Photo: ABC; Crystal Lake Police Department
“I want us home together,” A.J.’s mother, JoAnne Cunningham, who is reportedly 7 months pregnant,tearfully told ABC Newslast weekend. “I just want my kids. … My kids are my life. They’re my kids.”
Illinois prosecutors said in court Thursday that the boy’s parentsallegedly killed and buried A.J. three days beforereporting him missing last Thursday, CBS Chicago reports.
A.J.’s body was found Wednesday buried in a shallow grave and wrapped in plastic in Woodstock, about seven miles away from his home in Crystal Lake. His parents were arrested on Wednesday.
Last Saturday, hours before Freund and Cunningham attended a prayer vigil for their son, Freund talked to local reporters.
“A.J., please come home,” the father said, theLake and McHenry County Scannerreports. “We love you very much. You’re not in any trouble. We’re just worried to death. Please, please come home.”
Andrew Freund, Sr. of Crystal Lake, Illinois, talking to the media Friday.ABC
On Sunday morning, Freund told local station ABC7he was working with police but also looking for his son himself.
“We are all just doing everything that we can at this point,” he told the station.
‘Analysis of Cell Phone Data’ Helped Crack Case
Crystal Lake Police Chief James Black said at a press conference that authorities obtained “forensic analysis of cell phone data,” and that when confronted with that evidence, both parents “provided information that ultimately led to the recovery” of A.J.’s body.
Freund and Cunningham face a slew of charges including first-degree murder, aggravated battery and failure to report a child missing, Black said.
JoAnne Cunningham of Crystal Lake, Illinois.Crystal Lake Police Department
On Thursday, they appeared in court where bond was set at $5 million each, ABC7 reports.
Shocking details of the torment and abuse the child allegedly endured are beginning to emerge. At Thursday’s bond hearing, prosecutors alleged that Freund and Cunningham forced the childto take a cold shower for an extended periodof time and beat him before he died, ABC 7 and theChicago Tribunereport.
An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday to determine the child’s cause of death.
Cunningham and Freund will return to court on April 29 when they are arraigned.
Andrew Freund, Sr., of Crystal Lake, Illinois.
“A.J. is no longer suffering and his killers have been brought to justice,” Black said at the press conference.
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage?Click hereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
Cunningham’s attorney did not immediately respond to calls for comment.
It was not immediately clear if Freund has retained an attorney.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Crystal Lake Police Department at 815-356-3620.
source: people.com
