Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - 5-year-old boy A.J. Freund body found in shallow grave, wrapped in plastic

Episode Date: April 25, 2019

One of the most expansive searches in Illinois state history comes to a tragic end. The body of missing 5-year-old, Andrew “AJ” Freund, was found Wednesday morning, and officials say his parents are responsible for his death. When confronted with forensic analysis on the parents’ cellphones and other information, they both reportedly provided details that led to the little boy’s location.Nancy's expert panel weighs in:Mark Klass: Founder, Klass Kids FoundationJoseph Scott Morgan: Forensics expert, and author of “Blood Beneath My Feet”Randall Kessler: Defense attorney, Emory Law School Trial Professor Dr. Daniel Bober: Forensic Psychiatrist John Lemley: Crime online investigative reporter Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. 911, what's the address of your emergency? 94 Dole Avenue, Crystal Lake, Illinois. Can you tell me exactly what happened? We have a missing child um woke up this morning and uh he wasn't he wasn't he how did the child yeah missing child yeah how did he he's five what was the last scene where um a mario like blue long-sleeved sweatshirt and a black sweatpants okay right there i don't like it i don't like it because it's like he's reading from a script

there's no emotion he's not rushing through it now my defense attorney with me today a renowned defense attorney as a matter of fact randy kessler emory law school trial professor will probably say that means nothing but it means a lot to me i'm nancy grace this is crime stories and i'm talking about a missing five-year-old little boy, A.J. Friend. Take a listen to the rest of that 911 call. Is he male, white? Yes. And when was the last time you seen him?

Last night, probably 9.30. When he went to bed. Okay father? Yes. Yeah. You k didn't know where he might Yeah, I went to the local park, local gas station down here where we sometimes take them to buy treats. I spoke with the assistant principal over there at the school where the park is, and they haven't seen him or any other child. I have no idea where he would be. No idea where he would be. A five-year-old child?

You know what? After reading about this story and five-year-old AJ, I was so beside myself. I slept in the room with the twins, woke up all during the night just making sure they were there. I'm beside myself. What is this dad saying? And you hear the mom in the background, or let me rephrase that. You don't hear her saying a thing. Before I go to crimeonline.com investigative reporter, John Limley, I want to go to the founder of Class Kids Foundation, Mark Class. Their demeanor is just all wrong.

Now, I know Randy Kessler is going to attack me on that and tell me it means absolutely nothing, but I think it means a lot because I have read everything I can get my hands on. I've talked to you a million times about when your daughter Polly went missing. You were like a wild animal. You were practically lying on the police headquarters steps going, take my fingerprints, take my DNA, take anything, search my place, search my car so you can start looking for whoever took Polly.

I'm not hearing that from Andrew Friend, the father. I'm not hearing it, Mark Glass. Well, you know that what he's doing right now, Nancy, is facing a parent's worst nightmare. He's come to the realization that his child is missing and there should be some sense of urgency. He should want the police to be there to do something to be on the ball. And the mother should be somewhere in the background, you would think. But none of that is happening. As you mentioned, he's calm.

He's cool. He seems to be reading from a script. There are red flags all over this 911 call. Mark Klass, I don't always do this, but I want you to explain to the listeners, when you were first told, beautiful Polly was missing, what happened? What went through your body, your mind, your heart? It's called, you know, Polly didn't live with me. She lived with her mother in Petaluma, California, which is 30 miles north of where I live. And I got a phone call at 1130 in the

evening telling me that Pauly had been kidnapped. The call came from Pauly's stepfather. He said, don't come to Petaluma. The police don't want somebody trampling evidence. Well, I didn't go to Petaluma. But what I did do is I called the Petaluma police immediately. I did everything I could to convince or three days after that and immediately started interacting with the authorities, immediately started interacting with the media. And we're really trying to rally anybody around us that we could to help us find our daughter as we were coming to this realization that she was just the next in a long line of abductions in the San Francisco Bay Area. Abductions, mind you, which had never been solved. So I was in a complete frenzy, as you mentioned, Nancy, and that continued on for the next 65 days. Oh, dear Lord in heaven. Now, John Lindley,

CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, where you can see the latest on this and all other breaking crime news. I know that you and Dr. Bober and Randy Kessler, Joe Scott Morgan and Mark Glass are tired of hearing this story. But just in a 30 second soundbite, I will never forget that charge that went through my body when John David went missing in a superstore, a Babies R Us superstore. And that feeling of running up and down the aisles, looking, screaming out his name, screaming to lock the doors, dragging Lucy, carrying her like a sack of potatoes under my arms, looking for John David, that feeling of utter panic. Where is he? What happened? Is somebody driving away at 60 mph with him right now? I'm not hearing that. You know, to you, Randy Kessler, I'm not hearing that from Andrew Friend.

No, you're not. But you know what? And I'm not going to contradict, and no one could dare and should not dare contradict Mark Kless. He has been through unbelievable not. But you know what? And I'm not going to contradict. And no one could dare and should not dare contradict Mark Klaas. He has been through unbelievable pain. But the bottom line is no one knows how we would react if we were in that situation. You know what? You know what? I don't think I don't think you really meant that, Kessler, because it just rolled off your tongue. Yeah, he's been through unbelievable pain, but he just blurted it out. No, I. Are you? Hey, I'm not one of your juries that are about to fall for everything

you say hook line and sinker just because you're having a $2,000 suit I'm not buying into it so what do you say what's your defense when parents act like they really don't give a fig I don't think that's the evidence I don't think Mark would even want the parent convicted based on the way he's talking to the police that's not

what we base our facts on that's not what we base our rule of law on. You've got to have evidence. You've got to prove it. You've got to have DNA. You've got to have witnesses. You've got to have hard, solid evidence because there was a terrible crime here. But the next worst thing would be to convict the wrong person. Well, let me ask you this, Randy

Kessler. Would you consider the fact that we have just discovered this five-year-old little boy's body was just found in a shallow grave. Would that be evidence, Randy Kessler? That is evidence that a horrible crime happened, something horrible happened. But the next worst thing would be to convict the wrong person. So I'm not saying they're innocent or guilty.

I don't know. But I'm not going to jump to a conclusion and convict them based on the tone of their voice and what they told the police in a recording that you have on your show. That's not enough to put somebody in jail the rest of their life or to give them a death penalty. For once, for once, I agree with you that that's certainly not enough. John Limley, A.J.'s little body has been found in a shallow grave. We are learning. How was the body found and what was the condition of the body? The body was found after an exhaustive, extensive missing child search,

one of the greatest in Illinois or even U.S. history. And the body was found, thanks to cell phone records and the parents, the body was found in a shallow grave, the body wrapped in plastic. You know what? With that as the background, the body wrapped in plastic, buried in a shallow grave, I can tell you right now, that is not a random killing. So with that in mind, let's take a listen to more of that 911 call. You put him to bed last night, so he was in his pajamas, and then

when you didn't get him for school, he wasn't there, and then you looked around for a bit? Yes. What time was he supposed to be at school? Well, he didn't go to school, but I had a doctor's appointment this morning. When I got back from the doctor's appointment, I checked in on him, said good morning, and he wasn't there. So that would have been about between 8.15, 8.30. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I had a doctor's appointment this morning.

When I got back from the doctor's appointment, you know, I checked in on him, said good morning, and he wasn't there. So that would have been about between eight 15, eight 30. Have you checked everywhere like under tables or in closet, the basement, the garage everywhere. Was any of the doors open? No, I mean, you know, no outside doors or anything like that. Doors or windows? No. What are you trying to do? I'm sure he's pulling on door now.

Okay, yeah, I see him. Welcome back. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. You are hearing the father of A.J. Friend, that's Andrew Friend, with the mother, Joanne Cunningham, piping in in the background, outlining what they see as the timeline for their five-year-old little boy disappearing. Joining me in All-Star Panel, Joseph Scott Morgan, Professor of Forensics, Jacksonville State University, author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon, Mark Klass, founder of Klass Kids Foundation, Randy Kessler, renowned defense attorney, Dr. Daniel Bober, forensic psychiatrist,

and John Limley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. To mark class, the timeline, what he just said doesn't make sense. Didn't he say he had a doctor's appointment, and then he checked in on his son when he got back at 8.15 to 8.30? You know, Nancy, at either one of those times, any family in any household in america with two little children and it is going to be up and running at full speed i mean these you know their children get up early there's things that have to be done uh moms are preparing breakfast

all kinds of activity is going on and there was no activity in this house at all it was completely flatlined and i think we have to realize that in these types of situations where little children disappear, obviously people are immediately going to look at the family, not only because they live in the home with the child, but because of statistics point to families. And they were certainly the last people to see little AJ alive. I mean, you know, it doesn't make sense to me to Joseph Scott Morgan by that time in the morning. The children are already at school. I've already cleaned the guinea pig cage, fed two guineas, a cat, a dog, a grandma, two children, a husband, and packed the car. So I don't understand. He's just showing up at 8.30 in the morning and then just

notices the boy's gone, the five-year-old little AJ. Yeah, it's very curious, Nancy. I sit there and I wonder, I listen to what this man is saying, and I don't find it very compelling relative to a level of passion that's involved with this. Also, you had mentioned the mother just a second ago. Let me tell you something. If that was my wife, you couldn't hear me talking on the phone because the roof would be coming down from her screaming in the background wanting to know what had happened to her baby. You know, let me understand something. Was this a work day? John Lindley, exactly what day did A.J. go missing? Thursday. And according to that dad, the timeline was that he and his wife had last seen A.J. the night before, Wednesday night, when they helped him into his PJs and put him into bed around 9.30 p.m. Now, Andrew Sr. tells the operator that he,

the dad, had a doctor appointment that morning and that when he returned from that appointment, he checked in with the boy to say good morning, wake him up for school, and he wasn't there. And of course, within an hour, what we now know as one of the most just nonstop investigations began with the Crystal Lake Police and eventually the FBI. Take a listen to this. You're hearing from our friend at WGN, Megan Dwyer, talking about the neighborhood and the family and what the neighbors say they saw. Saturday afternoon, after four hours at the Crystal Lake Police Station, the father of five-year-old A.J. Friend walked home by himself. Well, we're all working continued leads. And, you know, to the extent that I know something, you know, I convey it to them.

It's a continuing process. I'm going to pray for the return of my son. I'm going to pray for the return of my son. I'm going to pray for the return of my son. I'm going to pray for the return of my son. I'm going to pray for the return of my son. I'm going to pray for the return of my son. I'm going to pray for the

return of my son. I'm going to pray for the return of my son. I'm going to pray for the return of my son. I'm going to pray for the return of my son. I'm going to pray for the return of my son. I'm going to pray for the return of my son.

I'm going to pray for the return of my son. I'm going to pray for the return of my son. I'm going to pray for the return of my son. I'm going to pray for the return of my son. I'm going to pray for the return of my son. I'm going Friday, AJ friend's mother, Joanne Cunningham, tried to show photos of her little boy to the media. This is a small town where people walk their dogs literally around the clock. So most things don't go unseen like a child out by themselves. Detectives have searched nearly a thousand acres of land so far and have scanned the waters of Crystal Lake. As missing child posters hang on trees downtown, drones fly above. A community trying to figure out what happened to five-year-old A.J. Friend. You know, I'm just sick when I hear that. And to hear the

dad still so calm, I want to talk about how the body was found, where the body was found. But first, to Dr. Daniel Bober, a forensic psychiatrist joining us. I guess you're going to agree with Randy Kessler that the parent's demeanor is totally okay and expected and normal. You know, Nancy, it's suggestive, but it's not necessarily proof. It definitely seems very, very suspicious. And as Mr. Klass said, over 50% of the time when a child is murdered, it's the parents. And more often than not, actually in high-income areas. So I actually do agree with you. Right now, we are trying to make sense of the disappearance of little AJ,

but then this stunning revelation by Crystal Lake Police Chief James Black. It is with heavy heart that the Crystal Lake Police Department reports that we've located what we believe to be the body of Andrew AJ Friend later this morning or earlier this morning. During the overnight hours, investigators with the Crystal Lake Police Department and the FBI interviewed both the mother, Joanne Cunningham, and the father, Andrew Friend Sr., after information was obtained through a forensic analysis of cell phone data. Once presented with the evidence obtained by investigators, both Joanne and Andrew Sr. provided information that ultimately led to the recovery, what we believe is the recovery of deceased subject AJ.

Investigators located what they believe to be AJ's body, buried in a shallow grave wrapped in plastic, in a row area of Woodstock, Illinois. The McHenry County Coroner's Office is on scene with the FBI Evidence Recovery Unit right now as we speak. The cause of death is unknown at this time and will be determined at a later date by the McHenry County Coroner's Office. Straight out to Joseph Scott Morgan, forensics expert. Why don't they know the cause of death? Shouldn't it be obvious? They're taking their time with this case, Nancy. They're not going to release anything yet.

They want to go over everything with a fine-tooth comb. And let me go back to this. You know, who has the motivation to kill and bury a little kid, okay? And we have to look at intimates. I think, as Dr. Bober had mentioned just a few moments ago, we have to look at intimates, those individuals in that circle, and they want to make sure that they get everything right before they release this information. And new tonight, people here in Crystal Lake are being asked to take a closer look

at their home surveillance cameras starting last Monday around 7 a.m. all the way until last Thursday around 9, of course, the same day A.J. was reported missing. These women don't know Andrew Friend personally, but tonight they're wrapping ribbons for his return. THE SAME DAY A.J. WAS REPORTED MISSING. THESE WOMEN DON'T KNOW ANDREW FRIEND PERSONALLY, BUT TONIGHT THEY'RE WRAPPING RIBBONS FOR HIS RETURN. WE WANT THEM TO THINK ABOUT A.J. AND PRAY FOR WHATEVER OUTCOME, JUST MOST IMPORTANTLY THAT HE'S FOUND. FIRST AND FOREMOST, IT'S A KID. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO'S KID OR WHY OR WHEN OR WHAT OR HOW. IT'S A CHILD. A.J.'S MOTHER, JOANunningham, no longer cooperating with detectives. Her attorney says he advised her to stop talking. Once it became clear, Crystal Lake Police considered her a suspect.

Her attorney saying in a statement, Joanne is emotionally, mentally and physically fragile after five days with no sign of A.J. and no information as to the progress of the search for her son. In the last hours, the body of a five-year-old little boy has been found in a shallow grave, the body wrapped in plastic. That is not a random killing. With random killings, would you agree or disagree, Joe Scott Morgan, the molestation or the attack or the robbery occurs, the killing happens, and the perp tries to get away from the scene as quickly as possible. You don't secret the body out of the home and wrap it up,

take it to a remote area and bury it. All right. You don't have time. You're trying to get away from the crime scene, Joe Scott. Yeah, you're absolutely right. And so that's why this, what I refer to as cocooning of the body, where a body is wrapped, you take time to dig this hole out in this isolated area. Why do that? That shows to me that there is an intimacy, a connection to this. Even in death, they're trying to show some kind of respect for the body, which is really odd in this case.

If it was just one of these stranger on stranger type of events, those types of people just discard humans as if they're something other than human. That's not what we're looking at here, Nancy. To Randy Kessler, defense attorney, you have handled plenty of homicides. And I know you're not spouting statistics, but in your anecdotal memory, how often do random killers take the body away from the scene, stage a location, another secondary or tertiary crime scene, wrap the body in plastic, hermetically sealed,

and put the body in a shallow grave in a remote area? That's just not random, Randy. No, so that's a good point. I don't think the defense here would be random killer. This is absolutely intentional. The defense has to be, like you like to say, SOD. Some other dude did it. It can't, it's got to be, you've got to identify,

you've got to hold them to the burden of proof and prove that they actually are the ones that did it. But I agree with you. We cannot say this was random. It has to be that it was intentional, but intentional by somebody else. Prove that they did it or you can't get a conviction. Well, that's a very good point, Randy. And the other person, the SOD defense, as I always call it, some other dude did it. In this case, you've got this little boy who is being homeschooled. It's narrowing down who he comes in contact with. So pointing the finger at somebody, you can't point to a coach or a scout

leader, somebody at school, a teacher, the janitor at the school. That's not going to work because he is homeschooled. To Dr. Daniel Bober, what does it say to you that the child is wrapped up in plastic, almost like a mummy? You know, Nancy, it's interesting, you know, and Joe touched upon it. It's almost as if to say, yes, we did this, we did this horrible thing, but we're showing a degree of respect by putting his body in plastic. So I agree. It almost indicates that there must be a close connection there. I agree with Joe. Mark Klass, founder of Klass Kids Foundation.

I find it hard to put respect for the child in this scenario, especially now that we are learning defects. Department of Family and Children Services have been called on the home 17 times. That we know of. Nancy, I couldn't agree with you more. You don't respect in any way, shape or form somebody, a little tiny child who depends on you that you have just murdered. But there's a bigger point here that I really want to make. And I see this happen all the time that parents of missing children will hire on an attorney

and the attorney will start doing all of the talking for them and all of a sudden responsibility for recovering the child rests on the shoulders of somebody who had never met the child and somebody who has the parents best interest at heart as opposed to the child's best interest at heart. And for the last 25 years, I've told every parent that I've met who has a missing child to keep the attorneys out of it, that if you didn't do anything, you're not going to be arrested, you're not going to be charged, but you need to be up front because you were the best spokesperson that missing child could ever have. And they need you now more than they've ever needed you before.

Well, speaking of parents helping and not helping, take a listen to CBS2 Chicago, Charlie DeMar. Tonight, police returning to the Crystal Lake home of missing five-year-old Andrew A.J. Friend. Investigators carrying large evidence boxes inside, photographing the outside of the rundown house. Yes, absolutely. Earlier in the day, AJ's father, Andrew Friend, speaking for the first time since his son disappeared. If anybody knows anything about where Andrew Jr. is, please, please contact the Crystal Lake Police Department. Let's get him home. home while we were there investigators asked friend to talk at the police station you come with us right now I'm gonna go get a phone but friend declined apparently more concerned about his phone I have no phone I have no way of communicating if somebody's trying to get a hold of me I need to be able to receive calls AJ's mom Joanne Cunningham, standing by her newly retained defense attorney who indicated police may be looking at her as a suspect. Ms. Cunningham

doesn't know what happened to AJ and had nothing to do with the disappearance of AJ. AJ's parents reported him missing Thursday morning, last seen the previous night around 9 p.m. An all-out search of the neighborhood and nearby lake has come up empty. Dogs have only traced the boy's scent around the home, a sign he didn't walk away. AJ, please come home. We love you very much. You're not in any trouble. We're just worried. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Police reports and notes detailing the horrible conditions witnessed during police calls to the home before Andrew was reported missing. According to reports,

they showed up for everything from requests for orders of protection to a dog off the leash and a hacked cell phone. Here's some of what we found in those reports. Last September, someone told police the family was living without power and bad living conditions. When police arrived to check it out, they found grass two feet high. Joanne Cunningham wouldn't let them in, but later admitted she and the boys were living without power for some time. The latest visit, December. Police found dog feces and urine throughout the house, reporting it was cold and the windows were falling apart. The house, quote, cluttered, dirty, and in disrepair. But that's not all. An officer wrote, quote, in the room where the boys slept, the window was open and the smell of feces was overwhelming. And that one of the boys had, quote, a large bruise on his

right hip. He said their mom stated it must have been from the dog. The dog did it? The dog did it? A bruise on the boy's hip and the dog did it? You're hearing our friend at CBS2, Tara Molina, describing the interior of the home. And now we are learning defects who really are not worth the salt that goes in their bread, had been called to this home 17 times. And you know what? I remember trying cases and now reporting on cases, and I don't let myself think deeply about it. You know why? Because I can't stand it. I can't stand to think about it. Mark Klass, when I think about a five-year-old little child, like my children when they were age five, completely defenseless, living in a home

where they are systematically starved, beaten, nobody cleans up, there's dog feces and urine. You know, this past weekend, I went back to my hometown of Macon. You know, Mark, my mom lives with me now after my dad went to heaven. We went back and the water heater wasn't working and the heat wasn't working and there was a cold snap out of the blue for Easter. We had to take polar polar bear showers as I laughingly call them to the twins. They finally resorted to wet white baths. It was freezing cold, no heat, and I would just bundle up with the twins under the covers to try to stay warm because, you know,

she's here and the house is in Macon and for reason, the pilot went out on the gaslight, and I just could not make it light, and nobody would come out on Easter weekend, all right? And I'm thinking about this five-year-old little boy and the little brother. Seventeen times, defects has been called, Mark Klass. They're living in an ice-cold house, freezing water, with feces and urine on the floor. The window opened, but even worse, the boys covered in bruises. And D-Fax leaves them there. Mark Klass leaves them there. A five-year-old to get tortured every day. Well, Nancy, they were living in a torture chamber

and they were living in squalor. They were living with two parents who couldn't have cared less about them, who may even have been sadistic in their approaches to raising their children. And quite frankly, little AJ has escaped that lifestyle and he will never be hurt again. And I would say the same for his little brother. He's been removed from that family and he now has an opportunity to grow up into a productive citizen. But nobody, no human being should ever have to live in squalor. Just thinking about a five-year-old little child and the little brother who don't know anything different than a life of pain, starvation, being beaten and yelled at every day. That's what their life is. You know, I was just thinking, Randy Kessler, you know my twins very well. This morning when I was trying to, I had made them

fruit smoothies last night, put them in the fridge and a cheese toast to eat on the way to school. And I was just so beside myself that they didn't finish their smoothie and their cheese toast. That was my big concern. Okay. And I'm just thinking about all the moms and dads that I know, or at least I think I know them, care so much. And I think about these little children getting treated like this every day. What does it mean when I say defects has been called on them at least 17 times? Explain what that means. Well, defects, you know, look, and not to defend defects, I'm not their lawyers, but they are overworked and underpaid. And society doesn't realize how we need to have better, more, better funding for defects.

These are the people charged with protecting children from the families they live with. And who wants to do that kind of job? People that have good souls usually are the ones who apply for it, but they just don't have the time or resources. What that means, Nancy, is the state defects D-Fax, has been sent out numerous times because somebody was brave enough to say there's a problem in this house, and one or two times should be enough. But if they've gone 17 times, you know, there are cliches for a reason. When there's smoke, there's fire. Well, there was a ton, a ton, a ton of smoke there, and it's just a shame that D-Fax didn't take the children out and protect them from this situation.

Well, I think they should all be fired, and I think they should be facing criminal charges for knowingly leaving a child in a home where they're not getting fed, they're being beaten, there's feces and urine everywhere, it's freezing cold, and that is the tip of the iceberg. The tip of the iceberg. The tip of the iceberg. When right now there is growing anger, growing anger, protests over why this five-year-old little boy was left with parents in the first place in a filthy home. We know that his lawyer father, lawyer father, his dad, a lawyer, had his license revoked for a cocaine abuse conviction. Okay. His dad is a lawyer. Don't tell me that he can't make a living and afford to take care of his family. Even if he's disbarred, he can work in another capacity.

But no, and this is what it has boiled down to. John Limley, it's my understanding a mattress was taken out of the home, a shovel was taken out of the home. That's not good, John. No, a lot of evidence was removed from that home in the hours after the investigation began. Also removed from the home the very first day of the investigation was A.J.'s younger brother as well.

And talking of A.J.'s timeline and his short life, it was a tragic life to be so short. Misery and mistreatment. Much of it told in vivid detail, not only in those defects records, but also in 60 pages of police reports. AJ, this is a staggering fact, was actually born with opioids in his system. He was taken into protective custody by D-Fax less than a month after he was born, and he spent the first seven months of his life in a foster home before he was finally returned to his mother, Joanne Cunningham. You know, it just breaks my heart. It breaks my heart to you, Mark Klass. you know better than anyone, having devoted your life to saving children, finding children, what this child lived through, the hell he and his little brother endured.

And now, Mark, I'm looking at video pictures of his little body wrapped in plastic, being loaded into a minivan to take to the morgue for processing. I'm almost speechless at this point, Nancy, because that little boy deserved a good life and his parents should have provided it. You know, it's been said many times, you need a license to fish, you need a license to drive, but you don't need a license to have children. And some people just shouldn't have children. His mother is seven months pregnant right now, I understand. It defies logic as to why somebody would keep having babies when they don't even

like them. And now, now, his body's being processed at the morgue. We wait as justice unfolds. Crime Stories, Nancy Grace, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.