A couple charged with murdering their five-year-old son AJ Freund have appeared in court today for a brief hearing, as it's revealed their home is in foreclosure.
JoAnn Cunningham, 36, seemed dazed and barely able to answer questions posed by a judge during her two minute hearing at the courthouse in Woodstock, Illinois.
Cunningham said the home she shares with AJ's father Andrew Freund, 60, is in foreclosure, as previous reports describe the home covered in feces and smelling like dog urine.
The couple both face five counts of murder and other charges that could put them behind bars for life if they are found guilty in the death of their son.
The little boy's body was discovered buried in a shallow grave in a field last week, as it's revealed he had chillingly told a hospital ER doctor 'maybe mommy didn't mean to hurt me,' four months before his death.
Parents Andrew Freund (left) and JoAnn Cunningham, appeared for in court fort a hearing on Monday over the death of their five-year-old son AJ Freund
The little boy's body was discovered last week buried in a field as it's revealed he had chillingly told a hospital ER doctor 'maybe mommy didn't mean to hurt me,' four months before his death
Cunningham said the home (pictured) she shares with Andrew Freund, 60, is in foreclosure, as they both face five counts of murder and other charges that would put them behind bars for life if they are found guilty in the death of their son AJ
But despite that vivid warning and 27 visits to the family home by the social workers — 18 of them unannounced — AJ, who was born with opioids in his system, still ended up dead.
Both Cunningham and Freund wore orange jumpsuits when they appeared separately. Freund was shackled at the wrists for his hearing but his girlfriend was not.
Both applied for a public defender to be appointed to represent them, although Freund said he was trying to arrange for his own attorney.
The hearings lasted less than two minutes. Judge Robert Wilbrandt remanded then until their preliminary hearings which he set for May 10.
AJ's discussion with the unidentified doctor four months ago is set out in a timeline of events drawn up by DCFS and obtained by DailyMail.com.
He also told the doctor: 'Maybe someone hit me with a belt.'
Amazingly the DCFS reports that Cunningham was herself a licensed foster parent used by the department.
It states that she had two complaints brought against her before AJ's birth, one for inadequate supervision and the other for 'risk of harm and environmental neglect.' Both complaints were dismissed.
The department got a call on its hotline on December 18 last year alleging 'environmental neglect' affecting both AJ and his four-year-old brother.
Despite vivid warnings and 27 visits to the family home by the social workers — 18 of them unannounced — AJ, who was born with opioids in his system, still ended up dead
The caller said AJ — whom the report refers to by his given name, Andrew — was covered in 'cuts, welts and bruises.'
Two case workers have been taken off all hands-on work pending an internal investigation into the tragedy by the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS).
Cops went to the dilapidated home in Crystal Lake, Illinois, that she shared with the much-older father of two of her three children, the report says. She is now seven-months pregnant with her fourth child.
'Police observed a large bruise on Andrew's hip,' it states. 'Police observed the ceiling falling down, the floor torn up, and the kids' bedroom smelled of dog urine.'
Cunningham was then arrested — not for harming the children, but for driving on a suspended license — and the two boys were temporarily placed in protective custody.
That same day the brothers were interviewed at Crystal Lake police station. AJ said he got the bruise when the family dog — a 60 lb. boxer called Lucy — pawed him.
When Freund arrived at the police station to bond out his girlfriend, she was allowed to leave with the children on condition that she take AJ to the ER.
'Maybe someone hit me with a belt. Maybe mommy didn't mean to hurt me.' A hospital ER doctor heard those chilling words just four months ago from the mouth of AJ, the five-year-old boy whose body was discovered buried in an Illinois field
'ER physician examined Andrew and could not state how his injury was caused,' the report states. 'The doctor reported injury could have been caused by a dog, belt or football.
'The doctor was concerned because Andrew stated that 'maybe someone hit me with a belt. Maybe mommy didn't mean to hurt me.'
The following day a DCFS investigator made the last unannounced visit to the home on Dole Avenue in Crystal Lake, 45 miles northwest of Chicago. 'The living room and dining room were cluttered with clothes
