Found Deceased IL - Andrew Freund, 5, Crystal Lake, 17 April 2019 *Arrests* - #2

[Simply Southern]

bbm

Oh, I do remember that scandal -- and as in so many situations like that, there was an outcry about laws being too strict, and the reaction to make the laws and judgements more evenly balanced. A bit of mass hysteria may have also colored the decisions that were made. And we'll still never know the whole story.
How many children have paid the price of this? We certainly don't want parents or other caregivers railroaded, but we don't want to throw out the baby with the bath water (almost literally here). And how much can a 5- or 4- or 3-year-old explain things to the authorities? His/her misery has probably been occurring since birth, so how does s/he know that what happened "yesterday" is abuse?
And as you said, there usually aren't any photos of the abuse -- be it burns or bruises or cuts or bite marks or screaming or slapping.
The littlest ones have the smallest voices.

Oh, this so well explains how I feel, as well. We revised the child abuse laws in the 80s and never looked back.
Now there will be a shifting of the blame (jmho) and we will see the news, politicians, the community, us, define many fixes to the system. They just never happen. Then tomorrow there is another missing child and the saga starts over again.

 

[Seattle1]

Can someone else help me understand how they charge the parents with 5 counts of murder? Not asking out of sympathy for the parents....but I assume 1 heinous act of murder equates to 1 count of murder. What am I missing?

I've not read Illinois statute but usually the murder count will stack for murdering child under age 12, murder by person in position of trust (i.e., parent), etc. I'm sure there's at least 5 aggravators for each of these parents. Sadly - this kid never had a chance.

 

[mickey2942]

Didn't know exactly where to post this at - please move if appropriate. I saw this article, not sure if little A.J. is mentioned in it but thought it may be of interest to some.
Frontline under fire
(A story about the IL Dept of Children Family Svcs.)

Admittedly, I can't stand DCFS incompetence. But I wouldn't work there for anything. The jobs are low paying, from my perspective, for the level of work and responsibilities.

I was offered a contract to provide training for caseworkers, and honestly, it is such a huge, complex job, that I didn't really want the job...it would have been a "check box" "We provided comprehensive training on case management". A bandaid on a massive coronary.

 

[Seattle1]

Is he a criminal def aty, if you know? Tysm

According to his discipline record, he was representing a client with divorce when he received infraction so I don't think he practices criminal law. MOO

 

[BlinkOfAnI]

Is he a criminal def aty, if you know? Tysm

Sorry, haven't found that yet. Most attorneys from my area may practice and advertise in one area but still take cases in other areas. It's usually based on what they type cases they prefer to work with but they aren't limited by anything as they all pass the same bar.

 

[Henry2326]

By Sun-Times Editorial Board-

AJ’s parents have been charged with his murder, which should surprise nobody.

AJ had been born with opiates in his system, according to authorities. And there was the family’s long record of contact with state child-welfare workers.

People feared the worst when he went missing — we certainly did.

But a charge is a charge, not a conviction. And nobody knows — not yet — how and when and why AJ died. That will all come out.

Nobody knows, too, if DCFS did enough. If the agency, which said it plans to examine its “shortcomings” in this case, did all it could.

That, too, will come out.

To be honest, we’re just feeling sad, like you.

We study a photo of AJ, the one in which he’s wearing the Nike cap, and we think we see strain in that little face, behind the smile.

We hope we’re imagining that. We hope he was happy, at least on that day.

AJ’s days were so few.

EDITORIAL: AJ was 5, and summer was coming on

 

[BlinkOfAnI]

You're right. She looks at least 55 years old

As a sidenote, who is responsible for taking this mugshot?! She's not even looking at the camera...her head is barely up.

To be honest I was surprised when I found out she was pregnant because pictures shown of her earlier made me think she was much older.

 

[Simply Southern]

Sorry, haven't found that yet. Most attorneys from my area may practice and advertise in one area but still take cases in other areas. It's usually based on what they type cases they prefer to work with but they aren't limited by anything as they all pass the same bar.

He doesn't appear to have a website. Just a standard Google listing, showing the house.

 

[BlinkOfAnI]

He doesn't appear to have a website. Just a standard Google listing, showing the house.

Yes, saw that. It's not that uncommon in smaller areas or word of mouth suffices. My FIL stopped using a secretary and office many years ago.

 

[NervousNellie]

I would also add that while we hug our own children tight, we should also look out for the kids in our community who don’t have anyone hugging them tight. I know it seems like it didn’t do much good in this case, but every report gets logged and many do make a huge difference. We all have to start looking out for these kids because this is just the start of this opioid epidemic.

RBBM
It wasn’t enough for me to merely “like” this post. I’m quoting you in the event anyone missed it.

 

[Tippy Lynn]

If the father's law license is currently suspended, he would still be able to represent himself in court proceedings, correct?

He would but it's not suspended.

He’ll be disbarred soon.
jmo

 

[Thora_Jay]

Does any member want any specific areas video recorded?

I can film areas requested by members here. I live a very short distance from the home and where A.J. the Angel was recovered.

FYI we had an intuition that one or both of the parents were involved from the start.

 

[Boodles]

I don’t know if this was already posted, but here they are wearing orange. From here: http://www.mchenrysheriff.org/media/1549/inmatesearch_bydate.pdf

 

[OhThatVictoria]

As the news cycle evolves and more focus is put on family history, evidence and role of DCFS, this example may/may not come up. Pamela Knight, a DCFS worker with 11 years of experience, was brutally beaten Feb 2018 when she was attempting to remove a child from a dangerous home . . . She died from her injuries. One year later: AFSCME member Pamela Knight killed in the line of duty

 

[Thora_Jay]

View attachment 180991 View attachment 180990
I don’t know if this was already posted, but here they are wearing orange. From here: http://www.mchenrysheriff.org/media/1549/inmatesearch_bydate.pdf

Last I knew, orange is federal.

 

[TTF14]

RBBM
It wasn’t enough for me to merely “like” this post. I’m quoting you in the event anyone missed it.

Thank you for quoting it because I did miss it. You're right....it is just beginning .

 

[BlinkOfAnI]

Last I knew, orange is federal.

They wear orange at our jail whether municipal, state, or federal. It changes in the prisons.

 

[Herat]

As the news cycle evolves and more focus is put on family history, evidence and role of DCFS, this example may/may not come up. Pamela Knight, a DCFS worker with 11 years of experience, was brutally beaten Feb 2018 when she was attempting to remove a child from a dangerous home . . . She died from her injuries. One year later: AFSCME member Pamela Knight killed in the line of duty

Wow. This stinks, too

 

[SuziQ]

I feel bad for AJ's foster parents. They must be devastated

 

[Thora_Jay]

They wear orange at our jail whether municipal, state, or federal. It changes in the prisons.

The color depends on their holding status.