The Illinois mother of a 5-year-old boy who was killed last year was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Friday.
JoAnn Cunningham, dressed in orange prison clothes and a face mask, appeared in a McHenry County courthouse for the second day of her sentencing hearing. Her son Andrew Freund, Jr., was killed in April 2019 after she was beaten and left in a cold shower, according to a criminal complaint.
The boy’s father, Andrew Freund, Sr., reported him missing from his home in the Chicago suburbs before the boy’s body was found buried in a shallow grave about 20 minutes away in Woodstock.
His cause of death was declared as traumatic brain injury as a consequence of multiple forceful injuries.
Judge Robert Wilbrandt said evidence shows that Cunningham repeatedly hit his son on the head with a metal sprayer, pulled him out of the shower while he was still alive, and then locked him up alone in his room.
“AJ tragically died from the aftermath of blunt force trauma,” the judge said. “It was a horrible death preceded by a horrible life.”
Following his prison sentence, Cunningham will serve an additional three years of mandatory supervised release.
Cunningham, 37, and Freund, 61, initially pleaded not guilty to their son’s death after a grand jury charged them with 20 counts each, which included three counts of murder and one count of concealing one death.
In December, Cunningham pleaded guilty to first-degree murder as part of a settlement that dropped all other charges. She faced up to a maximum of 60 years in prison. Freund has not changed her statement and is awaiting trial.
During the sentence, Cunningham cried while reading a letter to the court.
“I had the privilege of having AJ as a son. When I did, it was one of the happiest days of my life. I love him. I miss him. There is nothing I would not do to bring him back.” said in a video posted by NBC Chicago.
Cunningham went on to say that there is “great sorrow in my heart.”
“I will never be able to justify anything, nor do I want to. Because of my negligence, my weaknesses and failures created a series of problems for me,” he said. “I would give my life to get AJ back. This is something that I will never escape and that will impact me forever for my horrendous choices. I cannot change the decisions of my past. I ask you to help me put the million scattered pieces of my heart back together. I need love, no more pain. “
Freund took police to his son’s body after they confronted him with a video showing Andrew with bruises on his body, according to court records. In the images, a woman believed to be Cunningham is seen scolding the boy for urinating in bed.
A coroner testified during the sentencing hearing that Andrew suffered rib fractures and severe inflammation of his brain before his death, reports NBC Chicago. Prosecutors also spoke about past incidents of abuse.
JoEllen Channon, an emergency room doctor, told the courtroom that during a conversation with Andrew months before his death, he said he had been hit with a belt.
“Did I ask him if he had been whipped or beaten? He said yes. I asked him with what? Said a belt, “she said, according to the media.” I asked him who did it. She said there was no one in my family, but then she offered, maybe Mom didn’t want to hurt me. “
