Thursday, May 30th:
*Custody Hearing for both (@ 10am CT) – IL – Andrew “AJ” Freund, Jr. (5) (reported missing April 17, 2018, Crystal Lake; found buried in shallow grave on April 24, 2019, near Woodstock) –
*Andrew T. Freund, Sr. (60) “father” arrested (4/24/19), charged (4/25/19), indicted (5/9/19) & arraigned (5/10/19) with 5 counts of 1st degree murder, 3 counts of aggravated battery, 1 count of aggravated domestic battery, 1 count of failure to report death of child, 1 count of concealing a homicidal death (burying body), 1 count concealing death of a person, 1 count of circumstance of endangerment/death, 1 count abuse of corpse, 1 count of destroying evidence, 1 count of false info to LE, 2 counts of aggravated battery to child, 1 count of reckless conduct/great bodily harm, 1 count of unlawful restraint & 1 count of causing child to be endangered. Plead not guilty. $5M bond.
*JoAnn D. Cunningham (35) “mom” arrested (4/24/19), charged (4/25/19), indicted (5/9/19) & arraigned (5/10/19) with 5 counts of 1st degree murder, 4 counts of aggravated battery of child, 2 count of aggravated domestic battery, 2 counts of concealment of homicidal death, 1 count of failure to report death of child, 1 count of abuse of corpse, 1 count of obstruction of justice, 2 counts of unlawful restraint, 1 count of circumstance of endangerment/death & 1 count of causing child to be endangered. Plead not guilty. $5M bond.
4/25/19: Bond hearing. Arraignment hearing for both on 4/29.
4/29/19 Update: Officially charged with charges listed above. No pleas entered by either one. JC appointed public defender, AF will find his own attorney. Status hearing on 5/3 for Freund with attorney & both back for Preliminary hearing on 5/10 & expected to enter pleas. Also a custody hearing where the state ordered a paternity test to prove Freund, Sr. is the father of the 4yo. May 30th at 10am is the next custody hearing & there is a no contact order for Freund, Sr. & Cunningham to see the child. Representatives with the McHenry County State's Attorney's Office also filed a petition seeking to terminate Freund & Cunningham's parental rights.
5/3/19 Update: Judge appoints Special Public Defender for Freund. Next preliminary hearing on 5/10 for both.
5/10/19 Update: Indictment & charged Freund Sr. & Cunningham with 1st degree murder, aggravated battery and endangering the life a child on Thursday. Additional charges of unlawful restraint, abuse of a corpse, obstructing justice & aggravated domestic battery; both accused of recklessly & repeatedly striking AJ & detaining him by placing him in "time outs" for periods of multiple hours or longer on or between Sept. 20, 2018, and April 17, 2019, according to the grand jury indictment. Additional battery charges filed in the indictment stem from an incident on March 4 where AJ was struck, causing bodily harm to the boy. Three counts of first-degree murder, carry a potential life imprisonment sentence. Cunningham & Freund also face charges of aggravated battery, unlawful restraint & endangering the health of a child in connection with AJ's death, which allegedly occurred on or between April 15 and April 17. Freund is accused of allegedly burying AJ's body. Both are charged with failure to report a missing child or child's death for not reporting AJ's death to law enforcement within 24 hours after he died, according to court records. They are also charged with concealment of a death for knowingly moving the body of a dead person "with the intent of concealing information regarding the place or manner of death," and with abuse of a corpse for removing or carrying AJ's body even though they were "not authorized by law to do so.". Also Obstruction of justice charges. Next Status & Motions hearing on 6/18 @ 9am.
I shall shortening this up a bit after I post.