for 5-6 weeks.

So we are going on March 4 as the last time it could be verified AJ was seen alive by someone else? So that means either he was not at the motel on the April 13 visit, or he was and was not in the photos posted to FB

I think the key to the timing is the odd visit to the motel April 13. The photos have JC and P in them, and above someone said AF was seen in one shot, but I'm under the impression AJ was not in any of the shots. If he was there, someone at the hotel will be able to document it, and maybe JC was further ignoring his existence.

If he wasn't there, was he already dead or had they left him home alone. I'm not sure why leaving him at home alone would have been a safe deal for them. He could have gotten out of the house and been found wandering the street. He could have set something on fire trying to stay warm. It seem....risky.... to me. Perhaps he was left alone and became the target of rage and the torture/murder. Perhaps she had bought a new stash of meth and her meth-high rage was full on.

Sadly, I also have to consider he was already dead on April 13 and the trip to the motel was 1- a kind of celebration it was over, 2 - time to get P out of the house so AJ could clean up and remove him. LE will have phone evidence about the timeline, and I would think their allegation that he was murdered on April 15 was documented by the texting and confessions.

Great post. I’m curious how the burial spot was chosen for AJ. I wonder if they had been in that area before. It’s not too far from some farm houses. IMO there were much better places to hide a body. I can’t wait until the data in the cell phone is released that busted them. The google searches on the cell should tell a lot. Does anyone remember a computer taken out of the home? I don’t. Maybe they only used internet on their phones. I’m curious what evidence was in that big Rubbermaid container that was carried out after they were arrested.

 

[Whiteorchids]

Wonder where P will ultimately end up?
And, according to IL law (previously linked) the parents decide where the baby goes. If they don’t agree, I guess the state decides. If the bf is the dad, he may want his family to have custody.

I hope Grandma so both brothers are together along with Lucy the boxer. Lucy is the only one P would have bonded with. This is going to be a hard transition for him. Poor kid. I wonder if he’s been told his brother is deceased. How horrible to learn your mom and dad killed your sibling.

 

[Trish51]

It has been reported (I posted long ago, either in this thread or the previous one) that she was taking care of a family member when she was a foster parent. As well, it was reported that AJ was with a family member when he was fostered.

Thanks. I must have missed where you posted she was taking care of a family member.

 

[kaen]

LE Did everything in their power to get Andrew out of there.

Currently, I work in a large city. However, when I worked in a small city and a smallish town, LE knew the folks who were bad news. In DCFS cases I was involved in, I watched LE supervisors get on the phone with the higher ups at the DCFS agency to make things happen. I don't think any agency did enough--not LE, not DCFS, not Doctors/Hospitals. There are reports by neighbors that many called this case in over time (but, we have not seen evidence of that anywhere except by account of the people who said they called). The reported incidents are too few to make it so that an officer or caseworker would push things up to a supervisor to get more done for this child but that is exactly what needs to be assessed.

The departments, including LEO, need to assess what went wrong and ways to address what happens with the next case as we know there will be one. I know in my previous areas, LEO and their supervisors would advocate and continue to press to ensure DCFS was investigating, had what they needed to investigate and keep watch over the neighborhood where they suspected abuse was happening. I am sure the officers in this case are devastated. After the funeral and a little time, someone needs to do some hard looking at how they could be more effective in doing the job of keeping children in their community safer.

 

[Midgie2]

LE Did everything in their power to get Andrew out of there.
The power was in DCSF hands,and that ER. DR. didn't even raise one brow, over what Andrew said.
WTF?
So all five years of Andrews short pain filled life
The parents words, rights over rode all else.
Everyone that had contact with Andrew,and power to to stop this, (other than LE,and Granparents,neighbors)coddled,and cowtoed to Joann,and Sr.
WHY? Why were these two treated like untouchables, above the law?
Why did those in power bend over backwards for them?


SMH.

I think that because Andrew Sr. was older people just assumed he would be more stable/wiser (NOT), and the fact that he was an attorney.
He would have been around 53 years old in 2012, and she was around 29-30. What a mess!!! Who knows what kind of screwed up relationship these two had and they went on to have 2 kids. (I believe AJ AND P are his).

 

[Only4Justice]

On this beautiful spring day in the Midwest, I pray for AJ. No child should be in his shoes. Fly high sweet baby. No more pain

 

[Midgie2]

Aside from all of the other instances and evidence that there was child abuse going on, I cannot wrap my head around why nobody took both of these children out of her custody when she was found in a car passed out with fresh needle tracks all over her! I think I read the kids were with her.
That just screams that she was not capable of taking care of children! Why????

 

[Thora_Jay]

DCFS removes 2 employees from case work amid death probe of AJ Freund

DCFS removes 2 employees from case work amid death probe of AJ Freund



The caseworker and supervisor responsible for AJ's case have been transferred to administrative duty with no work on family cases while the review continues, Smith said. Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker enlisted research center Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago to issue a report by next month on what Pritzker called "actionable recommendations" for the agency.

 

[Herat]

Great post. I’m curious how the burial spot was chosen for AJ. I wonder if they had been in that area before. It’s not too far from some farm houses. IMO there were much better places to hide a body. I can’t wait until the data in the cell phone is released that busted them. The google searches on the cell should tell a lot. Does anyone remember a computer taken out of the home? I don’t. Maybe they only used internet on their phones. I’m curious what evidence was in that big Rubbermaid container that was carried out after they were arrested.

Good question. AF must have had some familiarity with the area. It looks to me as though the burial site was within direct view of a couple of those farmhouses. Awful risky. I wonder why he chose the flat field where it would be more apparent the ground had been disturbed and not in the area of the bushes and trees along the creek about 30 feet away. I would have thought that would been more concealed. It also does seem very shallow, like less than 2 feet deep. Was AF just in too much of a hurry or was he spooked and just wanted out of there.

 

[Trish51]

Aside from all of the other instances and evidence that there was child abuse going on, I cannot wrap my head around why nobody took both of these children out of her custody when she was found in a car passed out with fresh needle tracks all over her! I think I read the kids were with her.
That just screams that she was not capable of taking care of children! Why????

Maybe because AJ Sr picked them up from the hospital. He may have appeared to be in control and put together giving them no reason to question the kids safety with him.

 

[Herat]

I think that because Andrew Sr. was older people just assumed he would be more stable/wiser (NOT), and the fact that he was an attorney.
He would have been around 53 years old in 2012, and she was around 29-30. What a mess!!! Who knows what kind of screwed up relationship these two had and they went on to have 2 kids. (I believe AJ AND P are his).

He was her attorney for some charges that she had removed property from the home during divorce proceedings. She reportedly paid him with drugs. I'm sure she chose him though information in the drug culture that his services could be bartered for by those who knew his addictions. She gave drugs (and sex), he did legal work. She moved into his home (he owns that neglected abode).

I think this relationship was one of mutual convenience all based on drugs. He was disbarred for only 2 years, so it sounds like he was back able to do some legal work and that other article documents him working for the real estate company in a work related injury issue. He looks as if he is more functional than her. We don't have reports of him being passed out in a car with needles in his arms. He doesnt have that degenerating meth face.

It's inexplicable how he could allow the abuse of his own son(s) and the filth and neglect. Whatever their relationship was, it had severely deteriorated by the time the new face tatoo guy moved in, evidently in the last year or so. He doesnt seem to have had the motivation or the funds to move the kids out and take them by himself, or to kick her and bf out and get the house cleaned and made a decent home for the boys. Yet, as given by the charges, he not only didn't stop her, he actively participated in the murder of his child. As an attorney, he'd certainly have understood that even though he was involved in the murder of a child, he could get a deal by going to LE directly to incriminate her. Instead he chose to play the grieving father. He really had choices at one point. Choices to provide a better life and a future for his children. I guess the drugs she could get got ahead of rational thinking and any sense of morals. Once he met her, he was just committed to the drugs.

 

[Trudie]

Re: the haircut. Wonder if AJ was complaining of headaches or a sore head & she decided to shave the hair, or if the clippers were to inflict more pain on what had to be an already tender head?
It is most odd she posted pictures of him, clearly showing a traumatized/distorted skull. In her haze, she did not see what is so clearly obvious.

 

[nyvictoria]

Opioid Summaries by State

Good summary, state by state

Interesting. I’ve been taking low dose opioids for chronic pain from RSD and spine issues for about 12 years. I don’t abuse them and usually can go two to three months on what would be considered a one month prescription. If I didn’t have my prescription I would be stuck in the house and probably bed-ridden.
I have to jump thru many hoops to get my Rx: urine screen every visit, unscheduled pill counts, signed contract with my Dr. I have to get an MRI every 18 months and go to regular physical therapy. I also go in for nerve blocks every 6 months or so. If I should lose my rx or pill bottle or if it’s “stolen” I’m out of luck til next visit. In NY all Rx go into state database to prevent doctor shopping although that’s only been done for the past 4 years or so. My Pain Mgmt Dr insisted on all this when I first went to him 12 yrs ago. It doesn’t bother me at all to have to do these things. If all MDs would stick to procedures like this, there would probably be a lot less new addicts. There should be uniform regulations across the country to monitor Dr prescribed opioid use. OD death stats are artificially low now because of Narcan.

 

[Knox]

I read that LE gained knowledge of the March 4th incident from images and information investigators were able to recover (some of which were deleted), from their cell phones.
JMO

I took a break for a couple of days, this case was getting under my skin. Can you show me where this information came from?

 

[Only4Justice]

Good question. AF must have had some familiarity with the area. It looks to me as though the burial site was within direct view of a couple of those farmhouses. Awful risky. I wonder why he chose the flat field where it would be more apparent the ground had been disturbed and not in the area of the bushes and trees along the creek about 30 feet away. I would have thought that would been more concealed. It also does seem very shallow, like less than 2 feet deep. Was AF just in too much of a hurry or was he spooked and just wanted out of there.

Or too high

 

[nyvictoria]

In jail, all meds are dispensed by a nurse, EMT or Med Tec. She has no choice but to take as prescribed.
She maybe be receiving treatment for nauseous/ or IVs for dehydration at the ER to help her thru.

If she needed inpatient withdrawal for the babies sake, she would be admitted. I've had several clients admitted and even have surgery while incarcerated. They are handcuffed to the bed and have a guard the entire stay.

I hate to say this but illicit drugs are available in jail. I hope she is
very, very closely watched after they detox her!

 

[Thora_Jay]

She may not have known she was pregnant at the time. I hope they switched her to methadone when she found out.

I wonder who's Adderral? Obviously the assumption would be that it was AJ's. But there are adults with ADHD as well....

I wonder if the boyfriend stole them... and that is what precipitated and subsequently led to, his arrest the next day?

The prescription was not for A.J., it belongs to her. she stated that her fiance "D" left the home a week prior to go to the city after an argument. Then on 12/18/18, she noticed that her 2 prescriptions were missing. She went to taco bell in the red mercury registered to A.F. to use the phone to call the police.

She described him as being 6 foot 4 tattoos on his face black pants and a black hoodie.

SEECOM advised the Officers to approach with caution due to the fact that he is listed as a gang member with the Latin Eagles gang.

Officers located him later and were advised by SEECOM that he was on parole and his licence was revoked. He did not have the items on his person.

Nice guy to have living with your children huh! Do not know if child services knew he lived there but I would think that they want to know everyone living in the home. I do not know how that works here in Illinois.

 

[nyvictoria]

It makes me ill clicking “like”

12/18/18: DCFS investigator interviewed the boys at Crystal Lake Police Department. DCFS investigator attempted to engage the younger brother who would not talk to the investigator. The child appeared to be healthy and well cared for. Andrew was interviewed and reported that he received the bruise when the family dog pawed him. DCFS investigator interviewed JoAnn at the police station. She stated they were remodeling the home and did admit to dog feces and urine being present in the home. DCFS investigator asked her to take Andrew to Immediate are after she was bailed out. The father presented to bond mother out. JoAnn requested to be tested for drugs. DCFS investigator ended Protective Custody and children were returned home.
Murdered boy's mom was former foster parent

4 months before murdering AJ she requested a drug test. Presumably she had not used & knew her test would only show methadone, maybe?

Or she got clean urine from someone.

 

[nyvictoria]

I've tried to apply an objective risk management review for all entities. Review DCPS policy, Illinois law, the DCPS timeline, comparing all "reports" from neighbors, etc to the actual timeline.

I also found this How to win at Illinois CPS Child Abuse Guide. It's a PDF in the attached link. I just scanned but it helps parents bet child abuse!!

Manuals - The Family Defense Center
s/
When a mandate worker
makes an attempt to contact the child, the parent or caretaker does not have to permit the
mandate worker to talk to the child or come into the home. The one exception is that
facilities licensed by DCFS must allow mandate workers and other investigators into the
facility or they may face consequences for their licenses.

DCFS Timeline Shows Interactions With Crystal Lake Family

The March 2018 OD incident receiving much attention.

May 17, 2018
DCFS investigator completed a final safety assessment of the home. Both boys were observed clean and dressed appropriately. Mother reported a history of drug use and current drug treatment. The home was observed to be clean, neat and adequately furnished.

March 21, 2018
DCFS received a hotline report that alleged substantial risk of physical injury/injurious environment and environment neglect against the mother and father. The report alleged that the mother was brought to the emergency room after being found unresponsive in a car. Andrew was observed at the hospital to have odd bruising on his face.

March 21, 2018
DCFS investigator met with JoAnn, Andrew and his younger brother. JoAnn was interviewed while the boys played outside in the driveway of the home. DCFS investigator observed the boys to be clean and did not find signs of maltreatment.
This is the SAME day of complaint.
Did DCPS verify she was in the ER?
Why did ER not call LE, OD mom with 2 kids in ER with bruises...mandated reporting is required!!!
Or was this made up???

May 18, 2018
DCFS investigator verified mother’s participation in a drug treatment program. The report from March, 2018 was unfounded and the investigation closed.

May 17, 2018
DCFS investigator completed a final safety assessment of the home. Both boys were observed clean and dressed appropriately. Mother reported a history of drug use and current drug treatment. The home was observed to be clean, neat and adequately furnished.

May 18, 2018 Was the OD made up ?
DCFS investigator verified mother’s participation in a drug treatment program. The report from March, 2018 was unfounded and the investigation closed.

@Simply Southern thank you for all your informative posts!