IL - Andrew Freund, 5, Crystal Lake, 17 April 2019 *ARRESTS* *mother guilty* #5

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Hey Everyone,

Please remember to stay on topic. If what you post is not directly connected to the case then please do not post. If you see an off topic post please hit the "report' tab in the lower left of the post in question.

Thank you,
Tricia
 
Curiousgirl2019 said:
That is a stereotype. My mom was using drugs while pregnant with my sister and she’s the healthiest 24 year old and never had any problems with any disorder. She was a great baby, great child and is an amazing woman.

That said, we had a village who made sure to protect her and gave her the safest environment to thrive. I really believe it’s more about the environment post-birth than the in utero exposure. Babies are very resilient and I believe if given a safe and loving home, they have everything in their power to thrive.
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I long suspected this may be true, and thank you for sharing your personal testimony. I'm thinking of a case where the adoptive parents have a book of excuses since conception, yet this child was theirs for 6 of the child's 9 years! When is the parenting, love, nurturing and/or lack of taken into account... MOO
 
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Friday, May 10th:
*Preliminary Hearing for both & Motion Hearing (for Freund) (@ 9am CT) – IL – Andrew “AJ” Freund, Jr. (5) (reported missing April 17, 2018, Crystal Lake; found buried in shallow grave on April 24, 2019, near Woodstock) – *Andrew T. Freund, Sr. (60) “father” arrested (4/24/19), charged (4/25/19) & indicted (5/9/19) with 5 counts of 1st degree murder, 2 counts of aggravated battery, 2 counts of aggravated domestic battery, 1 count of failure to report death of child & 1 count of concealing a homicidal death (burying body) & concealing death of a person. $5M bond.
*JoAnn D. Cunningham (35) “mom” arrested (4/24/19), charged (4/25/19) & indicted (5/9/19) with 5 counts of 1st degree murder, 4 counts of aggravated battery of child, 1 count of aggravated battery, 2 counts of concealment of homicidal death & 1 count of failure to report death of child. $5M bond.
4/25/19: Bond hearing. Arraignment hearing for both on 4/29.
4/29/19 Update: Officially charged with what is listed above. No pleas entered by either one. JC appointed public defender, AF will find his own attorney. Status hearing on 5/3 for Freund with attorney & both back for Preliminary hearing on 5/10 & expected to enter pleas. Also a custody hearing where the state ordered a paternity test to prove Freund, Sr. is the father of the 4yo. May 30th at 10am is the next custody hearing & there is a no contact order for Freund, Sr. & Cunningham to see the child. Representatives with the McHenry County State's Attorney's Office also filed a petition seeking to terminate Freund & Cunningham's parental rights.
5/3/19 Update: Judge appoints Special Public Defender for Freund. Next preliminary hearing on 5/10 for both & expected to enter a plea. 5/7/19: JC had a motion hearing on 5/7. 5/9/19: Officially indicted.
 
DearPrudence said:
I didn't see this posted here yet. From the Chicago Tribune this evening.
Grand jury indicts parents of slain Crystal Lake 5-year-old AJ Freund; court hearing scheduled for Friday morning
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Whoa!! Maybe it was posted and I missed it but what happened 9/20/18?

"The indictment also includes charges of reckless conduct, unlawful restraint and child endangerment for an incident with a reference date of Sept. 20, 2018, records show. Details of those charges were not immediately available."

LE must have evidence of some abuse from then. Maybe it was on their phones?
 
AJ Freund's DCFS investigators were overloaded with cases before boy was killed — a chronic problem at the agency


Investigators assigned to look into the well-being of Andrew "AJ" Freund before the Crystal Lake boy was beaten to death were overloaded with other cases of alleged child abuse and neglect, attorneys told a federal judge this week.

AJ is among at least 112 children who died since July who had involvement with DCFS in the preceding 12 months, said Meryl Paniak, the agency's inspector general, during a hearing in Springfield on Wednesday. The figure doesn't indicate that the deaths themselves involved neglect or abuse.
 
The grand jury indictment filed Thursday sheds some new light on the alleged abuse leveled against AJ Freund prior to his death. Cunningham, 36, and Freund, 60, are both accused of recklessly and repeatedly striking AJ and repeatedly detaining him by placing him in "time outs" for periods of multiple hours or longer on or between Sept. 20, 2018 and April 17, 2018, according to the grand jury indictment. Additional battery charges filed in the indictment stem from an incident on March 4 where AJ was struck, causing bodily harm to the boy.

Indictment doc here: AJ's Parents Enter Not Guilty Pleas in Murder Case
 
Updated Court Dates

AJ Case - Court Dates:

April 24, 2019 - Wednesday
  • JC - Charged
    • 5 counts of first degree murder
    • 4 counts aggravated battery
    • 2 counts of aggravated domestic battery
    • 1 count of failure to report a missing or child death
  • AF Sr. - Charged
    • 5 counts of first degree murder
    • 2 counts aggravated battery
    • 1 counts of aggravated domestic battery
    • 2 counts of concealment of homicidal death
    • 1 count of failure to report a missing or child death
April 25, 2019 - Thursday
  • COURT - Bond Hearing - 8 am (JC and AF)
    • Bond was set at $5 million each. They will each have to pay $500,000 to get out of jail
April 29, 2019 - Monday
  • COURT - Arraignment - 9:00 am (JC and AF) status hearing to set court date for Preliminary Hearing
    • Neither party made a plea today, hearing will resume on May 10th
    • JC has a public defender and AF wants to find his own attorney
    • petition seeking to terminate AF and JC's parental rights.
  • COURT - Custody Hearing - (AJ’s 4yr old brother, currently in the custody of family)
    • No Contact order for AF Sr. and JC to see child
    • JC and AF agreed to have the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services care for their younger son, while prosecutors attempt to revoke the former couple's parental rights.
    • McHenry County State's Attorney's Office also filed a petition seeking to terminate AF and JC's parental rights
May 3, 2019 - Friday
  • COURT - Status (Attorney) 9:00 am (AF)
    • A judge appointed a special public defender to represent AF
    • After filling out an affidavit detailing any debts, bank accounts or assets, McHenry County Judge Robert Wilbrandt appointed Special Public Defender Henry Sugden
    • AF reported owing $50,000 in credit card debts, and noted that his home is in foreclosure. He also indicated that he worked for a contracting company, but wasn't certain whether he still had a job
    • Attorneys with the McHenry County Public Defender's Office could not be assigned to AF’s case because Assistant Public Defender Richard Behof was previously appointed to represent JC
    • Sugden has until Tuesday, May 7th to file any motions he would like to be addressed at AF’s next court date on May 10.
  • AF’s attorney filed motion requesting that he receives a psychological evaluation to determine whether he can stand trial. The motion stated that Special Public Defender Henry Sugden "has concerns about the defendant's current psychological ability to recall an assist in his defense."
May 7, 2019 - Tuesday
  • JC - Court Appearance (Unknown reason)
    • Prosecutors and her public defenders met with McHenry County Judge Robert Wilbrandt in private to discuss a matter related to JC’s case.Attorneys declined to say what the meeting was about, and any of the related orders and transcripts will be sealed.
May 9, 2019 - Thursday
  • Grand Jury Indictment filed
    • Additional charges of unlawful restraint, abuse of a corpse, obstructing justice and aggravated domestic battery have also been filed in McHenry County courts.
May 10, 2019 - Friday
  • COURT - Preliminary Hearing - 9:00 am (JC and AF) both are expected to enter a plea
    • JC and AF both entered not guilty pleas in the death of their son. JC and AF Sr. appeared in court separately. They will be back in court June 18th at 9am. JC is hit with 20 counts, AF faces 41 counts.
May 30, 2019 - Thursday
  • COURT - Custody Hearing - 10:00 am (AJ’s 4yr old brother)
June 18, 2019 - Tuesday
  • COURT - JC and AF - 9:00 am
 
bmacmillan1 said:
He's more culpable than she is?
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That's not very clear to me either. Maybe because AF is the one who moved and buried AJ?

More charges filed Thursday relate to the couple's actions following AJ's death. Both are charged with failure to report a missing child or child's death for not reporting AJ's death to law enforcement within 24 hours after he died, according to court records. They are also charged with concealment of a death for knowingly moving the body of a dead person "with the intent of concealing information regarding the place or manner of death," and with abuse of a corpse for removing or carrying AJ's body even though they were "not authorized by law to do so."

Obstructing justice charges filed related to allegations that Cunningham and Freund initially reported AJ missing, even though they knew he was dead, and misleading the Crystal Lake Police Department as they searched for days for the 5-year-old boy.

AJ's Parents Enter Not Guilty Pleas in Murder Case
 
Tippy Lynn said:
That's not very clear to me either. Maybe because AF is the one who moved and buried AJ?

More charges filed Thursday relate to the couple's actions following AJ's death. Both are charged with failure to report a missing child or child's death for not reporting AJ's death to law enforcement within 24 hours after he died, according to court records. They are also charged with concealment of a death for knowingly moving the body of a dead person "with the intent of concealing information regarding the place or manner of death," and with abuse of a corpse for removing or carrying AJ's body even though they were "not authorized by law to do so."

Obstructing justice charges filed related to allegations that Cunningham and Freund initially reported AJ missing, even though they knew he was dead, and misleading the Crystal Lake Police Department as they searched for days for the 5-year-old boy.

AJ's Parents Enter Not Guilty Pleas in Murder Case
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I think they’re going to try to ride this out because they know there’s too much factual evidence and they don’t have anything left to lose and at this point it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of hope in their case for lowering a lot of sentencing IMO. That’s a lot of charges and there is TONS of evidence against both of them. Lock them away and throw the keys away.
 
Victoria17 said:
I think they’re going to try to ride this out because they know there’s too much factual evidence and they don’t have anything left to lose and at this point it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of hope in their case for lowering a lot of sentencing IMO. That’s a lot of charges and there is TONS of evidence against both of them. Lock them away and throw the keys away.
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They are pathetic!
 
Caso61 said:
JC 20 counts. AF 21 counts. Difference. He made the 911 call.
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They want to split the difference on "reasonable doubt", jury nullification. They are married? So they can't be forced to testify against each other. No death penalty charge. If niether one breaks....but they already did on the body. Trial separate or together? If I was JC, I would get my own attorney and look out for myself. I can see the husband completely flipping on her. So she gets life, and he gets 5 years...

I say, put them both away for life! And don't blame this on DCFS. They were his parents. They could have at any point in time, give up custody of AJ.
 
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