JULIAN KING - 7 yo / nephew of Jennifer Hudson -(2008) Chicago IL

Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were murdered and her nephew was taken from the home at the same time...WHERE IS LITTLE JULIAN KING??? Authorities are trying to find him by sundown today.

Story:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,443989,00.html

Amber alert:
http://www.codeamber.org/kingil/

petesaparte wrote:Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were murdered and her nephew was taken from the home at the same time...WHERE IS LITTLE JULIAN KING??? Authorities are trying to find him by sundown today.

Story:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,443989,00.html

Amber alert:
http://www.codeamber.org/kingil/

Looks like they may have found Julian...NOT a good ending....

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/10/27/illinois.shootings.hudson/index.html

grandmaOf12 wrote:

petesaparte wrote:Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were murdered and her nephew was taken from the home at the same time...WHERE IS LITTLE JULIAN KING??? Authorities are trying to find him by sundown today.

Story:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,443989,00.html

Amber alert:
http://www.codeamber.org/kingil/

Looks like they may have found Julian...NOT a good ending....

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/10/27/illinois.shootings.hudson/index.html

THEY have confirmed that the body found today is Julian Hudson. SO sad...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/10/27/illinois.shootings.hudson/index.html

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/08/exclusive-jennifer-hudsons-nightmare-continues-accused-killer-nephew-avoids-trial
Posted on Aug 24, 2010 @ 02:40PM
Nearly two years after Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and nephew were brutally murdered; the family is trying to move on but still doesn’t have any closure.

Prime suspect William Balfour was charged in the triple homicide in late 2008 and RadarOnline.com has learned that the much anticipated case has been granted yet another continuance today.

PHOTOS: Jennifer Hudson & Family Celebrate What Would Be Nephew Julian’s 9th Birthday

Balfour, 29, has been in the Cook County jail in Chicago since he was arrested on December 1, 2008 for the murders of Jennifer’s mother Darnell Hudson Donerson, her brother Jason Hudson and her nephew Julian Hudson-King, who was only 7-years-old at the time of his death.

Balfour is the estranged husband to Jennifer’s sister Julia and was stepfather to her son, Julian. Before being arrested in 2008, he served nearly seven years in prison for attempted murder and vehicular hijacking
snipped

Jury selection begins in Hudson family murder trial

CHICAGO (AP) – A judge will question would-be jurors as jury selection begins in earnest Monday at the Chicago trial of the man accused of murdering singer and Oscar winning actress Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and nephew.

Selecting 12 jurors and six alternates able to set aside sympathy for the Hollywood star and assess guilt only according to evidence presented in court against William Balfour could pose a major challenge.

It's expected to take two or three days to make final selections from among 150 prospective jurors. In a last step, each side can use pre-emptive strikes, usually around ten, to dismiss people from the jury pool without having to offer any reason.

Judge Charles Burns will aim to weed out anyone who might be swayed by the 30-year-old Hudson's celebrity, though he's unlikely to automatically exclude Hudson fans if they can convince him their biases won't affect their deliberations.

Attorneys won't necessarily share the judge's goal, seeking, instead, to keep jurors likely to favor their arguments.

Even at trials where celebrity doesn't loom as a factor, jury selection is critical. A lone holdout during deliberations on a verdict can lead to a hung jury, forcing a retrial.

If convicted, Balfour, who is also 30, faces a maximum life sentence. Burns told would-be jurors last week that anyone opposed to capital punishment need not worry because Illinois abolished the death penalty this year.

Once testimony begins April 23, court officials say Hudson is expected to attend every day of the trial, which could last up to a month. She is on a 300-name list of potential witnesses, though it's not certain she will testify.

While the judge will warn jurors to avoid watching news coverage about the case, they may see Hudson in a scheduled appearance this Thursday on "American Idol," where she first rose to fame as a contestant in 2004.

The judge and attorneys have signaled they are well aware Hudson's presence and the media hubbub could affect the proceedings.

Nine of 66 questions on a questionnaire the would-be jurors were asked to fill out last week dealt with Hudson's career. One asked if they'd ever seen her Academy Award-winning film "Dreamgirls."

Hudson, who was not in Chicago at the time of the killings, told investigators she was in touch with her mother almost every day and became concerned when she couldn't reach her by late morning on Oct. 24, 2008.

Hours later, the bodies of her mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, and brother, Jason Hudson, 29, were found shot to death in the family home. The body of her 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, was found days later in an SUV several miles away.

Balfour's lawyers have said the evidence is circumstantial. But prosecutors say the proof includes gun residue found on his car's steering wheel, and that testimony will show he lied about his whereabouts the day of the murders.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-04-09/hudson-murder-trial/54123888/1

April 11, 2012 11:15 AM
Jennifer Hudson Family Murder Trial: Jurors selected for the trial of William Balfour
(CBS/AP) CHICAGO - Jury selection wrapped up Tuesday for the trial of William Balfour, accused of murdering Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and nephew.


The final four panelists were chosen on the second day of questioning of prospective jurors. Among them was a member of an acrobatics group and someone who served on the jury of another murder trial years ago.

The 14 selected earlier to hear evidence against William Balfour included a school teacher, an unemployed bank teller who lives three blocks from court, and a young chocolate-company employee who said her favorite activity outside work was eating and sleeping.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Balfour, 30, wore a blue dress shirt, slacks and a tie, as he watched as nearly 50 potential jurors were questioned by his attorneys and prosecutors during a nine-hour selection process.

Hudson's celebrity took center stage in many juror interviews. Most potential jurors insisted that despite what they knew about Hudson or had heard about the case, they could assess Balfour's guilt or innocence strictly according evidence presented in court. Others were not deemed as impartial.

Balfour, the estranged husband of Hudson's sister, is accused of shooting to death Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, brother, Jason Hudson, 29, and her 7-year-old nephew, Julian King. Jennifer Hudson is on a 300-name list of potential witnesses and is expected to attend each day of the trial once testimony begins April 23.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57412396-504083/jennifer-hudson-family-murder-trial-jurors-selected-for-the-trial-of-william-balfour/

Defendant emotional as images of Jennifer Hudson's nephew are shown in court

April 25, 2012

William Balfour hung his head low and appeared to wipe tears from his eyes Wednesday as photos of Jennifer Hudson's slain nephew flashed in a courtroom, but not everyone was there to see it.

The empty bench in the fourth row of spectators spoke volumes: for a second straight day, the Academy Award-winning actress and her sister were absent from the courtroom as graphic images were shown on a large screen and autopsy reports on her nephew, mother and brother were detailed by forensic pathologists.

Cook County Deputy Medical Examiner Mitra Kalelkar told jurors that 7-year-old Julian King, who had been off from school that day in October 2008, had been shot twice in the head as he lay face-down in the back of an SUV. The fatal blow entered through the back of his head and exited through the left side of his face, she said.

As some jurors winced at the graphic images, Balfour sat at the defense table wearing a pale green dress shirt and striped tie, a morose expression on his face. As he began to tear up, one of his attorneys brought him a tissue.

Julian had been taken from the Hudson family home in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood shortly after his grandmother, Darnell Donerson, and his uncle, Jason Hudson, had been killed, prosecutors say. He was driven to the West Side and shot there. He was found three days later in the back of Jason Hudson's stolen SUV.

Based on the boy's slightly decomposed body, Kalelkar estimated that he had been dead between 36 and 72 hours when the body was found. The broad timeline is crucial to the case because Balfour was taken into custody the day of the shootings.

If Julian died 72 hours before being found, Balfour could have done it. If he was killed closer to 36 hours before, Balfour could not have been the gunman because he was already being questioned by police.

A Chicago police officer describe how investigators used Balfour's cellphone records to trace his whereabouts and activities on the day of the murders.

Sgt. James Washburn testified that shortly after detectives learned of Balfour's possible involvement in the murders, they were able to trace his cellphone to the West Side, near an apartment where Hudson's sister, Julia, then estranged from Balfour, told police one of Balfour's girlfriends, Shonta Cathey, lived.

At the time, police were still searching for Julian and hoped to find him alive. Lt. James Sanchez testified he gave an order to go into the home even though they had not secured a search warrant.

At 6 p.m., about four hours after the bodies of Hudson's mother and brother were found in their home on South Yale Avenue, a team of officers burst into Cathey's apartment and arrested Balfour as he tried to break for the back door, according to Sanchez. At the time of the arrest, Balfour had his cellphone on him, as well as a key to Jason Hudson's SUV.

An analyst with Sprint/Nextel offered detailed testimony about Balfour's cellphone usage on the day of the murders, including numerous calls and text messages to Julia Hudson that "pinged" off a cell tower near the Hudson home. The phone records show that Balfour, who prosecutors said was an "incessant" cellphone user, had his phone turned off for nearly four hours during the time he is accused of committing the murders.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-04-25/news/ct-met-jennifer-hudson-0426-20120426_1_julian-king-hudson-family-home-darnell-donerson

Jurors will continue deliberating the fate of actress Jennifer Hudson's former brother-in-law Thursday, choosing between contradicting portraits of him painted during closing arguments.

The racially diverse panel must decide whether William Balfour
is an innocent victim of a rushed investigation or if he's a jealous,
jilted husband determined to destroy the woman who refused his attempts
at reconciliation.




In doing so, they will weigh the evidence in a largely circumstantial case that has no DNA
or fingerprints tying him to the crime. Prosecutors spent more than two
hours Wednesday urging the jury to consider powerful evidence of
Balfour's motive and trying to dispel the notion that it requires
overwhelming forensic evidence to convict.

The jury of six women and six men deliberated for several hours into Wednesday night before being sequestered at a local hotel.

Balfour is accused of fatally shooting Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, 57; her brother Jason Hudson, 29, and her 7-year-old nephew Julian King
in October 2008. Prosecutors alleged he was upset that his estranged
wife, Hudson's sister, Julia, had begun seeing another man and wanted a
divorce.

Jennifer Hudson wept and buried her face in her fiance's shoulder as
prosecutors implored jurors to use their common sense and reject defense
theories that the killings were related to Jason Hudson's cocaine
business, which he ran out of the family's Englewood home.

"Jason Hudson had enemies," said Balfour's attorney, Amy Thompson. "People without enemies don't need a gun for protection."

Acknowledging the largely circumstantial case, Assistant State's
Attorney Jennifer Bagby said witness testimony, firearms evidence and
cellphone technology presented during 11 days of testimony all pointed
toward Balfour.

In a passionate closing argument, Bagby addressed the lack of DNA or
fingerprint evidence, saying, "Just because something isn't there,
doesn't mean that he (Balfour) wasn't there."

The defense argued that Chicago police did not properly investigate the
crime and rushed to apprehend a suspect amid all the media attention
stemming from Jennifer Hudson's celebrity.

"They were trying to convict a pre-chosen defendant," said Thompson.

The arguments wrapped up with a fiery, often sarcastic, rebuttal from
Assistant State's Attorney James McKay. Calling Balfour a coward, McKay
said the defendant would have to be the "unluckiest man in the world" to
be charged with killing his then-wife's family amid a "tsunami" of
circumstantial evidence.

McKay told jurors that the circumstantial evidence is so plentiful it's even more powerful than DNA or fingerprints.

"It doesn't have an interest or bias," McKay argued as he paced furiously around the courtroom. "It's neutral."

According to police records, Balfour became angry after visiting Julia
Hudson at her mother's home on the morning of Oct. 24, 2008, and seeing Sweetest Day
balloons she had received from her new boyfriend. The couple had been
separated for about eight months despite Balfour's reconciliation
attempts.

After she went to work, they squabbled over the phone about her wages
being garnished because he failed to make car payments as promised.

"After all of that, guess what happens? Her mother, her brother and her
son are murdered. What a coinkydink!" said McKay, his eyes bulging and
voice dripping with sarcasm.

McKay explained the lack of physical evidence by telling jurors that
Balfour was smart enough to wipe the gun after using it or possibly wear
gloves. He also noted that witness testimony suggested he changed his
clothes at least three times on the day of the murders.

"Do you think criminals don't watch television?" he asked.

McKay also pointed to testimony by numerous witnesses that a panicked
Balfour asked them to serve as his alibi. He even called Julia Hudson as
she stood outside the crime scene and gave vague answers about his
whereabouts but did not offer to come comfort her.

"If you are innocent, you get your butt back to Yale (Avenue). You be
with your grieving wife," McKay said. "A child is missing. Stop thinking
about yourself."

As prosecutors addressed the jury, crime scene photos and happier
snapshots of the Hudson family flashed on a large screen. Jennifer
Hudson, who had stayed out of the courtroom when the grisly images were
first shown earlier in the trial, buried her head in the shoulder of
fiance David Otunga and wept. The Harvard-educated lawyer and professional wrestler who has attended each day of the trial whispered softly to her.

Julia Hudson sat next to her younger sister and exchanged several
glances during the defense arguments. She had testified that her
marriage to Balfour disintegrated after he began dating other women.

Despite separating in February 2008, the couple continued to have sexual
relations in the months leading up to the killings. Julia Hudson
testified that Balfour threatened to kill her and her family more than
two dozen times, but she never went to the police or filed an order of
protection.

"She wasn't threatened by William Balfour," Thompson said. "She didn't behave as if she were."

Thompson acknowledged that Balfour behaved like a dog toward his wife
and various mistresses, but she said that's not a legitimate reason to
convict him of murder.

McKay, who is known in the courthouse for his zealous arguments, seized on the statement early in his rebuttal.

"Calling the defendant a dog is an insult to dogs," he said.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/ct-met-jennifer-hudson-trial-0510-20120510,0,1116213.story

Balfour guilty in Hudson case



From Ted Rowlands, CNN
updated 5:53 PM EDT, Fri May 11, 2012
http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/11/justice/illinois-hudson-murder-trial/index.html?hpt=ju_c1

Chicago (CNN) -- A Chicago jury has found William Balfour, Jennifer Hudson's former brother-in-law, guilty of three counts of murder and four other counts related to the 2008 slayings of the entertainer's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Balfour's lawyer had argued that there was no forensic evidence linking him to the killings. The other charges included aggravated kidnapping, home invasion, residential burglary and possession of a stolen vehicle.

The case went to the jury Thursday, after heated closing arguments Wednesday set a tense tone.

During Cook County prosecutor Jennifer Bagby's closing argument, she showed autopsy photos of the victims, and then pointed toward Balfour.

"It's time to hold him responsible," she said.

"They have failed to prove their case," Balfour's attorney Amy Thompson said Wednesday during her closing argument, her voice rising. "He is on trial for his life."

Thompson argued that police homed in on Balfour rather than conducting a full investigation.

"In their mind, this wasn't a whodunnit," she said.

No DNA evidence points to Balfour, said Thompson, who also questioned police work in the case, describing a set of keys that she said surfaced on an evidence list a month after the slayings.

"Those keys show how desperate the state was. They resorted to this. ... My client is an innocent man," she said.

But prosecutors argued that physical and circumstantial evidence links Balfour to the killings and described as "absurd" defense claims that police may have planted evidence or been part of a conspiracy to frame Balfour.

Prosecutor Jim McKay told jurors that there was a "tsunami of circumstantial evidence."

"The circumstantial facts of this case are drowning this guy in guilt," he said.

Bagby said in her closing argument that Balfour had threatened to kill the family of Julia Hudson, Jennifer Hudson's sister.

"If you leave me, I'll kill you. I'll kill your family first. You'll be the last to die," he had said, according to Bagby.

"He went in that house for one reason, and one reason only, to carry out that threat," Bagby told jurors.

Balfour was accused of fatally shooting Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, and the singer's brother, Jason Hudson, 29, in their Chicago home in October 2008. The body of Hudson's 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, was found three days later in an abandoned vehicle.

Prosecutors have portrayed Balfour as a jealous man who murdered the three people in a rage at the thought that his wife had a boyfriend.

In her closing argument, Bagby said Balfour shot Hudson's mother as she tried to defend herself with a broom.

"He fired that gun at her over and over and over," Bagby said.

McKay called Balfour "a true coward."

"He shoots a 57-year-old grandmother in the back. He shoots a 29-year-old man in his sleep. He shoots a 7-year-old twice in the head," McKay told jurors. "The family, the community, the city, the country demand justice."

In the trial, 83 witnesses testified over 11 days.

Hudson, who was on hand through the trial, was called as the prosecution's first witness. She broke down in tears several times on the stand as she recalled her family.

"None of us wanted her to marry him," Hudson said of her sister's decision to marry Balfour. "We did not like how he treated her.

"Where he was, I tried not to be," she said.

The deaths took place a year after Hudson, who rose to fame as a contestant on "American Idol," won an Oscar for her role in the movie "Dreamgirls."

In a recent interview with CNN's Piers Morgan, Hudson reflected on the life of her mother.

"My mother was a very wise and strong person. I feel like she raised us well, and she prepared me well, and so that's what I live by," she said.

Her career has continued to blossom and remains varied since her relatives' deaths.

Recent milestones include penning a memoir detailing her struggles with her weight; being cast as Nelson Mandela's ex-wife, Winnie, in an upcoming movie; releasing a new album; and singing a well-received tribute to Whitney Houston at the Grammy Awards in February.