CHICAGO, Dec. 1, 2008
Arrest Made In Hudson Murders
Jennifer Hudson's Brother-In-Law To Be Charged With Murders Of The Singer's Mother, Brother And Nephew
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This undated photo provided by the Illinois Department of Corrections shows William Balfour. (AP Photo/Ill. Dept. of Corrections)
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Play CBS Video Video A Dreamgirl's Nightmare Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and now her 7-year-old nephew were found shot and murdered in Chicago, a city with the highest number of homicides this year. Cynthia Bowers reports.
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Video Hudson's Nephew Found Dead The search for Julian King, Jennifer Hudson's nephew has come to a tragic end with the discovery of the boy found shot to death inside an SUV. Cynthia Bowers has more.
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Video Notebook: Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Hudson's family has been the target of senseless violence. Crime has not been a focus of the presidential campaign, but safety should be an issue of national importance, says Katie Couric.
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Photo Essay Hudson's Heartbreak Oscar winner's mother, brother & nephew victims of "domestic-related" Chicago homicide.
William Balfour was arrested at Stateville Correctional Center and released to detectives as he awaited formal charges in the shooting deaths of the singer and Oscar-winning actress' relatives, said Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond.
Until Monday, police had identified Balfour, 27, only as a "person of interest" in the investigation. He had not been charged by late Monday afternoon, said Andy Conklin, a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.
The bodies of Jennifer Hudson's mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, and brother, Jason Hudson, were discovered Oct. 24 at the family's home on the South Side of Chicago. The body of 7-year-old Julian King was found three days later in a sport utility vehicle on the West Side. All three had been shot.
Police took Balfour into custody the same day the bodies of Donerson and Hudson were discovered. After 48 hours - the longest Chicago police can hold a person without charges - Balfour was taken by the Illinois Department of Corrections on the suspected parole violation.
Balfour - Julian's stepfather and the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson's older sister, Julia Hudson - served seven years for a 1999 attempted murder and vehicular hijacking conviction.
His mother, Michelle Balfour of Chicago, has denied that her son had anything to do with the deaths. Telephone numbers for Balfour's mother and sister were disconnected Monday.
Balfour had refused to take a lie-detector test and stopped cooperating with detectives in the case, a police official, who was not authorized to discuss the case publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, has said.
Police have confirmed they found the gun used in the killings. The .45-caliber gun was discovered Oct. 29 in a vacant lot in the West Side neighborhood where the King's body was found a few days earlier.
Bond declined to discuss any evidence Monday. But after a hearing at the prison, the chairman of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board said a woman had told authorities that a gun used in the slayings was "identical" to the gun that was recovered.
At the time, board Chairman Jorge Montes said the evidence was key to a decision finding probable cause that Balfour violated his parole and should remain locked up pending a Dec. 3 hearing before a review board panel.
Balfour did not have an attorney at the November hearing, and the Cook County public defender's office said at the time that nobody from the office had been assigned because he was not formally charged with a crime.
No one in the public defender's office was assigned to Balfour's case late Monday, and it' was not clear whether he had other representation.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Add a Comment See all 14 Comments
- A waste of taxpayers dollars to keep in jail for life - death sentence. Use rope, its enviromentally "friendly," recyclable.
Posted by zoe-2009
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Then you will have liberals cry about lynching.
Posted by lady_organs"
WRONG, you have that backwards, its your rePUBIC-CON right winger''family values'' crowd who would be screaming about interfering with god''s ''plan'' and that only this imaginary entity has the right to take a life, and be quoting their book of death left and right all over the place about how it sez thou shalt not kill etc etc - Reply to this comment
- As scary as this guy is, and as awful as the crime is, I find some of the freaks posting on this thread just as scary or scarier. Wow... some of THESE guys should be locked up. LOL!
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- "suspects" lips are so fat they look like a horses'' azz LOL
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- Chicago and the nation should take a closer look at the way this caseis handled, epecially if they want the Olympics to come to America.
Dot every i and cross ever t on this one.
Posted by patsy_owens at 07:09 AM
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I left your lovely spelling intact but what in the name of everything holy does this story have to do with the Olympics? Wow, some real doozies on here! Oh and "Posted by APItaly at 07:10 PM" have you ever considered serious, long term psychiatric care accompanied by strong medication? Unreal!
Well, at least I feel "normal" after reading here. Oh and they need to FRY this monster. His mother is making an idiot out of herself. Let me guess, her son is a "good boy who done nuttin'' wrong". Give me a BREAK. - Reply to this comment
- He has only been arrested, so at this point he is innocent until proven quilty. Chicago has one of the toughest gun controls in the country. Law abiding citizens cannot have a handgun. So why is this scumbag criminal allowed to have a 45 caliper handgun. It just goes to show that the government can take the guns away from honest citizens but they can do nothing to take the guns away from the criminal.
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- William Balfour is a brain-damaged drug addict. He probably killed for money to buy street narcotics. William should confess to the killings. State prison offers drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Doctors can scan the human brain for injuries from substance abuse. Modern frontal lobotomies restore sanity and reason.
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- This is as unfortunate as it is predictable. Rather than face rejection, many ex-boyfriends/girlfriends/spouses choose to instead turn their anger against their loved ones.
Don''''t let the term "domestic abuse" lull you into complacency - this can happen to *anybody* - even you.
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92% of women who are murdered are murdered by spouses/boyfriends/estranged husbands. 8% are murdered by strangers.
Some posts concentrate on what he looks like. Some of the most charming suave men have been mass murderers. Some very attractive women kill their children. - Reply to this comment
- Ok, let me check my facts. He is Julian''s stepfather. That means he married Julian''s mother after Julian was born, right? 7 years old and it is 2008. Balfour served 7 years for an attempted murder taking place in 1999, meaning that after all the court proceedings, etc. he was probably incarcerated in 2000 or so. So, he''s been out of jail maybe a year or two and a lady married him either while he was in jail or shortly after being released for attempted murder?? Just look at him. Where was this poor woman''s practical judgement?
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- Posted by erasmus606
maybe they meant his short hairs...
Posted by musethalia at 10:57 PM : Dec 01, 2008
Maybe, but I don''t think so.:) - Reply to this comment
- What a piece of work, if he is guilty, I think they should hang him by his hair.
Posted by opticallady1 at 06:48 PM : Dec 01, 2008
His hair??
Surely you can think of something better than that.
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Posted by erasmus606
maybe they meant his short hairs... - Reply to this comment
- What a piece of work, if he is guilty, I think they should hang him by his hair.
Posted by opticallady1 at 06:48 PM : Dec 01, 2008
His hair??
Surely you can think of something better than that. - Reply to this comment
- This guy is just TRASH... He should never have been born An abortion down the toilet would have been better... HOW COULD YOU MURDER YOUR OWN CHILD...... They should burn him on the electric chair... sizzle sizzle.... get some drizzle..... I''d like to have 5 minutes with him alone and me with a razor blade.... shove it down his throat and watch him choke.
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- This is as unfortunate as it is predictable. Rather than face rejection, many ex-boyfriends/girlfriends/spouses choose to instead turn their anger against their loved ones.
My daughter was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2006 and I''ve since created a non-profit charity in her memory. We are dedicated to educating people about the warning signs of an abusive relationship. Educate yourself and your loved ones about these very real dangers.
Don''t let the term "domestic abuse" lull you into complacency - this can happen to *anybody* - even you.
Drew Crecente
Director, Jennifer Ann''s Group
JenniferAnn.org - Reply to this comment
- What a piece of work, if he is guilty, I think they should hang him by his hair.
- Reply to this comment
