Parents of missing boy, 5, who pleaded for his safe return are charged with murder

The parents of a missing boy have been charged with murder after his body was found in a shallow grave wrapped in plastic.

JoAnn Cunningham, 36, and Andrew Freund Sr, 60, claimed their son, Andrew 'AJ' Freund, went missing after they put him to bed in Illinois last week. They pleaded for his return as Cunningham appeared on Good Morning America over the weekend.

But as the police and the FBI carried out a six-day search, Cunningham refused to cooperate with police investigation in locating her son. Hence, the authorities did not believe that AJ ran away or was kidnapped.

After being interviewed, the pair later gave information that led the detectives to a shallow grave in Woodstock, about 20 minutes from their home in Crystal Lake.

Cunningham and Freund are now in custody and both face five counts of first-degree murder, according to CNN.

Cunningham was also charged with four counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated domestic battery, and one count of failure to report a missing child death.

Freund Sr was charged with two counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated domestic battery, two counts of concealment of a homicidal death and one count of failure to report a missing child or child death.

AJ's cause of death has not been confirmed yet pending an autopsy by the McHenry County coroner.