Four months before he was found dead in a shallow grave, an Illinois boy described possible parental abuse to a doctor, according to state child welfare records released on Friday. The records say Andrew "AJ" Freund told a child welfare investigator in December 2018 that a bruise on his hip was caused by his family's dog, but later told an emergency room physician: "Maybe someone hit me with a belt. Maybe mommy didn't mean to hurt me." The timeline that detailed the state Department of Children and Families' (DCFS) multiple interactions with the five-year-old before his April 15 slaying led local representatives on Friday to decry what they called a "failure" of the state's child welfare system and question why welfare workers did not remove the child from the home despite numerous "red flags." "This is a senseless tragedy," Rep. Celina VIllanueva told DCFS leaders during an Illinois House of Representatives appropriations committee hearing Friday. "There's a child no longer in this world because the system failed him and the system failed his family." Acting director Marc Smith, who recently took the reins at DCFS, said Friday a full review of the agency's interactions with the family is underway and that the investigator and supervisor involved in the case have been placed on administrative duties. Smith described an agency plagued by underfunding and a lack of resources, but pointed to a proposed budget appropriation that would fund 126 extra workers, reduce caseload for investigators and improve oversight. Andrew "AJ" Freund Handout "We can and must do better," Smith said. AJ's remains were found wrapped in plastic and buried in a remote area near Woodstock, Illinois, about seven miles from the boy's home, Crystal Lake police chief James Black said Wednesday. The child's parents, Andrew Freud Sr. and JoAnn Cunningham, have been charged with murder, battery and other counts. The parents initially reported the child missing April 18, saying he vanished overnight, but after being confronted with cellphone evidence provided information that led to the remains, Crystal Lake police said. A coroner determined he died of blunt force head trauma, and prosecutors allege in criminal complaints the couple forced him to stand in a cold shower and beat him repeatedly. The family had a long history with DCFS. AJ was removed from his parents' care when he was born with opiates in his system in 2013, but was ordered by a judge to be re-united with the family 18 months later after the parents underwent drug treatment and parenting classes, according to the DCFS timeline. Prior to AJ's birth in 2012, Cunningham was the subject of two reports via the state child welfare hotline, the timeline said -- one alleging that she was using prescription drugs and neglecting a foster child, and the other that she was abusing prescription drugs and neglecting her older son, now 18 and living with a different family. Both reports were ruled unfounded. After AJ was returned to the family in 2015, the agency continued to supervise the family until a judge closed the case the following year. In March of 2018, another hotline report naming both parents alleged "substantial risk of physical injury and environmental neglect." The report said Cunningham had been brought to an emergency room after being found unresponsive in a car and AJ was seen to have odd bruising on his face. The agency interviewed Cunningham at the home twice the next month, found the boys to be clean with no signs of maltreatment, and verified Cunningham was in a drug treatment program. The hotline report was also ruled unfounded. JoAnn Cunningham, left, and Andrew Freund Sr., right Crystal Lake police via CBS Chicago In December of 2018, police responded again to the home after another hotline call alleging "environmental neglect" to AJ and his younger brother as well as cuts, welts and bruises to AJ. Police found the home in disarray, noting it smelled of dog urine. They saw a large bruise on AJ's hip and protective custody was taken of the boys. The emergency room doctor who later examined the boy was concerned about AJ's comment, the timeline shows, but couldn't determine how AJ was injured. He said the bruise could have been caused by a belt, a football or a dog. The children returned home with their father, according to the timeline, who denied corporal punishment and denied that Cunningham was using drugs to an investigator during an unannounced visit the next day. In January, the agency ruled the hotline report unfounded "due to lack of evidence for cuts, welts and bruises allegation." Representatives on the Illinois house appropriations human services committee blasted that finding on Friday, questioning DCFS leaders as to why the case wasn't referred to the judicial system, especially given the family's long history of contact with the agency. "Wouldn't this raise red flags immediately?" said Rep. Anna Moeller. "There was no court involved here, DCFS never went to the court to ask he be taken out of that environment. It was allowed to persist." A DCFS official admitted missteps in the case, saying the DCFS investigators should have further interviewed the boy, and the case should have been refered to a child abuse specialist for a second opinion because the doctor couldn't determine the nature of the injury. Moeller questioned why the agency wasn't more oriented towards removing children from homes "where they are at risk and could potentially die." The agency, which has seen high turnover in top leadership, has been under fire since the deaths of two other children whose families had contact with the agency. Gov. J.B. Pritzker in March ordered an independent review of DCFS after a two-year-old Decatur girl died of starvation and deprivation and a two-year-old Chicago boy died with bruises and rib fractures, according to the Associated Press. "No one wants to be in a situation where we're hearing about another child being murdered by their parents because DCFS felt [the home] was the most appropriate place for them to be," Moeller said. The research center that is conducting the review, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, is expected to issue the report of its findings along with recommendations for the agency next month, the AP reports. But Chapin Hall reportedly said in a statement that "with the lowest foster care entry rate in the nation, Illinois has a high threshold for child removal." State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, a Chicago Democrat who chairs the House Adoption and Child Welfare Committee, told the Associated Press lawmakers have to answer the question of whether the threshold for child removal is too high or whether the workers are "not aware of them or are poorly trained." "I think we all have a great deal of questions, but I will tell you this that this has to end," Feigenholtz told the AP. "It has to be fixed."<doc-sep>The body of A.J. Freund was found buried in a shallow grave on Wednesday Authorities Came to Slain Boy's Home 17 Times Before Parents Allegedly Beat Him to Death Time and again, authorities came to the home where 5-year-old Andrew ‘A.J.” Freund lived with his parents. Caseworkers had long been familiar with the family. When A.J. was born in 2013 with opiates in his system, he was removed from the home. According to the Chicago Tribune, he was returned to his parents in 2015. Get push notifications with news, features and more. According to online records, there were multiple allegations of drug use and child abuse. Chicago station WLS-TV reports police responded to the Freund family home at least 17 times. According to CNN, child welfare caseworkers came to the home at least twice in 2018 alone: once for allegations of neglect in March, and once for allegations of abuse and neglect in December. Still, A.J. and his sibling remained with the family. AJ Freund Credit: Family Photo Last week, the Illinois boy’s life was cut short. On April 15, the boy’s parents, Andrew Freund Sr., 60, and JoAnn Cunningham, 35, allegedly forced A.J. “to remain in a cold shower for an extended period of time and/or struck [him] on or about his body, knowing such acts would cause the death of [him],” prosecutors said in a criminal complaint filed Thursday in McHenry County Circuit Court, which was obtained by PEOPLE. On Wednesday, the Crystal Lake Police Department and the FBI announced that they had found the remains of the child wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow grave. According to McHenry County Interim Coroner David Devane, the cause of death was “craniocerebral trauma as a consequence of multiple blunt force injuries.” Police arrested Cunningham and Freund on Wednesday. Both face a slew of charges including first-degree murder, aggravated battery and failure to report the death of a child, according to the criminal complaint. They are being held on a $5 million bond and will be arraigned Monday. Their attorneys did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. • Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. As the tragedy has unfolded, many have questioned why the boy was allowed to stay in deplorable conditions.<doc-sep>
Two Illinois parents who were charged with killing their 5-year-old son after reporting him missing last week allegedly abused him so badly it killed him, according to prosecutors. Andrew "AJ" Freund's body was found wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow grave near his home in Crystal Lake, Illinois, on Wednesday. Details of the abuse the boy allegedly endured at the hands of his parents, Joann Cunningham, 36, and Andrew Freund Sr., 60 was released in a criminal complaint Thursday FLASHBACK: FBI, POLICE CONDUCT FRANTIC SEARCH FOR 5-YEAR-OLD ANDREW FREUND IN SUBURBAN CHICAGO Court documents allege that he died after he was beaten and forced to stand in a cold shower for a long period of time. Freund was reported missing on April 18 — after his parents said they hadn't seen him since the night before — but investigators believe he was killed on April 15. The McHenry County Coroner's Office announced Freund's cause of death on Thursday as "craniocerebral trauma as a consequence of multiple blunt force injuries." The boy's family had a history with local police and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Service. The agency launched an investigation shortly after Freund was born when tests revealed there were opiates in his body, which prompted officials to place the boy in foster care for nearly two years. The Crystal Lake Police Department had repeatedly been called to the Freund family home, where officers described horrid living conditions, including broken windows, evidence of drug use and the overpowering smell of dog feces. "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," Crystal Lake Police Chief James Black said in a statement posted to Facebook on Wednesday, directed at Freund's family. "To AJ, we know you are at peace playing in heaven’s playground and are happy you no longer have to suffer." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Both Cunningham and Freund Sr. appeared in court on Thursday, where they were represented by lawyers from the McHenry County public defender's office. They have been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery and several other charges. A judge set each of their bail at $5 million, meaning each parent would have to post 10%, or $500,000, to be released from jail. The two were ordered to return to court on Monday for a preliminary hearing. The Associated Press contributed to this report.