Joann Cunningham and Andrew “Drew” Freund, Sr. — who have been charged in the death of their 5-year-old son, AJ — gave police information that ultimately led officers to his body, police said. Police and FBI investigators interviewed the parents "after information was obtained through a forensic analysis of cell phone data," Crystal Lake Police wrote in a statement. "Once presented with evidence obtained by investigators, both Joann and Andrew Sr. provided information that ultimately led to the recovery of the deceased subject," the statement read.<doc-sep>A mural of George Floyd is shown in the intersection of 38th St & Chicago Ave on March 31, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Community members continue preparations during the third day in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with multiple counts of murder in the death of George Floyd. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 01: President Donald Trump's lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani talks to journalists outside the White House West Wing July 01, 2020 in Washington, DC. Giuliani did an on-camera interview with One America News Network's Chanel Rion before talking to other journalists about Vice President Joe Biden and the news that Russian intelligence may have paid Taliban operatives to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Vigils & tributes to George Floyd one year since his murder ORLANDO, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 28: Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency on February 28, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. Begun in 1974, CPAC brings together conservative organizations, activists, and world leaders to discuss issues important to them. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Here's what reported grand jury in Trump case may look like NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 09: People walk past the Trump Tower as the impeachment trial of Donald Trump begins in Washington on February 09, 2021 in New York City. After listening to nearly four hours of legal arguments, the Senate has voted on Tuesday to move ahead with the impeachment trial of former President Trump. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Report: US companies may have benefited from forced labor of Uyghurs WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the conflict in the Middle East from Cross- Hall of the White House on May 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. Israel and Hamas announced that they would agree to a cease-fire, which will take into effect on Friday, following days of fighting that claimed more than 200 lives. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 26: A view of the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light-rail yard where a mass shooting occurred on May 26, 2021 in San Jose, California. A VTA employee opened fire at the yard, with preliminary reports indicating nine people dead including the gunman. (Photo by Philip Pacheco/Getty Images) A healthcare worker prepares to administer a Pfizer/BioNTEch coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Ontario on December 14, 2020. - Ontario, Canada's most populous province and one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, had 1,940 new cases and 23 deaths on Monday. The province is expected to give its next doses to nursing home workers as a priority, according to media reports. (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) 'Never seen levels like this': Union president on airline passenger misconduct Memorial Day weekend will bring rain and cool air for much of the East (CNN) — In his five short years, Andrew “AJ” Freund endured more trauma than any child should. A home that reeked of feces and urine. Frequent visits from police officers and child welfare workers. A family life so unstable that he bounced from one caretaker to another. Now the boy is dead, found wrapped in plastic in a shallow grave. His parents are charged with murder and are accused of striking AJ. A pathologist found he died from head trauma caused by blunt force injuries, according to a coroner’s report. And those who knew about the family’s troubles are left wondering whether they could have done anything differently to help prevent AJ’s death. Crystal Lake Police Dept Andrew "AJ" Freund was 5 years old. Soon after AJ was born, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services got involved, spokesman Jassen Strokosch said. A lifetime of problems The baby “was brought into care with us” when “neglect was indicated on part of the mom,” Strokosch said. So from 2013 to 2015, AJ was “in care with someone else,” Strokosch said. But the boy eventually returned home to his parents. Last year, child welfare services were called twice to the family home: once for allegations of neglect in March, and once for allegations of abuse and neglect in December. The allegations were determined to be unfounded in both cases, Strokosch said. Now the Department of Children and Family Services will review its work with AJ’s family to see if there were any shortcomings, acting Director Marc Smith said. If there are, the agency will tell the public what steps it will take to fix them, Smith said. Crystal Lake Police Dept. JoAnn Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr. are charged in the death of their son, AJ. AJ’s younger sibling was in the home until this week, but is now living with another family, Strokosch said. “Protecting vulnerable children who come to our attention is at the core of our mission at DCFS,” Smith said. “All of us feel this loss. Our priority is the care and safety of Andrew’s younger sibling.” Police found ghastly conditions in the home Child welfare services weren’t the only ones streaming in and out of AJ’s life. Crystal Lake police officers visited, too. Last year, a neighbor in the Chicago suburb called police to check on the children because the home had been without power for weeks, according to a police report. At the time, an officer wrote that two children appeared “healthy and happy.” And child welfare services said the lack of electricity did not warrant their investigation. But months later, authorities were called to the family’s home again. This time, they saw more signs of neglect. One officer found dog feces and urine scattered in the home in December, according to a police report. During that visit, the officer reported a suspicious bruise on one of the children. But a welfare worker couldn’t determine whether it was the result of abuse, the report said. Someone at the house said it may have been caused by a dog. Police described broken windows and a strong smell of feces in the area where AJ and his younger brother slept. One officer contacted Crystal Lake Building and Zoning to inspect the home. “Upon arrival B&Z was denied entry into the residence,” the officer wrote. What happened in AJ’s final days The explanations by AJ’s parents and police couldn’t be more different. Crystal Lake police said AJ’s parents, JoAnn Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr., forced their son “to remain in a cold shower for an extended period of time and/or struck” AJ, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday. But the boy’s father told a 911 dispatcher that he put AJ to bed the night of April 17 and could not find him the next morning. “I got back from the doctor’s appointment and I checked in on him to say good morning and he wasn’t there,” Freund told 911. Cunningham’s attorney, George Kililis, told CNN affiliate WLS last weekend that the mother didn’t know what happened to AJ “and had nothing to do with his disappearance.” Sonar teams scoured Crystal Lake, but found nothing. Canine teams “only picked up Andrew’s ‘scent’ within the residence, indicating that Andrew had not walked away on foot,” police said. A week after AJ disappeared, he was found dead about 10 miles away in the city of Woodstock. The boy’s body was wrapped in plastic and hidden in a shallow grave. The discovery came after investigators analyzed the forensics of the parents’ cell phone data. Police then interviewed both parents, who eventually provided information that led to AJ’s body, officers said. Both Cunningham and Freund face charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery, aggravated domestic battery and failure to report a missing child or child death, Crystal Lake Police Chief Jim Black said. Freund, the father, also faces a charge of concealment of homicidal death, police said. It’s not immediately clear whether Freund has retained an attorney. Bail was set Thursday at $5 million for each parent. ’We … are happy you no longer have to suffer’<doc-sep>A five-year-old Ontario boy whose disappearance prompted an Amber Alert has been found safe, police say. The boy was reported missing Thursday morning by his father after failing to show up to school in Mississauga, Ont. Police had been searching for the boy and his 47-year-old mother, who they say picked him up from school Wednesday afternoon. Investigators had received information that the boy and his mother may have been travelled from Mississauga to London, Ont. Police said they were both found safe Thursday evening in Tilbury, Ont., nearly 150 kilometres southwest of London, "as a direct result of the Amber Alert." Further details were not immediately available.<doc-sep>
The Latest on the search for a missing 5-year-old Illinois boy (all times local): 3 p.m. Police say the body of a 5-year-old Illinois boy whose parents reported him missing last week was found buried in a shallow grave and wrapped in plastic in a rural area a few miles from the family's home. Crystal Lake police Chief James Black said during a news conference that investigators found what they believe to be the remains of Andrew "AJ" Freund early Wednesday in the neighboring city of Woodstock. Efforts are underway to confirm it is AJ's body. He says they were led to the body after interviewing AJ's parents overnight and presenting them with cellphone evidence. The parents, Andrew Freund Sr. and JoAnn Cunningham, each face five counts of first-degree murder and other charges. Authorities say they reported him missing last Thursday and told officers they last saw him at bedtime the night before. ___ 2 p.m. Authorities say they have found what they believe is the body of a 5-year-old Illinois boy who went missing last week, and that his parents have been charged with murder in his death. Crystal Lake police Chief James Black said at a news conference Wednesday that police dug up what they believe is Andrew "AJ" Freund's body in a field and that it was wrapped in plastic. He says AJ's parents, Andrew Freund Sr. and JoAnn Cunningham, face murder and other charges in the boy's death. Authorities say the boys' parents reported him missing last Thursday and told officers they last saw him at bedtime the night before. ___ 12:30 p.m. Officers have removed several items from the home of an Illinois couple whose 5-year-old son has been missing for nearly a week. Photos and video show the officers leaving the Crystal Lake home of Andrew Freund Sr. and JoAnn Cunningham on Wednesday with a shovel, mattress, brown paper bags and plastic storage tub. Searchers have been scouring the area for the couple's missing son, Andrew "AJ" Freund. Authorities say the boys' parents reported him missing last Thursday and told officers they last saw him at bedtime the night before. Police say Cunningham has been refusing to cooperate with detectives. They say they don't believe the boy was abducted and that he didn't leave the home on foot. State child welfare officials have taken custody of the couple's 4-year-old son, Parker. Authorities plan to give an update on the investigation at a 1 p.m. news conference. ___ 9:25 a.m. The FBI and police in the Chicago suburb of Crystal Lake are planning a news conference as they search for a 5-year-old boy who has been missing for nearly a week. The Crystal Lake Police Department says the news conference will take place at noon on Wednesday at City Hall. The agencies have been searching for Andrew "AJ" Freund since his parents reported him missing last Thursday. The couple said they saw him at bedtime the night before and couldn't find him in the morning. Police searched for AJ in a park on Tuesday and said they planned to use sonar to search ponds in the community, which is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Chicago. Authorities say they don't believe the boy was abducted or wandered away.