CRYSTAL LAKE, IL — Thousands came out Friday to mourn the death of 5-year-old AJ Freund at a public visitation in Crystal Lake. Davenport Funeral Home, 419 E. Terra Cotta Ave. in Crystal Lake, held the visitation and donated its services to AJ’s family. Additional items were donated, including floral pieces and food for the family, volunteers and police officers.
“Based on the names entered in the guest book for AJ on Friday, we estimated close to 5,000 people (came to AJ’s visitation),” Jennifer Valentine of Davenport Funeral Home told Patch in an email. “In such a heartbreaking situation, it was heartwarming to see the out pour of support from the community and neighboring communities.”
The visitation was scheduled for 1 to 8 p.m. Friday and drew crowds. Throughout the day, lines of people could be seen winding down a sidewalk outside Davenport Funeral Home and over to a neighboring strip mall, waiting their turn to pay their respects to the young boy.
AJ’s parents, Joann Cunningham and Andrew Freund, are being held at the McHenry County Jail on $5 million bond and 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. Freund faces an additional charge of concealment of a death for allegedly burying AJ’s body in a shallow grave near Woodstock.
Inside the funeral home, floral arrangements were sent from families throughout the U.S. The Chicago Cubs sent a large arrangement to AJ. Balloons, Paw Patrol figurines, and an oversized stuffed bear were on display throughout Davenport Funeral Home.
Comfort dogs were on hand at the funeral home and an honor guard stood next to AJ’s small wooden casket.
The visitation was supposed to end at 8 p.m., but 40 to 50 people still waited outside Davenport Funeral Home to pay their respects to AJ, WGN reports. Many waited between 45 minutes to two hours throughout the day on Friday.
Throughout town, blue ribbons were tied around light posts and trees and were hard to miss. Twisted Stem owner and designer John Regan handed out the blue bows, making well over 1,000 to hand out to community members so they could be displayed in memory of AJ, the Chicago Tribune reports. Outside his business, which is located in the strip mall next to Davenport Funeral Home, there was a large blue balloon archway on display.
“I’m helping turn the city blue today,” he told the Chicago Tribune. “It’s just a simple gesture.”
While those who knew AJ and members of AJ’s family were in attendance at Friday’s visitation, many more were strangers to the young boy. The story of AJ’s death has shaken the Crystal Lake community and several are now advocating for change and calling on DCFS to change its practices and protocol.
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Patch.com has detailed in recent weeks 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. AJ made a comment to a doctor examining him in December 2018: “Maybe someone hit me with a belt. Maybe mommy didn’t mean to hurt me.”
The problems at 94 Dole Ave. 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 that same time when Andrew Freund Sr. represented during Cunningham’s divorce and Cunningham moved into his home on Dole Avenue in Crystal Lake.
On Friday, Freund appeared in court for a status hearing and was appointed a public defender, according to online court records. Cunningham has already been appointed a public defender. Meanwhile, the local courts are determining what to do with their home, which is in foreclosure.
Cunningham and Freund are expected in court on Friday for a preliminary hearing.