McHenry Times

The home where the life of 5-year-old Andrew "AJ" Freund Jr. was taken is gone, demolished last year. His parents, who pled guilty to beating the young boy to death, are behind bars, where they will remain for decades to come. 

The wound in the community, however, still bleeds to this day. State Sen. Donald DeWitte (R—West Dundee) spoke in a video posted on YouTube last week by the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus titled 'Remembering AJ Freund.'

"[AJ's] senseless death at the violent, cruel hands of his parents is a reminder to all of us the fragility of life and the responsibility to take care of our youth," DeWitte, wearing blue in honor of AJ and National Child Abuse Prevention Month, said in the video posted on April 15. "Blue was AJ's favorite color and today I wear blue in tribute to little AJ and a life that was tragically cut way too short."

According to his obituary, the 5-year-old was a loving, affectionate and outgoing boy, who enjoyed books, puzzles and his siblings. AJ was placed in the foster care system at birth due to the presence of drugs in his system, but his parents eventually regained custody. He was beaten to death on April 15, 2019, at his mother's home in Crystal Lake. 

In the immediate days after his murder and on what would have been his sixth birthday, the entire Crystal Lake community mourned the young boy's death, placing memorials on the doorstep of his home, at the gates of the site where his body was found and on his grave. 

AJ's parents, JoAnn Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr., were charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery and multiple other charges. Their bail had been set at $5 million each. 

Chicago Tribune reported that Cunningham "showed no outward reaction" in learning that she would serve 35 years for murdering her son. The Tribune said the community, including the McHenry County State Attorney and AJ's family, felt her sentence was not enough justice for the child's murder. 

“We know that whatever the punishment, it will not ease the loss and pain we feel,” the family’s statement said according to the Tribune. “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.”