A.J. Freund's father 'led police to the his five-year-old son's shallow grave when officers confronted him with a cell phone video of the boy naked and covered in bruises after his mother punished him for wetting the bed'
- Andrew Freund, 60, and JoAnn Cunningham, 36, are charged with AJ's murder
- Police confronted Freund with a clip that shows Cunningham berating AJ for urinating on the bed while bruises are seen on his face, neck, and chest
- Freund said Cunningham had punished AJ with a 20-minute cold shower after he 'lied about soiled underwear'
- Said he put AJ to bed 'cold, wet, and naked' and that he was dead when Cunningham later went to check on him
- Two days later, Freund wrapped AJ's body in garbage bags, placed him in his trunk, and then buried him in a shallow grave in Woodstock, Illinois
- AJ had visited the ER just four months before he died and told the doctor 'Maybe mommy didn't mean to hurt me'
- Autopsy report found that he died due to multiple blunt force injuries to the head
A disturbing uncovered cellphone video helped investigators crack the case of five-year-old AJ Freund's horrific murder.
Newly released court records reveal that Andrew Freund told investigators AJ's mother, JoAnn Cunningham, was responsible for his son's death. He then confessed to burying AJ's body in a shallow grave after they confronted him with the clip.
The disturbing two-minute video, which was uncovered from Cunningham's phone, shows AJ naked on a bare mattress while she berates him for urinating on the bed. The boy is seen holding an ice pack to his face.
When AJ removes the ice pack in the clip, 'deep red bruising' can be seen around his eyes and a 'yellowish-greenish bruising' is visible around his neck and upper chest, according to court records.
Freund, 60, told investigators that Cunningham, 36, had punished AJ with a cold shower after the boy 'lied about soiled underwear'.
Court records reveal that Andrew Freund (left) told investigators AJ's mother, JoAnn Cunningham (right), was responsible for his son's death and confessed to burying the boy's body in a shallow grave after they confronted him with a disturbing video clip
The disturbing two-minute video shows AJ naked and laying on a bare mattress while Cunningham, 36, berates him for urinating on the bed. AJ is seen holding an ice pack to his face. When AJ removes the ice pack in the clip, 'deep red bruising' can be seen around his eyes
The father revealed that he and Cunningham had decided on cold showers as a 'less violent form of punishment' because he wanted her to 'stop with the hard physical beatings'. An autopsy report later found that AJ died of multiple blunt force injuries to the head.
Freund said that he helped AJ out of the shower on the night of April 15 after he had been in there for 20 minutes, according to documents obtained by WGNTV.
He then put AJ to bed 'cold, wet, and naked' and said Cunningham later went to check on him.
Cunningham then woke up Freund and used his phone to do a Google search for 'Child CPR', according to court records.
At one point, Freund told Cunningham that he believed AJ had died.
Freund told investigators that he took AJ's body to the basement the following morning and stored him in a tote.
AJ's body was found buried in a shallow grave in this field in Woodstock, Illinois. Freund led investigators to the field after they showed him the video
Freund, 60, told investigators that Cunningham had punished AJ with a cold shower after the boy 'lied about soiled underwear'. Pictured is the family's home in Crystal Lake, Illinois
On the night of April 17, he placed AJ's body in several trash bags and put him in the trunk of his car. He then drove to an area in Woodstock, Illinois and buried his son in a shallow grave, covering it with straw. He later directed investigators to the grave.
The court documents reveal how Freund and Cunningham's story began to unravel after they first reported AJ missing on April 18.
Suspicions quickly turned to the couple after K-9s indicated that AJ had not left his home in Crystal Lake, Illinois on the night his parents claimed he had disappeared.
The home had been frequently visited by the Department of Child and Family Services through the years, and investigators noted that Freund and Cunningham were 'known and self-admitted prior narcotics abusers'.
Investigators revealed that the couple's home had been in a 'hoarder-like condition', with garbage bags full of 'wet refuse' stacked up in the basement and 'piles of refuse' filling the garage.
Amid the numerous bags was a garbage bag in the dining room that had white laundry inside that was 'wet and smelled heavily of bleach', the documents read.
Investigators also found an empty bleach bottle in the kitchen garbage can, and three more empty bleach bottles in a garbage can by the garage.
The father revealed that he and Cunningham had decided on cold showers as a 'less violent form of punishment' because he wanted her to 'stop with the hard physical beatings' of AJ
They also found a picture of a shopping list, taken on April 17, that included duct tape, plastic gloves, air freshener, and bleach. All the items had been purchased at a local Jewel-Osco.
Freund claimed that Cunningham went through a gallon of bleach a week to clean the family's home. He said the duct tape was for hanging photographs.
When police first found the Google search for 'Child CPR', Freund had claimed Cunningham, who is seven months pregnant with another man's baby, was preparing for her future child.
The new documents also reveal that investigators interviewed the couple's four-year-old son Parker, who told them that his mother said AJ had fallen 'down the stairs and had a lot of owies'. Parker is now in the care of a relative.
Freund said that he helped AJ out of the shower after he had been in there for 20 minutes. He then put AJ to bed 'cold, wet, and naked'. When Cunningham went to check on AJ, he was dead
Freund told investigators that Cunningham believed AJ had 'oppositional defiant disorder', in which a child shows defiant and disobedient behavior to authority figures.
He claimed that the five-year-old thought of himself as 'the leader of his home' and is 'therefore defiant to his parents, lies, disobeys and thinks things should go his way,' the court documents state.
In one example, Freund said AJ had washed and stacked the dishes improperly, and 'lied' about his dishwashing performance. They punished him by locking the boy in his room for five hours.
Freund and Cunningham separately appeared in court on Monday.
Both have been charged with five counts of first-degree murder, as well as aggravated battery, aggravated domestic battery, and failure to report a missing child or child death. Freund is also charged with concealing a body.
Their court appearance came as it was revealed that AJ told a hospital ER doctor 'maybe mommy didn't mean to hurt me' just four months before his death. He also told the doctor: 'Maybe someone hit me with a belt.'
AJ's discussion with the unidentified doctor four months ago is set out in a timeline of events drawn up by DCFS and obtained by DailyMail.com.
Social workers paid a total of 27 visits - 18 of them announced - to AJ's home.
Investigators revealed the couple's home had been in a 'hoarder-like condition', with garbage bags full of 'wet refuse' stacked up in the basement and 'piles of refuse' filling the garage
Cunningham had two complaints brought against her before AJ's birth, one for inadequate supervision and the other for 'risk of harm and environmental neglect.' Both complaints were dismissed.
The department got a call on its hotline on December 18 last year alleging 'environmental neglect' affecting both AJ and Parker.
The caller said AJ was covered in 'cuts, welts and bruises' and police found that AJ had a 'large bruise' on his hip. They also noted that the house's ceiling was falling down, the floor was torn up, and the children's bedroom smelled like dog urine.
Cunningham was then arrested - not for harming the children, but for driving on a suspended license - and the two boys were temporarily placed in protective custody.
That same day the brothers were interviewed at Crystal Lake police station. AJ said he got the bruise when the family dog - a 60lb boxer called Lucy - pawed him.
When Freund arrived at the police station to bond out his girlfriend, she was allowed to leave with the children on condition that she take AJ to the ER.
Cunningham was seen crying with her lawyer just after she reported AJ missing. Less than a week later, she was arrested and charged with his murder
'ER physician examined Andrew and could not state how his injury was caused,' the report states. 'The doctor was concerned because Andrew stated that "Maybe someone hit me with a belt. Maybe mommy didn't mean to hurt me.'"
A DCFS investigator made one last announced visit at the couple's home and in January the department dismissed the hotline report as unfounded. DCFS made no further contact with the family until April 18, when AJ was reported missing.
AJ, who was born with opioids in his system, was initially taken from his parents immediately after his October 2013 birth and placed in the care of a cousin.
He was returned to his parents in 2015 when he was 18 months old and DCFS closed their case on him in April the following year.
Share this article
But in March last year, warning bells began to ring again when Cunningham was found passed out in her car. At the time, AJ 'was observed at the hospital to have odd bruising on his face'.
Within two months the case had been closed after Cunningham agreed to enter a drug treatment program.
The DCFS says it is now 'conducting a comprehensive review of our work with AJ's family'.
'Both the caseworker and the supervisor responsible for this case have been placed on administrative duty and will have no casework responsibilities as this review takes place,' it added.
TIMELINE OF NEGLECT: WHEN SOCIAL SERVICES VISITED AJ'S FAMILY HOME
Documents below, and obtained by DailyMail.com, reveal when social services visited AJ's family home.
