Prayer cards for AJ Freund, 5, sit on a table next to the visitor guest book on May 3, 2019, during a memorial service at Davenport Funeral Home in Crystal Lake.
Shaw Local News Network file photo

Five years ago, a weeklong search for a missing 5-year-old Crystal Lake boy came to an end.

On April 24, 2019, Andrew Freund Sr. — after being confronted with videos on his cellphone of the child’s mother beating and berating him — admitted that Andrew “AJ” Freund Jr. was dead.

Hundreds of police officers, FBI agents and community members had searched backyards, swimming pools, parks and lakes in a case that drew national media. AJ, however, was found in a shallow grave after Freund led police to an area near Woodstock. His body was wrapped in a garbage bag.

Freund and Joann Cunningham were charged with first-degree murder and other charges in their son’s death as crowds in Crystal Lake and Woodstock gathered to pay respects to AJ.

The family’s home was adorned with dozens of balloons, flowers and teddy bears.

Now, the site is an empty lot. But memories of what happened there linger.

A line of people stretched down East Terra Cotta Avenue as visitors waited to enter Davenport Family Funeral Home in May 2019 to pay their respects to AJ Freund in Crystal Lake.
Matthew Apgar/Shaw Local News Network

‘The impact remains’

The story that would unfold from prosecutors was that on April 14, 2019, as punishment for soiling his underwear, Cunningham beat her son and made him stand in a cold shower for 20 minutes, then put him to bed cold, wet and naked, prosecutors said. He was found unresponsive the next day, and his father placed his body in a large tote bag and hid it in the basement, according to court records.

Cunningham eventually pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Freund pleaded guilty to aggravated battery of a child, involuntary manslaughter and concealing a homicidal death and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

In 2020, the home where AJ lived his short and tumultuous life with his parents and a younger brother was demolished. It had been described in court as “filthy” and smelling of urine and feces.

Janelle Venet lives across the street. She still thinks of AJ when she looks at the lot.

“The neighborhood doesn’t speak of it at all, and many of the neighbors that were a part of the situation have moved away. The man next door has since died,” she said. “Life moves on, as people say, but the impact remains. No longer are people quite as open or involved with each other as they once were, and maybe that’s partly the way of the world anyway now.”

Venet said she “always” will be haunted by the “what-ifs.”

“Although it’s too late for AJ, maybe his story will be a lesson for someone else,” she said. “For now, the dandelions on the lot are popping up, and I feel they are saying, ‘Life goes on,’ but we will always remember and not forget the little boy who ended up touching the hearts of so many.”

Crystal Lake Mayor Haig Haleblian said the property is privately held by one individual.

“The city of Crystal Lake has maintained the lawn and has liens on the property for the services rendered,” he said. “It’s my understanding that, as of this moment, the property will be offered in a tax sale this summer.”

The aftermath

Cunningham, who gave birth to another child after her arrest, has since tried to have her conviction overturned. In handwritten petitions, she claimed that she had inefficient trial counsel and was suffering postpartum depression, psychosis and “seeing demons” around the time she beat her son to death.

The case led to a rare move by prosecutors, who criminally charged a Department of Children and Family Services social worker and his supervisor who had been in charge of AJ’s case.

AJ had been in the agency’s eye since he was born with opioids in his system. Months before his death, DCFS employees saw that he had a large bruise on his hip and scrapes and bruises on his face. AJ said the family dog caused the bruise. He was not removed from the home.

In October, social worker Carlos Acosta, 57, of Woodstock, was found guilty by Lake County Judge George Strickland on two counts of endangering the life or health of a child. His attorney argued that he had more than the allowed number of cases to manage at the time AJ died.

In handing down his decision, Strickland harshly detailed the ways AJ was failed.

AJ was allowed to remain with his family despite unexplained injuries, indications that his mother was continuing to inject heroin, a family history of domestic violence and mental illness, and a chaotic and filthy home, the judge said.

Acosta’s supervisor, Andrew Polovin, was found not guilty.

Cars drive by a sign for AJ Freund outside the Davenport Family Funeral Home on May 3, 2019, in Crystal Lake.
Matthew Apgar/Shaw Local News Network

Community response continues

AJ’s murder touched many people. He became the face of child abuse plastered on posters, the reason for blue ribbons tied to trees and the focus of images on Facebook pages.

He was the inspiration for two local foster moms to start grass-roots efforts such as Stuff the Duffle, a volunteer-led event in which 4,000 bags were stuffed with items for foster children. This event led to a partnership with the Second Bridge to continue that support, which has since led to the recent opening of The Bridge, a free store for those in need.

Yet, but for Acosta’s conviction, not much has changed, Haleblian said. He is “hopeful” for work that is done by local organizations and encourages the community to be the eyes, ears and advocates for “children that are not heard.”

It is not that people working in the system don’t care, he said. Rather, they “lack the proper infrastructure and training to implement necessary action,” Haleblian said. He hopes more funding for the McHenry County Mental Health Board will help.

“I remain deeply disturbed by the fact that children in abusive situations truly don’t have a voice, a safe haven, a safety net,” Haleblian said. “I hear the words that there are services and laws to save these unfortunates, but I see no action, which is infuriating. Even after the horrific murder of AJ, little if anything has changed.”

The Crystal Lake home of AJ Freund was demolished in 2020.
Brian Hill/Daily Herald

AJ Freund is buried at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Cemetery in Palatine.
Daily Herald file, 2019