Prosecutors Want Medical Records for AJ's Mother

MCHENRY COUNTY, IL — Prosecutors are asking they be allowed access to medical records for the mother of 5-year-old AJ Freund as they try to determine if any potential drug use could have led to her son's beating death, the Daily Herald reports. Both Cunningham, 36, and AJ's father, Andrew Freund, 60, appeared in court Wednesday for a brief hearing.

Cunningham was seen by medical staff while at the McHenry County Jail, where she has been held on a $5 million bond for first-degree murder charges, according to the article. She was then transferred to Northwestern Medicine Hospital Woodstock.

The motion will be heard on Aug. 29. Prosecutors are also seeking a lifetime of medical records for AJ, including information on his birth on Oct. 14, 2013, at Northwestern Medicine Hospital McHenry, and a Dec. 18, 2018, hospital visit where AJ told an ER doctor "maybe someone hit me with a belt. Maybe mommy didn't mean to hurt me."

• 'Maybe Mommy Didn't Mean to Hurt Me': DCFS Reports

Cunningham and Freund are accused of beating AJ and forcing him to stay in a cold shower on April 15. AJ died of severe head trauma. Cunningham and Freund are charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery and failure to report a death, while Freund faces a charge of concealment of a death for allegedly burying AJ’s body in a shallow grave near Woodstock.

• AJ Freund Died Three Days Before He Was Reported Missing

This past year, Patch.com detailed the encounters AJ's parents had with DCFS during his short life. AJ was placed in foster care with a relative after he was born with opiates and benzodiazepines in his system.

After 18 months, AJ was returned to his parents' care, and DCFS made 26 visits to the home where they reported no signs of abuse or neglect. The family went almost two years without any contact with DCFS until calls started coming in again, starting in March 2018, regarding "odd bruising" on AJ's face and dog feces on the floor at the home.

The problems at 94 Dole Avenue were not new. Before AJ was born, his older brother, who is now 18 years old, lived in squalor and witnessed violent acts between Andrew Freund Sr. and Joann Cunningham.

In 2012, Cunningham's mother filed for custody of the child after Joann dropped him off with her in August 2012. Andrew Freund Sr. and Joann Cunningham reportedly met around the same time after Andrew Freund Sr. represented Cunningham during her divorce. Cunningham moved into Freund's Dole Avenue home in Crystal Lake soon after.

More via the Daily Herald

MORE ON PATCH

• Cunningham Berated, Beat AJ After He Wet the Bed: Warrant
• 'AJ Belonged To All Of Us': Answers Sought After Boy's Death
• Court Records Show History Of Neglect, Drugs For Freund's Parents
• Thousands Say Goodbye to AJ at Public Visitation
• Crystal Lake Fines Cunningham, Freund For Upkeep at Home
• Hearing On Parental Rights For AJ's Brother Postponed
• Read Indictment for Joann Cunningham, Andrew Freund