Dad waives jury trial in beating death of AJ Freund. Sentencing date set for AJ's mom.
Andrew Freund Sr., accused in the beating death of his 5-year-old son, waived his right to a jury trial Thursday and asked to have his case decided solely by a judge.
Also on Thursday, a judge set April 30 as the date for the child's mother, JoAnn Cunningham, to be sentenced after she pleaded guilty in December to murdering AJ Freund in their Crystal Lake home. The boy was found buried in a shallow grave days after his parents reported him missing.
Freund and Cunningham appeared in back-to-back hearings Thursday in McHenry County Circuit Court.
Court-appointed defense attorney Henry Sugden told Judge Robert Wilbrandt that Freund Sr., 61, wanted to waive a jury trial.
"Is this what you want to do?" Wilbrandt asked Freund, a former attorney. "Yes," Freund replied.
Freund Sr., is charged with three counts of first degree murder and several other felonies involving AJ's death, which occurred between April 15 and 17.
After the hearing, Sugden said a jury trial would have to have been held outside of McHenry County because of widespread publicity. He said issues in the case are legal, not factual, but did not elaborate.
"The issue in this case is not for a jury," he said. "The issue is for a judge."
Wilbrandt set April 24 as a trial status date for Freund.
In a separate hearing, the judge scheduled sentencing for Cunningham, 36, who pleaded guilty to one count of first degree murder in a deal with prosecutors in which several other charges were dropped.
She faces up to 60 years in prison and will have to serve the full sentence without the possibility of parole. A status date was set for March 19.
AJ's body was discovered on April 24, six days after he was reported missing. Freund Sr. and Cunningham were taken into custody and have remained in the McHenry County Jail on $5 million bail each.
According to court records, Freund blamed Cunningham for AJ's death. He told investigators Cunningham beat AJ on the head after forcing him to endure a 20-minute cold shower as punishment for hiding underwear he had soiled.
Also Thursday, prosecutors' motions in both cases for orders to keep Freund's medical records for treatment at the Mathers Clinic in Elgin out of the public record were granted.