CHICAGO _ A McHenry County judge sentenced the mother of AJ Freund to 35 years in prison Friday for the murder of her 5-year-old son, whose violent death left a community heartbroken and exposed failings in Illinois' child welfare system.
JoAnn Cunningham, 37, faced between 20 and 60 years in prison under a plea agreement. Judge Robert Wilbrandt told the Crystal Lake woman her actions were "inhumane, repulsive and, frankly, shocking." He said she lied, cheated and manipulated her way through life while "terrorizing her small son."
"Ms. Cunningham was responsible for that life and now she must be responsible for his death," the judge said.
Earlier in his nearly 15-minute speech, the judge said of AJ's murder, "It was a horrible death, preceded by a horrible life."
As Cunningham heads to prison, where she is required to serve 100% of her sentence, the fate of AJ's father remains unknown. Drew Freund, 61, also charged with first-degree murder, has pleaded not guilty. He is due in court at the end of the month.
In a prepared statement, the slain child's family said it was "disappointed and saddened" by the judge's decision not to give Cunningham the maximum sentence of 60 years.
"We know that whatever the punishment, it will not ease the loss and pain we feel," the statement said. "AJ was an innocent, precious little boy whose life was taken from him after he endured, what we now know, was much pain and suffering. We had expected JoAnn would pay for that by spending her natural life in prison."
Relatives also thanked community members for "their continued caring and support for AJ and helping to keep our little superhero's spirit alive."
Cunningham pleaded guilty to first-degree murder late last year, but she never described what happened the day AJ was fatally beaten. Freund blamed Cunningham for the fatal injuries and said that he had been trying to convince her to instead give the boy cold showers as a less severe form of corporal punishment for lying, according to court records.
On April 14, 2019, Freund later told authorities, Cunningham engaged in "some hitting" and the boy was placed in a cold shower until he would admit the truth about hiding his soiled underwear. Freund described watching Cunningham question AJ in the shower as "she was like taking the spray nozzle thing and putting it like right in his face. Sometimes lose his balance and fall in the tub," the records said.
Cunningham awoke Freund at 3 a.m. April 15, 2019, to tell him AJ, who had been sent to bed earlier, was not breathing. The couple searched for information on child CPR on Freund's phone and, after realizing AJ was dead, Freund told Cunningham he would "handle it," placing AJ's body in a plastic tote in the basement and burying him days later.
Freund called 911 early April 18, 2019, to report AJ missing. After a frantic six-day search, his battered remains were unearthed from a shallow grave about 7 miles from his home in Woodstock.
On Thursday, during Cunningham's sentencing hearing, a forensic pathologist who conducted AJ's autopsy described fatal head injuries and cuts and bruises across his entire body and limbs. The child inhaled his own blood before his painful death and had small, circular marks on his forehead consistent with the pattern of a detachable shower head.
"It's a pretty bad case," testified Dr. Mark Witeck, who estimated he has conducted some 7,000 autopsies throughout his career. "Not the worse one I've seen but very bad."
Cunningham was known to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services long before AJ's fatal beating.
A 2019 Tribune review of her troubled history found evidence of 10 hotline calls since 2012 regarding her care of children _ including her firstborn son and a foster son she raised for a short time _ from police, hospital staff, neighbors and even her own mother. Four of the 10 calls were before AJ was born.
In trying to explain her actions toward AJ, Cunningham told the judge on Thursday that being a mother "defines me" but that she lost her way after difficulties in life and turned to drugs, eventually becoming "a total stranger in my own mirror."
A licensed clinical psychologist diagnosed her with "significant personality dysfunction," including anti-social and narcissistic traits, as well as depression and anxiety disorders. He said Cunningham had "extreme emotional and impulse control" issues. Her inability to cope with a difficult life and drug abuse fueled her behavior, he said.
Besides AJ, Cunningham has two other sons, 20 and 5, and a nearly 14-month-old daughter.
"I've always felt abandoned, unloved, insignificant, forgotten and rejected," Cunningham told the judge on Thursday. "I've been mentally and physically abused, all without a single moment of encouragement, which slowly drained my heart of joy and peace."
She tearfully described herself as someone who was viewed as a throwaway in society or an outcast, spending her life on "autopilot, hanging on by a thread."
"Nobody will ever understand unless they've walked in my shoes or know the torment I've suffered," she said. "And I will try to rise above human scorn and judgment. I never thought of my own well-being and even if I did, I couldn't help myself. I was mentally unavailable even to myself. Unfortunately, I managed to dispel my anxiety, depression and pain with drugs."
Drugs were a Band-Aid, she said, something to take "my pain away."
Of the son she murdered, stopping short of apologizing, Cunningham said she loves and misses him. The mother said she is working to be a better person.
"I want my children to be proud of me," she said.
