Andrew Freund is not the father of baby born to AJ's mom in jail
Andrew Freund is not the biological father of the baby born to JoAnn Cunningham while she was in jail on charges of killing their 5-year old son, AJ, it was revealed in court Monday.
Results of a paternity test showed the father of the baby girl is a 37-year-old Crystal Lake man who lived at Freund and Cunningham's home for a time.
The man is receiving drug treatment and did not attend the brief hearing Monday before McHenry County family court Judge Christopher Harmon. What happens next regarding his involvement with his daughter, who was born May 31, is far from being determined, and his intentions were not discussed Monday.
"There's a lot of due process involved and steps you have to take" in these cases, said James D. Wallis, the county's court administrator. "It's complicated."
Freund, 60, and Cunningham, 36, remain jailed on $5 million bail on first-degree murder and other charges stemming from AJ's death. They appeared in court together Monday but did not interact.
A representative from the Department of Children and Family Services, the court-appointed guardian for AJ's younger brother, a representative from the Court Appointed Special Advocate of McHenry County, and public defenders representing Freund, Cunningham and Nowicki also attended.
A report involving circumstances at the Crystal Lake home when AJ's brother was taken into state custody also was submitted to the court and will be given to prosecutors by Aug. 27. But nothing about its contents were revealed and little else was said as Harmon continued the matters to Sept. 9 for status.
Andrew Freud is the biological father of AJ's younger brother, and prosecutors are trying to terminate his and Cunningham's parental rights to the boy. Cunningham had been seeking to regain custody of the boy before she and Freund were arrested April 24.
Harmon said Freund did not need to appear in court for future proceedings involving the baby girl.
The girl's father has nine criminal convictions since 2000, according to court records. Most recently, he was sentenced to 24 months of probation on charges of aggravated battery last Dec. 18 involving a security guard and two nurses at Northwestern Medicine Woodstock. Probation was revoked in June after he tested positive for cocaine, according to court records.
Authorities have said AJ died after being hit multiple times on the head April 15, three days before his father called 911 to report him missing. The parents also are charged with aggravated battery, domestic battery and failure to report a missing child or child death.
Freund, who also is charged with concealment of a death, led authorities to a shallow grave in a semirural area outside Woodstock where AJ's body, wrapped in plastic, was recovered.