JoAnn Cunningham pleaded guilty to killing her little boy A.J. Freund. On April 15, 2019, Cunningham claimed she put her five-year-old son A.J. to bed the night before and the next morning, he was gone. For days, police, family, friends and even strangers searched for A.J., but it was all a lie. Prosecutors say the Crystal Lake woman had actually beaten A.J. to death days earlier. His body was discovered a week later buried in a shallow grave seven miles away from his home. A.J.'s father Andrew Freund later told investigators Cunningham hit the boy and forced him into a cold shower before putting him to bed. He said the next morning, the couple found A.J. dead and Freund later buried him.