Walk to honor what would have been AJ Freund's sixth birthday
A public walk to commemorate what would have been AJ Freund's sixth birthday is planned for Sunday at Depot Park on Woodstock Street next to the Metra station in downtown Crystal Lake.
There will be a moment of silence at 12:15 p.m., with the walk to follow at 12:20 p.m., according to organizers. The peaceful walk will be approximately three miles on sidewalks and last about an hour.
The route will pass the Crystal Lake police station where marchers are expected to thank the department for its service, continue past AJ's vacant house at 94 Dole Ave. for reflection, then return to Depot Park where there will be a simple activity "to honor, remember and celebrate" what would have been AJ's birthday, organizers said.
His parents, Andrew Freund, 60, and JoAnn Cunningham, 36, are charged with killing AJ on April 15 after he was forced to endure a cold shower. His body was recovered on April 24 from a shallow grave near Woodstock, six days after his parents reported him missing from their Crystal Lake house.