Prescription painkiller pills destroyed the life of the mother charged with killing five-year-old AJ Freund, her first husband has revealed exclusively to DailyMail.com.
'Our marriage started off well and it was like a switch flipped in her head,' when she started abusing the pills, Craig Summerkamp said.
'She was a decent person,' Summerkamp added. 'But then she got hooked on pills and it all went downhill superfast.'
JoAnn Cunningham, 36, was in court on Monday morning in Woodstock, Illinois, along with her 60-year-old lawyer-turned-lover Andrew Freund — AJ's father.
They each face five counts of first-degree murder and other charges including battery and failing to report a death. Freund is also charged with concealing AJ's body. They face life in prison if found guilty.
JoAnn Cunningham, 36, along with her lawyer partner Andrew Freund, 60, is accused of killing her five-year-old son AJ Freund. Her ex-husband has told DailyMail.com how she allegedly began abusing prescription pills, which sparked a downward spiral. Pictured: Cunningham with a baby AJ in 2014
The parents allegedly made AJ (pictured with his mother in 2014) stand in a cold shower 'for an extended period of time' and beat him on April 15. An autopsy showed the little boy died from blows to the head
AJ was discovered buried in a shallow grave in a field outside Woodstock, some 10 miles from the family home in Crystal Lake, earlier this month. Illinois Department of Children & Family Services say social workers visited Cunningham 27 times since 2012
They have each been held in solitary confinement for their own protection in the McHenry County Jail on $5 million bond. Inmates in the jail put signs in windows last week saying 'RIP AJ.'
The parents allegedly made AJ stand in a cold shower 'for an extended period of time' and beat him. An autopsy showed the little boy died from blows to the head.
Five-year-old AJ was discovered buried in a shallow grave in a field outside Woodstock, some 10 miles from the family home in Crystal Lake.
Summerkamp (pictured) said he was shocked but not surprised to hear his ex had been charged with murder. He said: 'I knew she wasn't all there... but I never thought she would go this far'
Freund and Cunningham appeared separately in court on Monday in orange McHenry County Jail jumpsuits, each flanked by two sheriff's officers in full body armor.
Cunningham, with her blonde hair tied in a bun, appeared dazed and barely able to answer questions posed by Judge Robert Wilbrandt.
Freund was shackled at the wrists for his hearing but his girlfriend was not.
Both applied for a public defender to be appointed to represent them, although Freund said he was trying to arrange for his own attorney.
The hearings lasted less than two minutes. Judge Wilbrandt remanded them until their preliminary hearings which he set for May 10.
Illinois Department of Children & Family Services say social workers visited Cunningham 27 times since 2012. During visits they found the house ripped up and floors covered in dog urine and feces.
In December last year AJ — who was born with opioids in his system —told a doctor who was questioning why he was bruised: 'Maybe someone hit me with a belt. Maybe mommy didn't mean to hurt me.'
But the doctor's fears were considered unfounded and the investigation was closed within three weeks. Social workers did not visit the house again until AJ was reported missing on April 18. Investigators believe he was killed three days earlier.
Two case workers have been taken off all hands-on work pending an internal investigation into the tragedy.
Freund first started his romance with Cunningham inside the Woodstock courthouse where they appeared on Monday, Summerkamp said. She was there seeking an order of protection.
'She was out in the hallway moping and crying, and he walked down the hallway and saw her sitting on the bench and went over and started talking to her, Summerkamp, 36, told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.
'The next thing I knew he was her lawyer and it developed into whatever relationship they had.'
Cunningham (left) and Freund (right) each face five counts of first-degree murder and other charges including battery and failing to report a death. Freund is also charged with concealing AJ's body. They face life in prison if found guilty
Cunningham was seen crying with her lawyer just after she reported AJ missing. Less than a week later, she was arrested and charged with his murder
Summerkamp said he and Cunningham were together for five years. They married on May 30, 2009 and he filed for divorce on January 28, 2012.
He said at the time she was nothing like the gaunt, stone-faced woman whose mugshot has been seen around the United States.
'She was beautiful— but then the drugs took hold,' he said.
Summerkamp said his ex-wife started complaining that her 'body hurt everywhere' and began taking painkillers shortly before their marriage.
'One doctor she was seeing even quit prescribing them to her and said if she wanted to keep getting these pills, she had to see a pain management person.
'We were only married a year or so before things started going south,' he said. 'At that stage I was out of there.'
JoAnn accused him of assaulting her — without any foundation he insists — and took him to court to get an order of protection. It was then that she met Freund, who went on to father AJ and another boy, Parker, who is now 4. Cunningham is currently seven months pregnant with her third child by Freund.
'She had the cops called on me for supposedly beating on her and at that point I was like 'I'm outta
