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

[Tracee27]

Haven't caught up on thread. My apologies if this has already been posted.

'AJ' Freund told doctor of possible abuse months before he was murdered

Report: 'Maybe mommy didn't mean to hurt me'

(CNN) - Four months before Andrew "AJ" Freund's parents were charged with his murder, the 5-year-old shared information on possible abuse with a doctor in Illinois.

Police responding to a hotline report found a large bruise on AJ's hip in December. At first, he told investigators the bruise came from the family dog...

The report for this was posted before I’ll see if I can pull it.
The doctor also said they weren't a forensic doctor so they couldn’t determine how he got the bruise. it could be a football, a dog, or a belt. I think this is part of a system failure. If he said Mommy hit me with a belt I think it’s reasonable to say that’s how it got there. So if a forensic doctor is needed to make the call why not have one exam him to begin with? If the doctor can’t state for sure how it got there does that limit what a case worker can do? I mean it seems common sense could have been used here but does that even get to come into play when making the call?

 

[Tracee27]

Ok I’ve been trying to research DCFS in Illinois. I need people who are smarter than myself because I’m not sure if I’m following right. So DCFS is the government agency but they contract out to private companies to help cover the cases? Is that right? I’m wondering if that is the true is there anyway to track if it’s a private company that was in charge or actually DCFS. Google is not my friend this morning. My end thought here is if they do contract out cases is there anyway to see who was working the cases. A way to track if the children who have been failed by the system are they directly under DCFS or are they with a private company. Again I’m not completely clear if they do contract these cases out. Does anyone know?


Edit: *not thinking clearly* I just texted my cousin who worked for DCFS waiting for her reply for my clear as mud research problem this morning!

Per cousin who worked for DCFS
“Illinois DCFS only handles intact family cases while they contract out foster care cases to other community child welfare agencies. AJ was with DCFS under intact family services so there is no one they came blame besides their workers.”

 

[Tracee27]

Haven't caught up on thread. My apologies if this has already been posted.

'AJ' Freund told doctor of possible abuse months before he was murdered

Report: 'Maybe mommy didn't mean to hurt me'

(CNN) - Four months before Andrew "AJ" Freund's parents were charged with his murder, the 5-year-old shared information on possible abuse with a doctor in Illinois.

Police responding to a hotline report found a large bruise on AJ's hip in December. At first, he told investigators the bruise came from the family dog...

It is in a tweet from Fox News 32 reporter Tia A Ewing. I can’t get it to post but I’ll see if I can find the first post with it to bring forward.

It’s in thread 2 page 46 post #904

 

[nyvictoria]

Idk but if she’s not medically supervised, she’s violently ill, imo.
Maybe a mod professional will weigh in.
It is moo she can not simply be put in a cell w/o constant monitoring & I doubt the jail has staff to handle a late stage, high risk pregnancy.

I have nothing more than basic medical knowledge but I would think at a bare minimum she would need IV hydration while detoxing. She won’t be able to eat and will probably have severe flu like symptoms and diarrhea. This is JMO.

 

[BaxterDE42]

I cant LIKE this enough. Marijuana is legal in my state now and it is only strewing a plethora of polysubstance abuser transients and stoners. Small motels in my town that used to be for budget-minded travelers are full of "weekly / monthly rate residents" and the police blotters are full of continual arrests for marijuana / heroin / meth / cocaine abuse. Nearly every description of a meth arrest describes the pipes and spoons and there is always a marijuana involved. Violent crimes, including murders, have tripled, as have robberies /burglaries.

A family member works in a nearby town and runs a tourism facililty. They have had to take constant extreme measures to get the stoners off off their properties at nights because they feel they can camp out there, drink and smoke, and harass the visitors. LE says they can't do much because it's all over town and the rejects will just move from one location to the next. The panhandling at local stores is really aggressive.

He had to sit through a city presentation about licensing Marjiuana Stores and he said each and every one of the applicants had mob ties or felony records. Yet, somehow, the lure of tax $$ made the supervisors blind to the filth these places bring into their communities.

Legalizing marijuana was a HUGE mistake, IMHO, MOO

Thank you so much for stating what no one wants to hear!!

 

[nyvictoria]

Sadly, I think so. I would imagine that he/she both used the “we’re going to sue” “Andrew is an attorney” line plenty. She knew what she was doing by getting involved with an attorney. And he probably got a huge ego boost because she’s much younger, however, dysfunctional and addicted she was.
I’ve seen these types clean up pretty well to hide their double life. Would fool and manipulate plenty of authorities.
I’ve only known the specifics of one case of a heroin drug addicted pregnant women. She was kept on methadone until the baby was born and then the baby went through 1-2 months of medically supervised withdrawal in the NICU. Needless to say, the baby is miserable and suffers. I doubt that they would have the mother detox now, I think there is a risk to the baby if done while she is still carrying the child.
My heart breaks for all these little children.

bbm
Maybe a dumb question but is DCFS exempt from lawsuits? If not and if this turns out to be a common theme in cases such as AJ, perhaps they should be. Don’t get me wrong. If it turns out that neglect on the part of DCFS is partially to blame for AJ’s death, I’d be satisfied to see a wrongful death suit. I’m thinking more along the lines of exempting from suits for removing children when it appears they’re in harms way so threats like this can be ignored.

 

[nyvictoria]

Or suboxone. A prior police report mentioned Rx “strips” but speculated they may be reselling them for $ for something illicit. There’s a market for suboxone, but it’s also used for addicts.

My nephew used to trade his suboxone for heroin.

 

[mickey2942]

I have nothing more than basic medical knowledge but I would think at a bare minimum she would need IV hydration while detoxing. She won’t be able to eat and will probably have severe flu like symptoms and diarrhea. This is JMO.

I don't know what she was on, but usually they give them methadone to detox, which is safe for pregnant women. She will get what she needs, but not anything to really make her comfortable.

 

[nyvictoria]

Thank you so much for stating what no one wants to hear!!

I agree. I’m all for decriminalizing small quantities of MJ but not for outright legalization.

 

[michmi]

My God the more I hear the more angry I am at this failure of a system. How can you beat up someone so much smaller like this?

 

[AC's Grandma]

bbm
I think this is a great idea.

My mother was a second grade teacher at a Parochial school for many years. You’d be amazed how many times she was discouraged or outright forbidden to call CPS by the Principal or others in power. She would come home and call anyway. There was only one time a parent came to the school screaming, “How dare she...” My mother looked at her and said, “It’s your job to take care of your child. It’s my job to report it when you don’t.” The Principal was furious with my mother mainly because she was afraid the parents would pull the child out of the school which wouldn’t be appreciated by her bosses. Priorities.

My daughter who is a middle school teacher was also forbidden to call CPS by the principal and superintendent on a situation she encountered last year. This incident was in a "good school" in a nice neighborhood. Not that it makes a difference, but goodness knows they didn't want their reputation to be tarnished. They were going to "deal with it" on their own. UGH!

 

[LietKynes]

I live in/around this area. Through a friend of a friend who has spoken with neighbors nearby, it’s been said that little A.J. was almost beaten to death back in March 19’, by the mother. Notice also that her arrest has counts of battery but it states a March date also.

SABBM

Good find !
Hadn't noticed that.

AJ seemed to be hated by her.
Wondered if she'd cheated on AF Sr., and AJ was someone else's child ?
It wouldn't be impossible... trying to understand why he was so hated. The younger sibling seemed to be more tolerated than AJ.
The egg donor was just as vile as the sperm donor.
Not surprised that the lawyer who stood by her when she "acted" for the cameras has dropped her.

 

[Midgie2]

JMO... JC got tired of AF “Grandpa”, and wanted somebody younger to party with. Eventually the new guy comes and lives with her, (although he went to jail last December I believe). AF reportedly bought/lived in that house for 14 years, so before he hooked up with JC. He stops making mortgage payments, JC no longer has her boyfriend there, tensions are high, and things spiral down).
Also JMO, usually babies born in prison are allowed to be with Mom for the first 24-48 hours. Knowing what she has participated in, the murder of A.J., she shouldn’t be allowed to ever hold or touch that newborn. I wouldn’t trust her. Ever.

 

[nyvictoria]

My daughter who is a middle school teacher was also forbidden to call CPS by the principal and superintendent on a situation she encountered last year. This incident was in a "good school" in a nice neighborhood. Not that it makes a difference, but goodness knows they didn't want their reputation to be tarnished. They were going to "deal with it" on their own. UGH!

I’m sure it happens all the time especially in the better schools in the better neighborhoods. A nice discrete call made to the offending parent. JMO but education is needed for educators as well.

 

[AC's Grandma]

bbm
Maybe a dumb question but is DCFS exempt from lawsuits? If not and if this turns out to be a common theme in cases such as AJ, perhaps they should be. Don’t get me wrong. If it turns out that neglect on the part of DCFS is partially to blame for AJ’s death, I’d be satisfied to see a wrongful death suit. I’m thinking more along the lines of exempting from suits for removing children when it appears they’re in harms way so threats like this can be ignored.

I live in Florida where it is legal to sue CPS. I'm not sure about IL but it is common here. Most sue CPS and their contracted agencies.

 

[LietKynes]

JMO... JC got tired of AF “Grandpa”, and wanted somebody younger to party with. Eventually the new guy comes and lives with her, (although he went to jail last December I believe). AF reportedly bought/lived in that house for 14 years, so before he hooked up with JC. He stops making mortgage payments, JC no longer has her boyfriend there, tensions are high, and things spiral down).
Also JMO, usually babies born in prison are allowed to be with Mom for the first 24-48 hours. Knowing what she has participated in, the murder of A.J., she shouldn’t be allowed to ever hold or touch that newborn. I wouldn’t trust her. Ever.

SABBM

Ita.
Esp. knowing that the baby will probably be placed for adoption, after her parental rights are terminated.
I wouldn't put it past her to smother or strangle the newborn and pretend it died of SIDS.
Monster.

 

[Herat]

SABBM

Good find !
Hadn't noticed that.

AJ seemed to be hated by her.
Wondered if she'd cheated on AF Sr., and AJ was someone else's child ?
It wouldn't be impossible... trying to understand why he was so hated. The younger sibling seemed to be more tolerated than AJ.
The egg donor was just as vile as the sperm donor.
Not surprised that the lawyer who stood by her when she "acted" for the cameras has dropped her.

I don't think that JC and AJ were ever bonded. He was removed from in the post-natal period because she was abusing drugs and not returned until she filed when he was 2 years old. I had read here that the foster home he was in was a cousin of hers so maybe there was some contact? Hard to say. I'd think that they were still strangers to each other, and he could be showing some of the problems that addicted babies develop. And within a couple of months she was pregnant again, so the time and effort that she needed to put into being a mommy for AJ was quickly diverted to the new baby. It doesn't sound like she was using nearly as heavily during this pregnancy because we don't hear that P was ever taken from her.

AJ must have been aware at 3 years old that he was supplanted by a new child to whom she was bonded, and perhaps was an easier child to deal with. I'd guess he was acting out for attention and love. Which was only rewarded with cruelty.

Worst of all, it was tolerated, if not enabled, by his own father.

 

[Simply Southern]

The report for this was posted before I’ll see if I can pull it.
The doctor also said they weren't a forensic doctor so they couldn’t determine how he got the bruise. it could be a football, a dog, or a belt. I think this is part of a system failure. If he said Mommy hit me with a belt I think it’s reasonable to say that’s how it got there. So if a forensic doctor is needed to make the call why not have one exam him to begin with? If the doctor can’t state for sure how it got there does that limit what a case worker can do? I mean it seems common sense could have been used here but does that even get to come into play when making the call?

Most forensic Dr's.,work for state, medical examiner's or private companies. They are NOT set up in a general practice and you just make anappointment. How would you even begin to know where to find one for an office visit and do they see the living??

 

[Herat]

SABBM

Ita.
Esp. knowing that the baby will probably be placed for adoption, after her parental rights are terminated.
I wouldn't put it past her to smother or strangle the newborn and pretend it died of SIDS.
Monster.

The purported father of this new baby is currently incarcerated but will likely have fulfilled his sentence in a couple of years. He may file for custody and there is certainly a risk he will get it. I hope the state could come up with a strategy that he is an unfit parent because he was residing in the home and didn't prevent the murder of AJ.

 

[Herat]

JMO... JC got tired of AF “Grandpa”, and wanted somebody younger to party with. Eventually the new guy comes and lives with her, (although he went to jail last December I believe). AF reportedly bought/lived in that house for 14 years, so before he hooked up with JC. He stops making mortgage payments, JC no longer has her boyfriend there, tensions are high, and things spiral down).
Also JMO, usually babies born in prison are allowed to be with Mom for the first 24-48 hours. Knowing what she has participated in, the murder of A.J., she shouldn’t be allowed to ever hold or touch that newborn. I wouldn’t trust her. Ever.

I believe AF was living in that home at the time of AJ's murder.

I also understood that for a time all three adults were living there. I might not be correct. That would be something important to clarify. The bf would likely have been living in that home when AJ received the burns in October.