Parents of murdered Crystal Lake boy due in court
CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - A custody hearing is scheduled Monday morning for the younger brother of a murdered Crystal Lake boy.
The parents of 5-year-old Andrew “AJ” Freund are both in jail, charged with their son's murder.
At issue is the care of AJ's 4-year-old brother, who is currently in the custody of his cousin.
Andrew Freund Sr. and JoAnn Cunningham are charged with murder in AJ's death, and being held on $5 million bond each.
Cunningham and Freund Sr. reported their son missing on the morning of April 18, claiming they’d last seen him while putting him to bed the night before, police said.
Local law enforcement agencies and the FBI spent the next week searching the area for Andrew until Freund provided information early Wednesday that led them to the boy’s body, which was wrapped in plastic in a shallow grave in nearby Woodstock, Crystal Lake Police Chief James Black said.
AJ died from injuries to his skull and brain as a consequence of multiple blunt force trauma, according to a statement from the McHenry County coroner.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.