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JoAnn Cunningham transferred to downstate prison to serve her 35-year sentence

JoAnn Cunningham has been sent to a downstate Illinois prison to serve her 35-year sentence for the murder of her 5-year-old Crystal Lake son, AJ Freund. Cunningham, 37, formerly of Crystal Lake, was transferred to Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln on Tuesday, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. Records show she is expected to […]

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Attorney for AJ Freund’s father in ‘serious’ negotiations with prosecutors

The attorney representing Andrew Freund in the murder of his 5-year-old son said that they are in ‘serious’ negotiations with prosecutors, hinting that a plea deal might be coming. Andrew T. Freund Sr. appeared briefly Thursday morning in a McHenry County courtroom for a trial date status hearing. Freund’s attorney, Special Public Defender Henry Sugden, […]

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‘We are disappointed in the ruling,’ family of AJ Freund says in statement after Cunningham sentenced

AJ Freund’s family said that they are “disappointed and saddened” that a judge sentenced JoAnn Cunningham to only 35 years in prison for murdering the young boy. “We, the family of our beloved Andrew (AJ), are disappointed and saddened by the ruling of the Judge,” AJ Freund’s family, besides his parents, said in a statement […]

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‘I am a child of god,’ JoAnn Cunningham says at her sentencing hearing for the murder of AJ Freund

JoAnn Cunningham gave a tearful statement during her sentencing hearing in the murder of her son, AJ Freund, and said that she is a “child of God” and asked forgiveness. Her sentencing hearing began on Thursday with McHenry County Judge Robert Wilbrandt presiding over the case. Cunningham, 37, of Crystal Lake, pleaded guilty in December […]

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Prosecutors looking into charges against DCFS supervisor in AJ Freund case

Prosecutors are looking into filing charges against a DCFS supervisor for his handling in the case of 5-year-old Crystal Lake boy Andrew Freund Jr., who was murdered in 2019. The Northwest Herald obtained a search warrant affidavit filed on May 7 by McHenry County State’s Attorney investigator Robert Diviacchi. The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office […]