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) 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) — The body of a 5-year-old boy reported as missing last week was found wrapped in plastic in a shallow grave on Wednesday, and his parents have been charged with murder, police said. Crystal Lake Police Chief Jim Black said police interviewed the parents of Andrew “AJ” Freund overnight after information was obtained through forensic analysis of their cell phone data. The parents, Andrew Freund Sr. and JoAnn Cunningham, then provided information that ultimately led to the recovery of AJ’s body in Woodstock, Illinois, about 10 miles from their home in Crystal Lake, police said. They both face charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated domestic battery and failure to report a missing or child death, Black said. Freund Sr. also faces charges of concealment of homicidal death, police said. The cause of death is unknown at this time. “To AJ’s family: It is my hope that you may have some solace in knowing that AJ is no longer suffering and his killers have been brought to justice,” Black said. Crystal Lake Police Dept. JoAnn Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr. are charged in the death of their son, AJ. Cunningham’s attorney has not responded to requests for comment. It is not clear whether Freund Sr. has retained legal counsel. They are expected in court Thursday for a bond hearing. The search began last Thursday morning when his father calmly called police and reported him as missing. “We have a missing child,” he said, according to a 911 call released by the Crystal Lake Police Department on Tuesday. “Woke up this morning and he wasn’t … he wasn’t.” Freund told a 911 dispatcher that he put AJ to bed in his pajamas last Wednesday night but could not find him in the morning before school. “I had a doctor appointment this morning and when I got back from the doctor’s appointment and I checked in on him to say good morning and he wasn’t there,” the father told the dispatcher Thursday. He said he searched all around the house and canvassed the neighborhood but couldn’t find him. The resulting search has included 15 police agencies, drones, and rescue canine units. But police said it was likely that AJ had not walked away and was not abducted, and instead focused the investigation on the family home. Sonar teams that searched Crystal Lake found nothing, and the canine teams “only picked up Andrew’s ‘scent’ within the residence, indicating that Andrew had not walked away on foot,” the police said. “(T)here is no indication that would lead police to believe that an abduction had taken place,” the department said in a statement. In addition, Crystal Lake Police earlier said Cunningham “continues to be uncooperative with police.” Child welfare investigations Police on Tuesday released 63 pages of reports detailing several police calls to Andrew’s home in recent years. In December, for instance, an officer described unlivable conditions in the home with “dog feces and urine” scattered there. The officer during the visit also reported a suspicious bruise on one of the children, but a child welfare worker was unable to make a determination of abuse, the report said. Someone at the house said it may have been caused by a dog. Months earlier, a local resident called police to check on the children because the home had been without power for weeks, according to the reports. An officer wrote the two children appeared “healthy and happy” and that child welfare authorities said the lack of electricity did not warrant their investigation. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has “been involved with the family” since AJ’s birth, department spokesman Jassen Strokosch told CNN. AJ “was brought into care with us” soon after he was born, when “neglect was indicated on part of the mom,” Strokosch said. From 2013 to 2015, the infant was in the care of someone else, he said. The department was called in twice in 2018 on allegations of neglect in March and of abuse and neglect in December, Strokosch said. The allegations were determined to be unfounded in both instances, he said. A younger sibling who had been in the home until this week is now living with another family, Strokosch said. The acting director of the department, Marc Smith, said the care and safety of that sibling is a priority. “This news is heartbreaking. Protecting vulnerable children who come to our attention is at the core of our mission at DCFS. All of us feel this loss,” Smith said. Parents spoke to the media Andrew Freund Sr. late last week spoke to TV cameras saying they were extremely worried about their son. “AJ, please come home,” his father said. “We love you very much. You’re not in any trouble. We’re just worried to death. Please, please come home.” George Kililis, an attorney for Cunningham, told CNN affiliate WLS the boy’s mother “doesn’t know what happened to AJ, and had nothing to do with the disappearance of AJ. Ms. Cunningham is worried sick. She is devastated.” CNN’s Ray Sanchez, Melissa Alonso, Deanna Hackney, Sheena Jones, Brad Parks and Theresa Waldrop contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
The body of a 5-year-old boy who was reported missing from his Illinois home last week has been found, police say. Remains believed to belong to Andrew "A.J." Freund were discovered wrapped in plastic in a shallow grave in a Woodstock, Ill., field on Wednesday, Crystal Lake Police Chief Jim Black said during a press conference. Both of A.J. 's parents, JoAnn Cunningham and Andrew Freund, are being charged with five counts of first-degree murder, as well as battery and failure to report a missing child, in their son's disappearance and death, according to Black. The break in the case came after Cunningham and Freund allegedly provided police with information that led them to A.J. 's body. The boy's exact cause of death remains unknown, pending an autopsy. A.J. was first reported missing by his parents on the morning of April 18 from their home in Crystal Lake, approximately 50 miles northwest of Chicago. The pair said they had last seen their son around 9 p.m. the night before. Hundreds of acres of land were scoured during a search by 15 responding police agencies, canine units, drones and even a sonar team, which was deployed to scan areas of Crystal Lake. While no signs of A.J. were discovered during the manhunt, police said K-9 teams did pick up the boy's scent in the trunk of his parents' car, CBS News reports. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) said it has "been involved" with the family since A.J. 's birth, department spokesman Jassen Strokosch told CNN. Strokosch said that the child "was brought into care with us" when "neglect was indicated on part of the mom." A.J. remained "in care with someone else" from 2013 through 2015, when he was returned to his parents. Strokosch said that the DCFS was called to the family's home twice in 2018 on allegations of neglect in March and of abuse and neglect in December, although both sets of accusations were determined to be unfounded.