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Police arrested the estranged brother-in-law of Jennifer Hudson on Monday in the deaths of the entertainer's mother, brother and young nephew, taking him from a prison where he had been held on a suspected parole violation.
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 Monday evening, 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 Davis-Balfour of Chicago, told reporters outside a police station Monday night that authorities don't have a case against her son.
"If they found gun powder on his hands, you got a case; if they found a gun on him, he had a case; if they found a fingerprint on the truck that he did this, you got a case; but they don't have nothing," Davis-Balfour said.
Balfour had refused to take a lie-detector test and stopped cooperating with detectives, according to a police official who was not authorized to discuss the case publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
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.
_____
Associated Press writers Sophia Tareen and Caryn Rousseau contributed to this report.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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 | Estranged relative arrested in Hudson killings on Yahoo! News | Yahoo! News | Tue Dec 2 | 1 |
| Man arrested in connection with Hudson slayings | CNN | Mon Dec 1 | 1 |
 | Prosecutor: Jealousy behind Hudson family killings | Associated Press | Mon Dec 1 | 0 |
| Jennifer Hudson's Brother-in-Law Formally Charged With Family Slayings | Yahoo! News | Tue Dec 2 | 0 |
- Public Discussion (17)
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{"commentId":4251413,"authorDomain":"tywht63"}
I'm somewhat tired of this story, but I also think there's a lot more to it and J. Hudson is involved somehow with it. After all, she did drag the garbagee with her after her new-found stardom.
She stinks, can't really sing well, and not as popular as she once though she was. Maybe some people will do anything for more attention, even killing someone just to hole on to that lime-light.
{"commentId":4251413,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"tywht63"}
- 1 vote
#1 - Mon Dec 1, 2008 6:30 PM EST{"commentId":4253209,"authorDomain":"buddysej"}
... huh? What! I know I am hallucinating reading that mess above. I think the garbage is on the Vine actually!
{"commentId":4253209,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"buddysej"}
- 4 votes
{"commentId":4253602,"authorDomain":"vass367"}
tywht63 you are a stupid and complete moron!
{"commentId":4253602,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"vass367"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":4254270,"authorDomain":"forrestg"}
tywht63 you are way out of line. Your comments are offensive and insensitive. If you can show no respect please keep your comments to yourself. Three human beings are dead, and you think it was done for attention by Jennifer Hudson? She has not only been vicitimized by the murder of her family members, but by your comments as well. Most inappropriate and uncalled for.
{"commentId":4254270,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"forrestg"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":4252193,"authorDomain":"secaa23"}
Seems to be a reoccurring pattern here?
{"commentId":4252193,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"secaa23"}
#2 - Mon Dec 1, 2008 7:44 PM EST{"commentId":4253099,"authorDomain":"netmasta10bt"}
Sweet stash!
{"commentId":4253099,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"netmasta10bt"}
- 2 votes
#3 - Mon Dec 1, 2008 9:07 PM EST{"commentId":4254616,"authorDomain":"waynef415"}
HA! Yeah that's what I was thinking, age 27 and that's all he's got to show for it? Grow it longer on the top, kiddo, cause it ain't comin' out on the front! I've got more hair in my ear that that.
{"commentId":4254616,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"waynef415"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":4253181,"authorDomain":"LBPLaw"}
This is a horrible and tragic event. It would be sad enough if it was a stranger or someone removed from the family who took these lives. But when it is someone within the family then the pain that they must be feeling cannot even be imagined.
So far the comments I see here simply make me nauseous. If one cannot empathize with their fellow humans in tragic circumstances such as this then humanity is indeed lost.
{"commentId":4253181,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"LBPLaw"}
- 4 votes
#4 - Mon Dec 1, 2008 9:13 PM EST{"commentId":4253196,"authorDomain":"buddysej"}
Let justice FULLY prevail; the sooner, the better!
{"commentId":4253196,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"buddysej"}
- 5 votes
#5 - Mon Dec 1, 2008 9:15 PM EST{"commentId":4253236,"authorDomain":"anrkist"}
I'm not a proponent of the death penalty but when I hear "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."
I really challenge myself.
{"commentId":4253236,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"anrkist"}
- 5 votes
#6 - Mon Dec 1, 2008 9:20 PM EST{"commentId":4253380,"authorDomain":"Rixar13"}
Sounds like the his mother should represent him, she seems have a handle on evidence and Law. Too bad they let him out early on previous crime.
{"commentId":4253380,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"Rixar13"}
- 3 votes
#7 - Mon Dec 1, 2008 9:36 PM EST{"commentId":4253943,"authorDomain":"kashmare"}
{"commentId":4253943,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"kashmare"}
#8 - Mon Dec 1, 2008 10:27 PM EST{"commentId":4254012,"authorDomain":"waynef415"}
Yeah this guy looks like a real winner.
{"commentId":4254012,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"waynef415"}
- 1 vote
#9 - Mon Dec 1, 2008 10:34 PM EST{"commentId":4254259,"authorDomain":"jerzyboy349"}
Estranged? Take a look at that picture. I'll say "estranged".
{"commentId":4254259,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"jerzyboy349"}
- 2 votes
#10 - Mon Dec 1, 2008 10:58 PM EST{"commentId":4254605,"authorDomain":"waynef415"}
Don't they make them keep some level of decency in haircuts and grooming when they're in prison? I bet the guards have fun dragging him around by that rat's nest of his.
{"commentId":4254605,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"waynef415"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":4257117,"authorDomain":"ejase"}
most murders of family are family members. that is why the police start with the family. what I do not know is why it took so long to charge him. for the poster who thinks the Jenifer had something to do with the murders well all I can say is wtf are you talking about. there is a mean spirit here and with that am closing
{"commentId":4257117,"threadId":"432002","contentId":"2166730","authorDomain":"ejase"}
- 1 vote
#11 - Tue Dec 2, 2008 9:38 AM EST{"commentId":4270619,"authorDomain":"steveurkel"}
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