Crime

Jury selection begins for the trial of William Balfour, man accused of killing Jennifer Hudson's family

By Crimesider Staff

April 5, 2012 / 11:23 AM EDT / CBS News

Jennifer Hudson's Brother-In-Law, William Balfour — A Wednesday,Dec. 3, 2008 booking photo released by the Cook County Sheriff's Department shows William Balfour. Balfour, charged Tuesday with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of three family members of singer and actress Jeniifer Hudson, was denied bail Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008, at during a hearing at Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago. AP

(CBS/AP) CHICAGO - Jury selection begins Thursday for the trial of William Balfour, the man accused in the 2008 slayings of celebrity Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.

At least 100 people are expected to pick up forms Thursday to fill out questionnaires that will help determine if they're fit to sit in judgment. Jury selection formally begins Monday when a judge starts questioning jurors one by one.

Defendant William Balfour is the estranged husband of Hudson's sister. Prosecutors allege he shot the family in a jealous rage because Julia Hudson was dating another man.

Trial testimony is slated to begin April 23.

Jennifer Hudson won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2007 for her role in "Dreamgirls." She won a Grammy for best R&B album the same year of the killings.

Complete coverage of the Hudson family murders on Crimesider