JoAnn Cunningham Claims Demon Possession In Son AJ's Slaying

MCHENRY COUNTY, IL — JoAnn Cunningham is seeking post-conviction relief and says she was suffering from postpartum psychosis or depression and believed that her son, AJ Freund, 5, was possessed when she brutally beat him to death in 2019.

Cunningham, 39, is currently serving a 35-year sentence after she was convicted last year in AJ's 2019 murder. In a recent petition filed by Cunningham in McHenry County Circuit Court, she wrote she believed she was also possessed by demons and asked a priest, chaplain and AJ's father, Andrew Freund, for an exorcism, according to Shaw Media.

Andrew Freund, who pleaded guilty to aggravated battery to a child, involuntary manslaughter and concealment of a homicidal death, is serving a 30-year sentence.

Cunningham also wrote in her post-conviction petition that several other constitutional rights were violated during her arrest and trial, stating that she was not represented "properly," no one testified on her behalf and she wasn't read her Miranda rights.

More via Shaw Media

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