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A judge Thursday set a $ 5 million bail for each parent accused of killing his five-year-old son, "Andrew" AJ "Freund, and having him buried in a shallow grave in a rural area near Woodstock.
Andrew Freund and JoAnn Cunningham briefly appeared in court Thursday morning at McHenry County Jail, where prosecutors read aloud the details of the charges against the two men on Wednesday.
Prosecutors said AJ was forced to take a cold shower for an extended period of time and was beaten several times, resulting in her death. It was not known immediately what role each parent would have played in the child's death.
Judge Mark Gerhardt determined the link. Prosecutors requested that the bond be set at $ 10 million per parent. Everyone should be paying just over $ 500,000 to be released from prison.
In the event of release, parents would be required to wear electronic home monitoring devices, not to have contact with each other or with anyone under the age of 17, and to surrender firearms. They should also undergo random drug screenings.
Cunningham and Freund were each represented by a public defender.
The cause of AJ's death has not yet been determined, said Crystal Lake Police Chief Jim Black on Wednesday at a news conference. An autopsy is tentatively scheduled for Thursday morning, according to a joint statement from the McHenry County Sheriff's Office and the McHenry County Coroner's Office.
Crystal Lake police and FBI agents interviewed the parents Wednesday night after information had been obtained through a forensic analysis of data from a cell phone, Black said.
The information provided by the parents led the investigators to the site where AJ's body was found on Wednesday. The McHenry County Coroner's Office has been called to the scene to assist in the recovery and identification of the body of "pre-adolescent men," officials said. The parents had originally reported the disappearance of AJ on April 18 from his home in Dole Avenue to Crystal Lake.
Cunningham is charged with first degree murder, severe abuse, domestic abuse and failing to report a missing child.
Freund is charged with first degree murder, severe beatings, domestic abuse, concealment of a homicide and failure to report a missing child.
If they are convicted of first degree murder, Cunningham, 36, and Freund, 60, risk being jailed for life.
They must appear in court Monday morning.
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