Sentencing Date Set For AJ's Mom

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL — JoAnn Cunningham will hear her fate on April 30 during a sentencing hearing in McHenry County. The sentencing will come nearly a year after her and Andrew Freund Sr., 60, were arrested on April 24, 2019, in connection with the brutal beating death of their son, AJ Freund, 5.

Meanwhile, a judge is still expected to decide whether Freund is guilty of AJ's murder. Authorities believe the 5-year-old died inside his home at 94 Dole Avenue at some point during the early morning hours of April 15, according to media reports and court documents.

On Thursday, Cunningham appeared for a brief hearing in McHenry County where a judge set her sentencing date. Cunningham pleaded guilty in December and now faces between 20 and 60 years in prison and would not be eligible for parole.

• New Details Released Following Cunningham's Guilty Plea

Freund also appeared briefly in court on Thursday where he waived his right to a jury trial, which means a judge will decide whether he is guilty or not guilty of first-degree murder. McHenry County State's Attorney Patrick Kenneally told Patch no plea deal is has been reached in the case as of Thursday.

"Whether it proceeds to trial, too early to say," he wrote in an email response.

AJ Freund was first reported missing by his father on April 18. Authorities launched a wide-scale search for the 5-year-old boy and the Crystal Lake community came together to try and find him.

Days later, Freund, a former Crystal Lake lawyer, confessed and led authorities to AJ's body, which he is accused of burying near Woodstock.

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