Body of child found on Chicago's West Side may be Julian King

Article from the Chicago Sun-Times:

October 27, 2008
BY ANNIE SWEENEY AND ROSE SOBOL Staff Reporters

A howling dog alerted neighbors this morning to a white Chevrolet Suburban where police found the body of a young boy who may be the 7-year-old nephew of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson.

The boy was found on the floor in the back seat of the SUV, which had been missing since Hudson's mother and brother were found shot to death Friday. He was shot twice in the head, and was wearing basketball shorts and a white T shirt, sources said. Police believe the boy was shot to death inside the Suburban.

The medical examiner’s office was trying to determine if the body was Hudson’s nephew, Julian King, but an Amber Alert for the boy and the Suburban has been cancelled.

The Suburban was taken to the Area 5 police headquarters, which has a garage where vehicles used in a major crime can be minutely inspected, sources said. A team of FBI forensics specialists were called to Area 5 for assistance, one source said.

Julian was missing when the bodies of Hudson's mother and brother — Darnell Donerson and Jason Hudson — were found shot to death in their home in the 7000 block of South Yale
Avenue.

The boy's stepfather, William Balfour, remains the primary suspect in the murders, police sources say. He is the estranged husband of Julia Hudson, who lived in the home with her brother Jason, 29, and mother, Darnell Donerson, 57. Julia Hudson is Julian's mother and the sister of Jennifer Hudson.

Balfour was taken into custody at a girlfriend's home hours after the bodies were found. Sources say the girlfriend contradicted his alibi. Police say they’ve also caught him in at least one other lie. Police were able to track his whereabouts Friday through cell phone records, sources said.
A neighbor on the block where Balfour was arrested remembers seeing a man he believes to be Balfour drive up in a white SUV and park on the block around noon — at least three hours after the slaying.

The resident said the driver first reached into the glove compartment, and then got out of the car carrying what appeared to be a bottle of liquor. He saw the man walk into the home where Balfour was arrested later in the day.

The driver was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt and was looking over his shoulder as he walked down the block. The driver spent about 10 minutes inside the house. “He was acting suspicious.. . He (the boy) had to be in the car. I figure he had to be. I wished I had known.”
The Suburban pulled up on the block hours before the bodies were discovered, said the man, who has lived on the block 30 years.

Residents of the house where Balfour was arrested said officers rushed the house Friday evening, and Balfour was arrested in the backyard.

Balfour and Julia Hudson had been at the Yale home much earlier Friday and may have argued, police have been told. A family friend said Balfour had made threats against the family and Julian. Balfour’s mother has denied Balfour was at the home that day.

Balfour is being held for violating his parole on a 1999 conviction for attempted murder and vehicular hijacking, authorities said. He served nearly seven years in prison.

Balfour, 27, is considered a parole violator for being named a person of interest in the murders, said Januari Smith of the Illinois Department of Corrections. Parole for Balfour — whose friends call him "Flex'' — was to end in May 2009.

Sources said police were hoping to find the body before charging him. Some officers searched for the boy on their own time over the weekend.

Jennifer Hudson and her family had offered $100,000 for the boy's safe return, and her MySpace page had appealed for clues in the double-murder. Amber Alert signs blazed on Chicago highways asking people to watch for the boy.

After an intensive weekend search, police were called around 7 a.m. today after a couple’s dog kept barking near the Suburban at 1313 S. Kolin Ave.

The couple who reported the car, John and Lynette Louden said they were watching news on television this morning and Lynette wrote down the license plate of the SUV. The couple first noticed the white Suburban on Saturday morning.

John Louden was taking their chihuahua, Lil’ Man, out for a walk when the dog started barking unusually at the vehicle. “He has a very keen nose,’’ John Louden said.

He compared the license plate number to the one he had scribbed down from the news.

“When he came back in, he said, ‘It’s a match.’ I said, ‘Oh, God. I hope that child is not in there,’ ’’ Lynette Louden said.

“I came back in the house and told my wife to call 911,’’ John Louden said. Lynette Louden said police arrived in “two minutes.’’

Both are fans of Jennifer Hudson. Lynette Louden saw Hudson’s latest film, “The Secret of Bees,’’ on Friday night and expressed sympathy to Hudson’s family.

Meanwhile, a makeshift shrine to the boy was quicly erected on an apartment building near where the SUV was found. That shrine included balloons, newspaper pictures of child, and messages, including “RIP Julian” and “May God bless you and your family.’’

Jennifer Hudson flew to Chicago to help identify the bodies and was in seclusion over the weekend.

A standout singer at church and Dunbar Vocational High School, Hudson triumphed over rejection on "American Idol" and won an Academy Award for her role as Effie in the movie "Dreamgirls."