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A woman described in police documents as a "very close friend" of Andrew "AJ" Freund's mother said Thursday that she knew nothing of the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of the Crystal Lake boy 5 years old.
"If I had known what I know now, I would have done a lot more," said the friend at the Tribune.
The woman's name appeared in a police affidavit describing the investigation that resulted in the impeachment of AJ's parents. The texts sent between the woman and JoAnn Cunningham, the boy's mother, are referenced in the document.
The woman said Thursday that she was at the family home when a 911 call was launched on April 18, reporting the disappearance of AJ. But the woman said the call was made about half an hour after Cunningham and the child's father were asked to report her disappearance. The woman stated that she had "flown" to Crystal Lake House that day after Cunningham told AJ that AJ could not be found.
The woman, who was not named by the Tribune because she said she received death threats after the affidavit was posted online, said she helped to find the boy at home and heard AJ's father, Andrew Freund, narrate the 911 call number. As they searched, Cunningham said, "I want my child to come back," according to the woman. The woman also searched the shops nearby.
It was three days after the authorities alleged that Cunningham and Freund had killed the boy. According to the authorities, Freund subsequently buried his body near Woodstock, where he was found on 24 April.
The parents were charged with the murder of AJ as well as sexual assault, domestic assault, failure to report a missing child and, in Freund's case, concealment of a homicide. Cunningham has also been charged with aggravated battery related to a video found on his phone on March 4.
Although the police described her in the affidavit as being a close friend of Cunningham, the woman stated that they "were not close".
In the affidavit, the police said that, according to cell phone records, Cunningham would have texted her friend about AJ's health on April 16 – the day after AJ was reportedly killed. According to the affidavit, Cunningham "is complaining that AJ is not improving as a result of what she had already self-diagnosed or equated with an Opposite Challenge Disorder (ODD)".
According to the affidavit, many text messages between women were removed from Cunningham's phone, but were found at her friend's house, including the April 16 text.
Standing in her garage Thursday in her suburban home, the woman was shaking and crying. She told the Tribune that their friendship had lasted two or three years and consisted mainly of texting.
Saga AJ Freund: The family's interactions with DCFS and the unfolding of the tragedy »
The friend said that Cunningham felt comfortable talking to him about AJ's supposed ODD because his own son had one.
She said that during her visit, the house was often cluttered but not as bad as recent reports have indicated.
She said that they had gone to the beach together about two years ago with family members and that she had not seen any blues on AJ or her younger brother, nor what whether it is uncomfortable with their relationship. She remembered seeing scars on AJ's face about a year ago. Cunningham had declared that it was the result of AJ's bestowal on himself.
The Department of Child and Family Services of Illinois stated that he had been in the habit of dealing with the family since the birth of AJ with opiates in his system.
The woman said she feared for the safety of her family and for her own health because of her association with Cunningham. She said that she and her family had been harassed and had received death threats.
"Leave me alone, realize that I'm not part of that," she pleaded to those who harassed her, she said.
One year before AJ Freund's death, a McHenry County Attorney said he was worried about how the DCFS was handling business in his county.
At one point, while she was addressing a reporter on Thursday, she collapsed, seemingly stressed. But the neighbors later said that she was fine.
"I just want it to be over," she said.
The woman said that she wanted people to know that she had voluntarily surrendered her mobile phone to the authorities and that she had been cooperating since the beginning. Like everyone else, she did not know what had really happened to AJ.
"People assume I knew everything," she said. "If I knew, why should I give my mobile phone to the FBI?"
Before knowing AJ's fate and while he was still missing, his friend stated that Cunningham had asked her to take her to a police custody hearing on April 23 about AJ's younger brother.
Cunningham would stay at the courthouse that night until 24:30 on April 24.
"They told me that they kept her for questioning and I left," said the girlfriend.
Later in the morning, Freund drove the authorities to the body. Cunningham and he were arrested and charged in the death of their son.
Since her arrest, the girlfriend said that Cunningham had called her from prison and that she had blocked her.
"I am not well," said the friend sobbing. "He left."
Amanda Marrazzo is an independent journalist.
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