Hudson Kin Slay Suspect To Stay Locked Up

A parole review official on Monday refused to release the convicted felon questioned in the killings of Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and nephew, after a witness reported seeing him with a gun similar to the one used in the slayings.

A 35-minute hearing ended with a decision that there is probable cause to believe that William Balfour violated parole and should be held until a Dec. 3 hearing before the full Illinois Prisoner Review Board.

Balfour has been questioned, but not charged, in the killings. Authorities have called him a "person of interest."

During Monday's hearing by a member of the review board, Balfour denied any involvement in the crime, including the allegations that he had been seen with a gun.

Balfour, 27, has been in custody since the day the bodies of Hudson's mother and brother were discovered at the family's Chicago home. After 48 hours — the longest Chicago police can hold anyone without charges — he was taken by the Illinois Department of Corrections on a parole violation.

Balfour — the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson's older sister, Julia Hudson — served seven years for a 1999 attempted murder and vehicular hijacking conviction.

Jeanetta Cardine, an executive with the prisoner review board, was told during Monday's hearing that a woman described as Balfour's current or former girlfriend has told investigators she saw him with a gun matching the description of the .45-caliber weapon used in the three killings.

The bodies of 57-year-old Darnell Donerson and 29-year-old Jason Hudson were discovered Oct. 24 at the family's home. Three days later, 7-year-old Julian King's body was found in a sport utility vehicle on the city's West Side.