Episode 123: AJ Freund (Mega Episode)

Suffer the Little Children

Suffer the Little Children Pod

True Crime, Social Sciences, Science, Society & Culture

4.6 • 937 Ratings

🗓️ 17 August 2022

⏱️ 162 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On April 18, 2019, JoAnn Cunningham and Drew Freund called 911 to report their 5-year-old son, AJ, missing from the family’s home in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Days later, police discovered AJ’s battered body in a shallow grave, and both JoAnn and Drew were charged with the murder of their little boy.

I’ve told AJ’s story in parts over the course of two regular episodes, a few update episodes, and multiple posts on Suffer the Little Children Blog. AJ was the first child I ever featured on both the blog and the podcast, and he holds a special place in my heart. Because I covered his story over two years ago and in such a fragmented way, in this episode, I’m pulling it all together into one “mega episode” comprising all of my previous coverage about AJ as well as any updates I’ve found that I haven’t yet covered. Some of it is newly recorded, but most of it is compiled from past episodes, making it easier to get the full picture of AJ’s story all in one place.

This is the tragic story of AJ Freund.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Oh, he's cute. Mr. I can never sleep when I'm traveling. He's hugging his pillow like a sloth on a branch.
0:10.0	He couldn't sleep before. Now listen to him. Sounds like an elephant with a chest infection.
0:15.0	Well, they call him a dreamer. And now they're right.
0:19.0	All aboard, Mr. I can never sleep when I'm travelling find all the comfort you need in the quiet
0:25.5	lounge Piando ferries that is another way this podcast contains descriptions
0:31.8	of violence against children and adult language and is not suitable for all audiences.
0:37.0	Listen or discretion is advised. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Hi everyone and welcome to suffer the little children the the True Crime Podcast, giving voices back to the victims of child abuse, and shining a harsh spotlight on the parents, guardians and caretakers who silenced them.
1:31.0	I'm your host, Lane Lane and this is episode one
1:34.5	23 the A.J. Frund mega episode. On April 18th 2019 Joanne Cunningham and
1:42.1	Drew Frnd called 911 to report their five-year-old son,
1:45.7	A.J. missing from the family's home in Crystal Lake, Illinois.
1:50.3	Days later, police discovered A.J.'s battered body in a shallow grave, and both Joanne and Drew were charged with the murder of their little boy.
1:58.0	I've told A.J. story in parts over the course of two regular episodes, a few update episodes, and multiple
2:05.0	posts on Suffer the Little Children blog. A.J. was the first child I ever featured on both
2:10.5	the blog and the podcast, and he holds a special place in my heart.
2:14.0	Because I covered this story over two years ago and in such a fragmented way,
2:19.0	in this episode I'm putting it all together into one mega episode
2:22.0	comprising all of my previous coverage about
2:24.7	AJ, as well as any updates I've found that I haven't yet covered.
2:29.2	Some of it is newly recorded, but most of it is compiled from past episodes making it easier to get the
2:34.3	full picture of AJ's story all in one place. This is the tragic story of AJ friend.
2:41.5	I'd like to thank my newest patrons, starting with one whose name I somehow got wrong in her
	...

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