Newly released court documents in the case against the parents of slain Crystal Lake boy Andrew “AJ” Freund suggest that video on the mother’s phone showing the child’s badly beaten body played a key role in the investigation.
The existence of the first video and details of its contents were revealed in a sworn statement made by McHenry County sheriff’s Detective Edwin Maldonado in a search warrant request included in newly released documents, according to the Chicago Tribune report.
WGN-TV reported that the court documents also show investigators found a photograph on Cunningham’s phone showing a shopping list that contained items like duct tape, plastic gloves, air freshener, and bleach.
Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr., the boy’s father, both confessed on April 24 to killing the child, WGN-TV reported.
Autopsy Reveals Cause of Death
An autopsy has revealed that AJ died of multiple blows to the head.
Prosecutors cited by the news outlet said AJ’s parents forced their son “to remain in a cold shower for an extended period of time and/or struck A.F. on or about his body, knowing such acts would cause the death of A.F.”
WGN-TV reported that on April 15 the couple admitted that they put AJ in a cold shower for about 20 minutes after the boy lied about soiled underwear.
Cunningham reportedly put AJ to bed and later checked on him to discover he was dead.
Freund Sr. said, according to WGN-TV, “The next day he took AJ’s body to the basement and stored him in a tote. He said on 4/17/19 he placed AJ inside several trash bags, placed the body in the trunk of his car and drove him in an area in Woodstock.”
He then allegedly dug a shallow grave, placed the child’s body inside, and left.
JoAnn Cunningham, was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, four counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated domestic battery, and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.
Andrew Freund Sr. was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated domestic battery, two counts of concealment of a homicidal death, and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.
A bond of $5 million has been set for each of the two accused.
‘No Longer Have to Suffer’
The boy’s body was found wrapped in plastic on April 24 in a rural area of Woodstock, Crystal Lake Police Chief James Black said at a news conference, according to The Associated Press.Woodstock is about 50 miles northwest of Chicago and a few miles from the family’s home in Crystal Lake.
Welfare Checks
On April 23, the police released more than 60 pages of reports written by officers who responded to various calls about the house where AJ lived with his parents, AP reported.
One report described seeing the home littered with dog feces and urine, and a children’s bedroom where “the smell of feces was overwhelming.” Another report said the officer found the house to be “cluttered, dirty, and in disrepair,” and without electricity.
The heavily redacted reports also indicate state child welfare workers were called after officers spotted a large bruise on one of the young boys living there, but that the children appeared to be “healthy and happy” and were not removed from the house.
