Friend of AJ Freund's mother describes the day when 5-year-old boy was reported missing
May 2, 2019 6:45pm
A woman described in police documents as a “very close friend” of the mother of Andrew “AJ”
Freund said Thursday she previously knew nothing about the tragic circumstances surrounding the 5-year-old
Crystal Lakeboy’s death.
“If I would have known what I know now I would have done a heck of a lot more,” the friend told the Tribune.
The woman’s name appeared in a police affidavit describing the investigation that led to AJ’s parents being charged in his death. Texts sent between the woman and
JoAnn Cunningham, the boy’s mother, are referenced in the document.
The woman said Thursday she was in the family’s home when
a 911 call was made April 18 reporting AJ missing. But the woman said the call was made about a half-hour after she urged Cunningham and the boy’s father to report his disappearance. The woman said she “flew over there” to the Crystal Lake home on that day after being told by Cunningham that AJ could not be found.
The woman, who the Tribune is not naming because she said she has received death threats after the affidavit with her name appeared online, said she helped search for the boy in the home and while doing so heard AJ’s father, Andrew Freund, make the 911 call. As they searched, Cunningham was saying, “I want my kid back,” according to the woman. The woman also searched nearby stores.
That was three days after authorities allege that Cunningham and Freund killed the boy. Authorities say Freund later buried his body is a shallow grave near Woodstock, where he was found April 24.
The parents were charged with AJ’s killing, as well as aggravated battery, aggravated domestic battery, failure to report a missing child and, in Freund’s case, concealment of a homicide. Cunningham also was charged with an aggravated battery related to a video found on her phone from March 4.
Despite police describing her in the affidavit as being a close friend to Cunningham, the woman said they “were not close.”
In the affidavit, police said cellphone records indicate that Cunningham texted her friend about AJ’s health on April 16 — the day after AJ is alleged to have been killed. According to the affidavit, Cunningham “complained about AJ as not getting better from what she had previously self-diagnosed or likened to oppositional defiance disorder (ODD).”
According to the affidavit, many text messages between the women were deleted from Cunningham’s phone but were found on her friend’s, including the April 16 text.
Standing in her garage Thursday at her suburban home, the woman was trembling and in tears. She told the Tribune that their friendship has lasted about two or three years and has consisted mostly of texting each other.
The friend said Cunningham felt comfortable talking to her about AJ’s supposed ODD because her own son has ODD.
She said when she visited, the house was often cluttered but not as bad as recent reports have indicated.
She said they had gone to the beach together about two years ago with family members and she did not see any bruises on AJ or his younger brother or anything out of sorts with their relationship. She did recall seeing scars on AJ’s face about a year ago that she said Cunningham said was the result of AJ spilling boiling water on himself.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has said it has had a history of dealing with the family since AJ was born with opiates in his system.
The woman said she fears for her family’s safety and her own health because of her association with Cunningham. She said she and her family have been harassed and have received death threats.
“Leave me alone, realize I am not part of this,” she begged of those she said were harassing her.
At one point while speaking to a reporter Thursday, she collapsed to the ground, apparently from stress. But neighbors later said she was OK.
“I just want this to be over,” she said.
The woman said she wants people to know that she willingly turned over her cellphone to authorities and has been cooperating all along and, like everyone else, did not know what truly had happened to AJ.
“People are assuming I knew everything,” she said. “If I knew, why would I give the FBI my cellphone?”
Before knowing AJ’s fate and while he was still reported as missing, the friend said Cunningham asked her to drive her to a custody hearing April 23 concerning AJ’s younger brother.
Cunningham would remain at the courthouse that night until 2:30 a.m. April 24.
“They told (me) they were keeping her for questioning and I left,” the friend said.
Later that morning, Freund led authorities to the body. He and Cunningham were arrested and charged in the death of their son.
Since her arrest the friend said Cunningham has been calling her from jail and she has blocked her calls.
“I’m not OK,” the friend said, sobbing. “He’s gone.”
Friend of AJ Freund's mother describes the day when 5-year-old boy was reported missing
