Prosecutor Wrote Letter To DCFS A Year Before AJ Freund's Death

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL — A letter written by McHenry County State's Attorney Patrick Kenneally in May 2018 to a Department of Children and Family Services administrator in Aurora has been obtained by the Chicago Tribune through a Freedom of Information Act request, and includes concerns Kenneally had regarding three cases the DCFS was handling in McHenry County. According to The Chicago Tribune, the letter was sent about one year before 5-year-old Crystal Lake boy Andrew "AJ" Freund was beaten to death, and whose parents had been under investigation by the agency. With the recent death of AJ, the Chicago Tribune said Kenneally is going at the agency claiming it isn't doing its job.

“DCFS in McHenry County is not adequately fulfilling its critically important responsibilities,” Kenneally told the Chicago Tribune. “The … office requires drastic reform in terms of its management and the quality of its personnel.”

The Chicago Tribune said on May 24, 2018, Kenneally wrote to Carole Ruzicka, the DCFS administrator in Aurora, detailing the concerns. However, the news report added that A DCFS official wouldn't publicly address the issues on the cases described in the letter, but said "the agency has been meeting with prosecutors to address the issues and continues to fulfill its mission of protecting children from abuse."

>>More details via the Chicago Tribune including a link to Kenneally's letter

Patch recently reported AJ died from extreme head trauma after his parents allegedly kept him in a cold shower and beat him on April 15. JoAnn Cunningham, 36, and Andrew Freund Sr., 60, first reported AJ missing three days later. But authorities later found AJ's body and charged his parents in connection with his murder.

More Patch coverage:

• Cunningham Berated, Beat AJ After He Wet the Bed: Warrant
• Public Visitation Scheduled For AJ; His Parents Appear In Court

Both Freund and Cunningham are scheduled to appear in court on May 10 where they are expected to enter their pleas in the case. Both are charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery and failure to report a missing child or death in connection with AJ's death. Andrew Freund Sr. faces an additional charge of concealment of homicidal death. Authorities say he buried his son's body, wrapped in plastic, in a shallow grave near Woodstock, according to the criminal complaint.