Woman who killed her 5-year-old son gets 35-year prison term A northern Illinois woman has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for beating her five-year-old son to deathWOODSTOCK, Ill. -- A northern Illinois woman who subjected her young son to years of physical and emotional abuse culminating in his beating death last year was on Friday sentenced to 35 years in prison. JoAnn Cunningham pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in December in the killing her son, Andrew “AJ” Freund. Cunningham, her face covered by a surgical mask, did not visibly react in the courtroom after McHenry County Judge Robert Wilbrandt's ruling. She pleaded for mercy from the judge on Thursday, portraying herself as a loving mother who misses her son. Wilbrandt acknowledged that Cunningham had a “difficult life,” including addiction to drugs despite efforts to get treatment.

Source: ABC News July 17, 2020 18:57 UTC