Found Deceased IL - Andrew Freund, 5, Crystal Lake, 17 April 2019 *Arrests* - #2

[Blondie in Spokane]

Tell me this isn't the face of and evil monster.

Good God! I hadn’t seen that. The stuff of nightmares....

 

[sabepa]

Has anyone posted this article? Looks like another possible instance of abuse (unverified, unreported, MOO) involving boiling water in October 2017.

Parents of missing 5-year-old AJ Freund charged with murder after Crystal Lake boy's body found in shallow grave

A neighbor who lives across the street from the Freunds’ house, Janelle Butler, said she first met the family when the boy and his mom came to her door on Halloween in 2017.

AJ had bandages on his face and arm. She thought he was dressed as a mummy, but his mother said he had grabbed a pot of boiling water that day, was burned and went to the hospital for treatment.

The boy seemed OK, Butler said, but, “That’ll haunt me now forever that I did not call police.”

 

[Whiteorchids]

Dad Charged in 5-Year-Old AJ Freund’s Murder Had Law License Suspended After Criminal Conviction, Cocaine Use

Freund faced professional disciplinary action, and his license to practice law (which was eventually reinstated after the aforementioned lapse) was suspended for 90 days, with a two-year probationary period that is still ongoing.

Disciplinary records indicate that upon seeing a psychiatrist, Freund was diagnosed with opioid and cocaine use disorders. Among the conditions of his probation, Freund was ordered to attend a 12-step program.

Residents of Crystal Lake told Law&Crime that Freund is “very well known in this county” and had problems while he worked at a “very well known law firm.” They said the law firm “tried mightily” to help Freund and even paid for him to go to rehab twice. “Everyone who knows him really thought he was a nice guy,” they said, although they described the family as “dysfunctional.”

 

[Henry2326]

Thanks for the link to the report. Being a nerd, I'll read every word.

I notice the article was, quick to pass judgement, but with general comments. No reference to how many cases where DCPS was to blame, or case examples. It was a total of 100 kids died, not they killed a hundred kids.

I'll reserve judgement til I read the facts and will summarize the specific cases, identify the failure, and the number of cases.

Has anyone read the actual report?

I only got to page 22....they appear to do a great job of investigating after the children have died.

Of the 98 deaths, 18 were ruled homicides, 26 undetermined, 27 accidents, and 27 natural causes.

Undetermined but suspicious appears several times.

 

[bradfordsleuth]

You've all expressed your thoughts very honestly in this thread and I want to thank you for it.

This case is a tough one and it has nailed all of us right through our collective hearts.

 

[MeJane00]

I have not read the last threads. So sorry if someone expressed this. But I'm surprised Senior did not run. Although I'm sure they had police watching him. He had to know that when they did not issue an Amber Alert, and said AJ did not walk out of the house, and he was not missing (I think they said that), that they were suspects. He practiced law. Even we all knew what that meant. I hope that senior suffered anguish waiting for the ball to drop. He had to know he would be caught.

 

[DearPrudence]

I'd think they would be more likely to commit suicide rather than get murdered. I hope they are being watched closely. No easy way out by suicide.

I have no problem with them committing suicide. At least there would be no chance of them getting away scott-free, ala Casey Anthony.

 

[MeJane00]

I have no problem with them committing suicide. At least there would be no chance of them getting away scott-free, ala Casey Anthony.

After the baby is born. only two more months.

 

[Only4Justice]

bbm

Oh, I do remember that scandal -- and as in so many situations like that, there was an outcry about laws being too strict, and the reaction to make the laws and judgements more evenly balanced. A bit of mass hysteria may have also colored the decisions that were made. And we'll still never know the whole story.
How many children have paid the price of this? We certainly don't want parents or other caregivers railroaded, but we don't want to throw out the baby with the bath water (almost literally here). And how much can a 5- or 4- or 3-year-old explain things to the authorities? His/her misery has probably been occurring since birth, so how does s/he know that what happened "yesterday" is abuse?
And as you said, there usually aren't any photos of the abuse -- be it burns or bruises or cuts or bite marks or screaming or slapping.
The littlest ones have the smallest voices.

Sad as can be. He didn’t have a chance. Any baby born addicted should be removed imo

 

[MeJane00]

I know I'm behind but, when I read about the cold water AGAIN, I couldn't believe it. Again with the cold water. That's like torture. That's what they did to Concentration Camp inmates at Auschwitz. That was one of their "experiments". WTF?

Since when does this become a "thing" to do to a child? Poor poor AJ. That poor little boy. My heart is just broken. Absolutely broken.

And his poor younger brother? To witness that. I wonder if LE interviewed him. In the end they did not need that information, but I was wondering if questions like was AJ home last night? Where was he? What was the last time he was home. But maybe they did not need to burden him with questions.

 

[Whiteorchids]

Oh look his mom was so distraught she managed to paint her fingernails white for the court hearing. I hate these people. I wish they would have shot AJ instead at least it would have been fast instead of slow painful torturous death freezing in ice cold water for lord knows how long then afterward having your skull and brain bashed in by your own parents with this evil look of your mother glaring over you. The one who is supposed to love and protect you from harm

 

[kaen]

And his poor younger brother? To witness that. I wonder if LE interviewed him. In the end they did not need that information, but I was wondering if questions like was AJ home last night? Where was he? What was the last time he was home. But maybe they did not need to burden him with questions.

I would imagine they asked him questions with a skilled investigator and/or therapist. This little guy is going to need all kinds of support and therapy... oldest brother placed with grandparents, mom addicted, dad who knows what, brother murdered, living in a hoarder house with no heat and no electric, feces all over the place... so much to process and understand. Then as he gets older the memories and the survivor's guilt will surely kick in. I hope he gets all the help he can get and needs.

 

[BlinkOfAnI]

First I want to say that my prediction being right about this case (2nd in a row) is very sickening and infuriating to me.
I spent many years working with DCFS workers and Foster Care agencies in IL in ways that I won't disclose. I fully agree with you that the vast majority of caseworkers are compassionate people who want to do the best thing for the child. But the SYSTEM they operate in doesn't really work that way. First of all, it's a constant battle of Parental rights vs. Government - that's a tough one. Next, If you can get a child removed where do you put them? Good Foster homes are SERIOUSLY lacking as is the support and follow up systems to help Foster Children get over their past and grow up great. This is evidenced by the fact that 2/3 of all Prison inmates in the USA have been in Foster Care! So what is worse? Is it what their parents did before they went into Foster Care? Is it the Foster homes and Foster Parents? Is it that the children just don't get the treatment they need to recover? And there are SO MANY! Why does our society and our country produce so many horrific people? 2017, 40,000 gun deaths in the USA, 2/3 of them "Suicide" Why? What is going on??? Too many people are living in hell and cultivate a living hell for children. And those children should they survive, often grow up to perpetuate this hell! Just like genetic traits, Social Workers sometimes use maps that track drug addictions like heroin, Criminal activity, Prison incarcerations, etc... It's incredible how having it in a family is passed on like brown eyes or auburn hair. It's the most gut wrenching and complex kind of work that I can think of... Some of the people that do it get a bit thick skinned, like LE can get jaded by seeing the raw underbelly of human nature day in and day out. They know that children sometimes can play the system too to wield power (which is certainly the least of it). So for many years I thought about how to solve these issues. There really needs to be a much better system put into place. When people have done something illegal while having children in the home and especially if they have done anything to their children (including neglect) they should immediately lose any normal legal rights. At the same time, the kind of scrutiny they receive must be much more invasive for much longer periods of time. The parents must be required to be in programs that are extremely extensive in changing ALL of their behavior, not just a monthly visit where everyone pretends things are fine. We need a system that creates TRAINED and highly effective Foster Parents. AND those people need to be monitored very closely as well. All of that costs money. Who will pay? That's a good question. But consider who pays now? What is the societal cost for not doing this? 2 Million people in the USA is in jail or prison at any given time, and 6 Million people have been in Prison. And 2/3 of them where in homes so bad they were in Foster Care. That's a staggering number. Our Schools and communities should be the forefront of prevention. Large cities like Chicago just can't possibly keep up with the horrific things people are doing to their children. I have read case files that are beyond comprehension. I'm serious, someone might get PTSD just from reading what people do to their children on a regular basis. It's beyond the horror of any film out there or any Stephen King novel, and the worst thing is that its REAL. The cost to society is very high for not dramatically addressing the root causes of this. We literally create millions upon millions of extremely dangerous people, people who have very little to live for and who have no reason to play by the rules. By not taking these problems on head-on, we are setting these children up to become as bad or worse than their parents and are also setting them loose on ourselves, our children, our elderly. The DCFS Caseworkers DO need to push harder against the parents and the courts. But not just to remove children from the home, to actually FIX the problem. State Legislatures need to ACT to solve the problem, not just throw money at organizations that spend their time billing the state for caseworker visits (That can easily become a racket that accomplishes very little). Money must be allocated to Educate, Treat, Counsel, Heavily Monitor, Create a legion of extremely good Foster Parents (not parasites that are there to collect the payment for taking in Foster Children, or use the opportunity to themselves abuse the children!) At the same time, what is wrong with the laws and courts where people can be caught time and time again and they don't ever change? If you are an opiate addict, you lose your children, Period! If you are are an alcoholic, you lose your children! If you commit felonies, you lose your children! PREVENTION is the key and what we are doing ISNT WORKING! As for these parents, I have no compassion for them. To me, these are the lowest forms of humanity that exist. They are beyond any repair or value to humanity. They should never see the light of day. In my view, lethal injection would be fine for this pair. It doesn't fix the problem and it won't bring him back. But resources should be spent on preventing people like this from being created in the first place. We need to hit that HARD! Caseworkers do play a role, but every person in this country that doesn't push hard for prevention has the blood on their hands. Personally, I'm not religious and I can't say religion is the answer, but I wouldn't necessarily exclude secular or religious organizations from being part of the prevention. I think some religions are cults in disguise, but that's yet another subject. This problem is so huge it's going to take everyone to change things. NO FREEDOM for people who can't take care of their children properly or humanely. And the bar for that is really really low... dropping below that bar and you have no business being allowed around children at all.

Yes, yes, and yes!

 

[mickey2942]

I have no problem with them committing suicide. At least there would be no chance of them getting away scott-free, ala Casey Anthony.

Casey Anthony is a hard core psychopath. She never said a word, because she didn't feel any guilt about her behavior.

I believe in this case, the Mother probably broke down, probably told she would get a better deal if she flipped on her husband. She is a drug addict, probably going through withdrawal, told she could go have some methadone and not do the withdrawal. She would have probably sold her other son after 24 hours...even though her lawyer tried to keep her quiet.

That is why Patti and John Ramsey lawyered up, and even when police split them up, the lawyer was there to keep them quiet. The Ramsey's had a united front.

 

[BlinkOfAnI]

I'm sorry that you took this so personal. But reading the documents there was ample opportunity for the state to step in and rescue him....as well as the other 98 children who have died while being placed back into violent homes. Obviously there is a problem. There is enough blood on this one for everyone involved.

Almost 100 children died last year in cases involving DCFS

You speak the truth.

 

[BlinkOfAnI]

I have not read the last threads. So sorry if someone expressed this. But I'm surprised Senior did not run. Although I'm sure they had police watching him. He had to know that when they did not issue an Amber Alert, and said AJ did not walk out of the house, and he was not missing (I think they said that), that they were suspects. He practiced law. Even we all knew what that meant. I hope that senior suffered anguish waiting for the ball to drop. He had to know he would be caught.

But where would he go? I doubt he had money. It's not financially easy for many attorneys let alone one with a drug addiction.

 

[Whiteorchids]

i cried real tears for this poor little boo today.

my money is on potty accident. because of the shower.

oh little AJ

Maybe but stupid reason to go ballistic these lunatics had feces all over the house anyway.

 

[bradfordsleuth]

Maybe but stupid reason to go ballistic these lunatics had feces all over the house anyway.

I agree.

These were not tidy people...they were violent drug-addicted people.

 

[Snoopgal]

Here are some interesting reads.
When Trump signed spending bill, he signed into law a huge overhaul of foster care

For Newborns Exposed To Opioids, Health Issues May Be The Least Of Their Problems

Neither of these are a defense of these parents or DCFS. I was just trying to find out what the current data says about how to fix this issue. There seems to be a lot of emphasis on keeping families together at almost any cost. I’m not sure I agree. (Also, I am not trying to get political with the first article, I was just curious what current funding looks like)

 

[Whiteorchids]

Sad as can be. He didn’t have a chance. Any baby born addicted should be removed imo

Yes drug addicts can’t take care of themselves how in the heck can they take care of children?

Get one chance at recovery to turn your life around. If you screw up again kids are permanently removed.