Public Visitation Set For Slain 5-Year-Old Boy From Illinois

CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. (AP) — A public visitation is planned for a 5-year-old Illinois boy whose parents are charged with murder in his death.

Andrew "AJ" Freund is to be remembered at Davenport Funeral Home on Friday afternoon during a public walk-through visitation.

The boy's parents, 36-year-old JoAnn Cunningham and 60-year-old Andrew "AJ" Freund Sr., are due in court next week for a preliminary hearing. Authorities accuse the parents in the boy's beating death . Police found his body in a shallow grave covered with straw April 24, nine days after authorities say he died and a week after his parents reported him missing .

An obituary on the funeral home's website said AJ "was an extremely smart and friendly boy" who couldn't wait to start kindergarten in the fall.