WARNING: This story contains disturbing details that may be difficult for some viewers to read.
The Crystal Lake mother accused of killing her 5-year-old son, AJ Freund, has allegedly given birth to a baby girl in jail, the Northwest Herald reports.
Joann Cunningham gave birth on May 31 and the infant currently remains in protective custody, according to the Northwest Herald.
The Department of Children and Family Services told NBC 5 that for privacy reasons they could not confirm any details regarding this case.
A judge has ordered two men to take paternity tests to figure out who is the newborn's father.
Cunningham has been in jail since she was charged with the beating death of her 5-year-old son Andrew "AJ" Freund. Both parents charged pleaded not guilty on May 10 and requested jury trials.
Joann Cunningham, 36, and Andrew Freund Sr., 60, were each indicted on multiple counts by a grand jury on May 9, McHenry County court records show. The charges are in connection with AJ's death, as well as two unspecified incidents in the months before.
Both parents were indicted on 20 charges apiece, including first-degree murder and aggravated battery of a child, among others connected to AJ's death.
Cunningham and Freund were also indicted on several counts related to incidents occurring on March 4, for which they were indicted on two counts of aggravated battery of a child and one count of aggravated domestic battery, and on Sept. 20, 2018, for which they were indicted on one count each of reckless conduct causing great bodily harm, unlawful restraint and a misdemeanor count of child endangerment.
Freund was also indicted on an additional count of making a false complaint to 911. The judge on Friday granted a motion seeking a pyschological evaulation.
Cunningham and Freund Sr. were arrested and initially charged on Apr. 24, the same day police said they recovered the young boy's body wrapped in plastic and buried in a remote location in the northwest suburb of Woodstock, just miles from the Crystal Lake home where the two had reported the boy missing the week before.
Freund Sr. called police on Apr. 18 to report AJ missing, telling a dispatcher that he and Cunningham last saw the boy while putting him to bed the night before and that they'd checked "closets, the basement, the garage, everywhere," in the house to no avail, according to the 911 call.
But investigators quickly knocked down the possibility of a kidnapping, saying there were no signs that AJ had been forcibly removed from the home.
Police said both parents were questioned the following Tuesday and overnight into the morning of Apr. 24. After investigators confronted them with cell phone data evidence "both Joann and Andrew Sr. provided information that ultimately led to the recovery, what we believe is the recovery of deceased subject AJ," said Crystal Lake Police Chief James Black.
Court records revealed that video police recovered from Cunningham's cell phone, showing AJ naked on a mattress and covered in bruises, prompted Freund Sr. to lead investigators to the boy's body.
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On Apr. 25, the McHenry County Coroner's office identified the body found as AJ's and said the cause of death was "craniocerebral trauma as a consequence of multiple blunt force injuries."
That same day, a judge set bail at $5 million each for Cunningham and Freund Sr. as the two appeared in court for separate bond hearings, in which prosecutors alleged that the two beat AJ and forced him into a cold shower for an extended period of time the night that he died.
