Illinois dad Andrew Freund Sr violently abused 5-year-old-son AJ to death, gets 30 years sentence in plea deal
CRYSTAL LAKE, ILLINOIS: Andrew Freund Sr,61, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for allegedly killing his 5-year-old son, AJ. As reported by CBS Chicago, he pleaded guilty to three felony charges on September 18, as part of a negotiated deal with McHenry County prosecutors.
Freund pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery to a child, and concealment of a homicide. His sentencing includes 14 years for involuntary manslaughter, 11 years for aggravated battery, and 5 years for concealment of a homicide, to be served consecutively, as per the report. According to the report, prosecutors let go of more serious charges of murder as part of the plea deal. He has been in custody since 2019 April, so he will be given credit for time served.
AJ’s father would also have to register under the Violent Offender Against Youth Act. His defense attorney, Henry Sugden, was negotiating a plea deal with prosecutors for nearly a year. Other requirements of the deal include registering as a violent offender, taking part in behavioral interviews for the FBI’s behavioral analysis unit, and cooperate with an investigation of the Department of Children and Family Services’ (DCFS) handling of his son’s case. DCFS employees had previously investigated charges that AJ’s parents were abusive towards him but determined the claims to be unproven, despite concerns raised by police and others, the report states.
The mother, JoAnn Cunningham, was also charged with AJ’s death. She pleaded guilty to alleged murder last December and was sentenced to 35 years in prison in July.
On September 18, prosecutor Patrick Kenneally explained Freund’s involvement in the abuse of AJ, what he saw Cunningham do and what he told the police during the child’s death and disappearance investigation.
As per the report, Kenneally stated that Freund participated in interviews with police regarding AJ’s disappearance in April of 2019 and claimed of not knowing the whereabouts of the child. He also told the police that AJ was stubborn and headstrong, and admitted that AJ was subjected to spankings and time outs. Freund admitted that he did spank AJ hard when he was really upset with the latter, as per the report. According to the report, the investigators said Cunningham had admitted that she was experiencing “a lot of rage” and “lost control” on the night of the alleged murder. She also added that she didn’t know where Freund was at the time.
The unfortunate night
On the night of AJ’s death, Freund, as per CBS Chicago, said he was woken up by Cunningham after 3 am and was informed that AJ was not breathing. During investigation interviews, Freund said Cunningham was the primary caretaker of the child. He told police he didn’t get home from work until after 9 pm. The Crystal Lake Police Department and the FBI, during the investigation, found out from his iPhone that at 3 am on April 15, 2019, there was a Google search on child CPR.
Freund informed authorities that AJ had died on April 14, 2019 after Cunningham hit the child and placed him in a cold shower. He said the abuse wasn’t intentional and, according to him he had often tried to convince Cunningham “that’s not the way to go”, CBS Chicago reports.
On that unfortunate night, AJ was told that he could not come out of the cold shower. The five-year-old agreed because the alternative would have been more physical abuse, as per Freund. An incident, as stated by the father, that led to the boy being put in the shower was that Cunningham asked him about his soiled underwear and when she questioned their son about it, he wouldn’t say where he kept it. As per Daily Mail, Cunningham then locked AJ in his room. It eventually led to his brain swelling, and he choked on his own blood and died, as stated in Daily Mail.
The prosecution further said that when Freund and Cunningham realized that AJ was dead, Freund said he would “take care of it” by putting the child’s body in a large plastic tote in the basement. He got a couple of plastic bags and drove AJ’s remains out of the home.
On April 24, Freund took authorities to a shallow grave in rural Woodstock where the child’s body was found. The autopsy revealed AJ had multiple blunt force injuries to his head, torso and extremities as well as severe swelling of the brain and also had blood in his lungs, as per the news report.
In the interview with authorities, Freund commented on Cunningham’s abuse, “My guess is that I think she was looking for support. I don’t think she enjoyed this. I think she was looking for some sort of support from me in disciplining AJ. Please can you help. This is how bad it’s getting.”
Judge Robert Wildbrant offered Freund a chance to address the court before sentencing but Freund refused, as per the report. The parents were charged with a combined 61 counts in April 2019, including murder, aggravated battery, and concealing a homicide, after their son was found beaten to death and buried in a shallow grave. The parents falsely reported him missing three days later.
The report states, last week, a former Illinois DCFS caseworker and his supervisor, who both worked on the AJ Freund case, were arrested on child endangerment charges. Carlos Acosta, 54, of Woodstock, and Andrew Polovin, 48, of Island Lake, were charged with two felony counts of endangering the life of a child and one count of reckless conduct, according to the McHenry County Sheriff’s office, as stated in the news report. They are accused of failing to protect AJ.
Polovin pleaded not guilty on September 17, and is due back in court next month. Acosta is scheduled for prosecution next week. Polovin and Acosta have been accused of improper investigation of allegations concerning AJ’s treatment, despite concerns raised by police and others. Polovin and Acosta were fired from DCFS last December, along with DCFS caseworker Kathleen Gold, who has not been charged with a crime.
Crystal Lake Police had called DCFS after Cunningham had been arrested for driving on a suspended license in 2018, according to Crystal Lake Police Department reports, as stated by CBS Chicago. The officer during his visit to the family’s home noted not only was the house in deplorable condition, but AJ was running around wearing only a pull-up and sporting a large bruise on his hip.
When a DCFS investigator arrived, AJ said he suffered the bruise “when the family dog pawed him.” However, after going to the hospital to have the bruise checked, a doctor told the DCFS investigator AJ claimed “maybe someone hit me with a belt. Maybe mommy didn’t mean to hurt me,” according to a DCFS timeline, as reported by CBS Chicago. The doctor said he could not determine how A.J. was injured, stating the bruise “could have been caused by a dog, belt or a football,” according to the report. AJ was back into his parents’ custody, but the investigator advised his father to stay at home “as a safety precaution.” The DCFS report also revealed significant discrepancies between the deplorable conditions police had found inside the since-demolished home, and the conditions the DCFS investigator noted one day later. The investigator ultimately concluded allegations of neglect unfounded, “due to lack of evidence for cuts, welt and bruises allegation.”
The DCFS timeline also discovered that Cunningham was being investigated for her behavior as a foster parent before AJ was born. In June 2012, she was accused of abusing prescription drugs and neglecting her foster child.