CHICAGO — A northern Illinois woman who spent years beating her son until he died alone in his dark bedroom has pleaded with a judge for mercy.
JoAnn Cunningham faces between 20 and 60 years in prison when she returns to court on Friday to be sentenced in the killing of Andrew “AJ” Freund.
Editor's note: The video in this story is from April 2019 when the child was found dead.
Cunningham addressed the court, reported CBS Chicago. Through tears, she read a statement that said her children are her whole world:
“I got the privilege of having AJ as a son. I love him. I miss him. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to to bring him back. My children are the greatest gifts God could have ever given me. They’re my whole world."
"The reason I breathe. Anyone who truly knows me can say how much I love being a mother, more than anything in the world. My children gave me a singleness of purpose. A love and a joy that can never be replaced. My heart belongs entirely to them. Although my children are sacred most precious treasures. I missed all of them so much. Words can I describe it.”
The prosecutor on Thursday asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence on Cunningham, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in AJ's April 2019 death.
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The boy's father, Andrew Freund Sr., has also been charged with murder and is awaiting trial.