Police called to Freund's Crystal Lake house multiple times in past 5 years, reports show

The Crystal Lake Police Department has been called to the home of missing child Andrew "AJ" Freund more than 10 times over the past five years, records show.

Crystal Lake Police Department released 63 pages of redacted reports Tuesday that shed light on circumstances within the Freund home.

Andrew Freund Sr. and JoAnn Cunningham live at the home in the first block of Dole Avenue, from which their 5-year-old son "AJ" was reported missing Thursday. Lenders are trying to foreclose on the home.

Officers have responded to the home to complete multiple well-being checks and investigate stolen prescription medications, a loose dog, fights and traffic violations, police reports show.

Officers at times observed filth, disrepair and hazardous living conditions, records show. Illinois Department of Children and Family Services also responded multiple times to investigate.

On Dec. 18, 2018, officers responded to the home in reference to a burglary, records show. Cunningham had reported that someone who used to live in the home came back asking for money. When she refused to give in, the person left and Cunningham later realized her prescription medication and cellphone were missing, according to the report.

Cunningham drove herself and two children to Taco Bell to see if someone could call 911 for her, according to the report. Police responded and they all went back to the home, which officers described as “cluttered, dirty and in disrepair,” records show.

Officers observed broken flooring, water damage and exposed pipes in the ceiling and piles of clothes, boxes and bags in the dining and living rooms. Feces and urine were scattered throughout the home, according to the report.

“Upstairs in the room where the boys sleep the window was open and the smell of feces was overwhelming,” officers wrote in the report.

An officer called the city’s building and zoning department for an inspection. The department was denied entry to the home when they arrived, according to the report.

One of the boys, wearing only a pull-up diaper, had a large bruise on his hip, police said. Cunningham said it might have been from the dog jumping on him.

Cunningham was arrested for driving with a suspended license and officers took her and the children to the police station. A DCFS investigator also was at the station to look at the bruise, according to the report.

At the station, the DCFS investigator couldn’t determine a cause for the bruise.

“He further advised he would be releasing the boys to [redacted] but she was to take [redacted] to the doctor in attempt to determine a cause of the bruise,” according to the report.

[ DCFS had been to the home on and off until late last year. ]

A friend picked the two children up from the police station. Cunningham was processed and bonded out, according to the report.

January 2018

On Jan. 17, 2018, an officer responded to the home to contact someone living there about not paying the bill for a local hotel stay. The subject was home, looked out the window and walked away, according to the report.

The officer left a note on the car and left, according to the report.

September 2018

On Sept. 20, 2018, an officer conducted a well-being check at the home after someone had reported “bad living conditions” and no electricity in the house.

When the officer arrived, they noticed the grass in the lawn was 2 feet tall, paint was peeling and the windows “seemed to be falling apart.”

The officer met with a woman at the home, whose name is redacted, records show. The woman said she was looking for another place to live, occasionally stayed at the Best Western hotel and denied the officer’s request to come inside the home, records show.

The officer asked to see her children and both appeared to be “happy and healthy,” according to the report.

An assisting officer contacted the Department of Children and Family Services and was informed that no electricity didn’t warrant a visit from the agency, according to the report.

Earlier that month, police had responded to the home for reports of a loose dog. Cunningham said the family boxer, Lucy, had broken her leash in one circumstance and in another she knew the dog was in the front yard. She claimed the neighbors called the police because they didn’t like her, according to police reports.

In December 2017, officers investigated an alleged battery where two women fought over keys, according to the report. All names on this report were redacted.