Pray for singer Jennifer Hudson and nephew Julian King

Chicago Sun-Times article:



Suspect in slaying of Hudson's relatives in custody



October 25, 2008


BY ANNIE SWEENEY, STEFANO ESPOSITO, MARY WISNIEWSKIAND MONIFA THOMAS
The family of Chicago-born, Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson is pleading for the safe return of her 7-year-old nephew, who has been missing since Hudson’s mother and brother were found dead in their Englewood home.


“All we’re doing is praying for the return of the little boy,” said John Buckner, 53, a first cousin of Darnell Donerson, the actress’ mother who was found slain in the 7000 block of South Yale Avenue Friday afternoon.



“That’s our prayer right now, that no harm comes his way.”


The man labeled a suspect by police in the slayings — the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson’s sister — was in custody Saturday. No charges had been filed against William Balfour. His mother, Michele Davis Balfour, said he had nothing to do with the double homicide.


William Balfour’s stepson, Julian King, 7, has not been seen since the slayings. Chicago Police called in the help of the FBI in the search for the boy, Police Supt. Jody Weis said Saturday.


Enough time has passed that it’s a possibility the boy was taken across state lines, Weis said.


“When a certain amount of time passes, that’s why we would reach out to the FBI,” Weis said. “We’re going to use any resource we can to solve it.”


Autopsies on Donerson, 57, and Jason Hudson, 29, revealed they died from multiple gunshot wounds. At least one of the victims suffered defensive wounds.


Jennifer Hudson, a top-selling singer and accomplished actor who got her break on “American Idol,” flew from Florida to Chicago Friday night. She was taken to the Cook County morgue, where she identified the bodies of her mother and brother.


“Our prayers go out to her,” Mayor Daley said at a Northwest Side anti-violence march Saturday morning. “Jody Weis and the police department [are] working to make sure they get the offender.”


Buckner, a civilian employee with the Chicago Police Department, said his first cousin, Darnell, was a joy.


“She was a wonderful person,” he said. “A very sweet person. She’d open up her door to anyone, just about. That could have been a problem.”


Balfour has been married to another Donerson daughter, Julia Hudson, for about two years. They had lived together in the Yale Avenue home. But the couple has been having problems, were separated and were planning to divorce, family members said.


Julian is Julia Hudson's son. Balfour is his step-father. The boy was not with Balfour when police arrested him Friday night, leading to the continued search.


“He’s a happy-go-lucky kid, a spoiled little kid,” Buckner said with a laugh about Julian, explaining that because he’s Donerson’s only grandson, the entire family doted on him. “That’s why I’m so worried about him. He’s a little hard-headed in a way.”


Weis said police collected a large amount of forensic evidence from the Yale Avenue crime scene, and the evidence was being processed.


Still missing is a white SUV that police believe Balfour could have driven from the Hudson family home, several sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.


Chicago Police issued an alert identifying Balfour as a suspect hours after the slayings.


The alert said Balfour might be driving a white 1994 Chevrolet Suburban SUV with Illinois license plate X584859. The alert had said Julian could be with Balfour — but the boy remained missing after Balfour’s arrest.


Balfour was arrested late Friday after police tracked his whereabouts around the city, law enforcement sources told the Sun-Times.


“I’m not going to let them put my son down,” Balfour’s mother told reporters at the police station where her son was being questioned Friday night.


“My son had nothing to do with this . . . and I’m very upset with the police because they are refusing to let me see my son.”


Michele Davis Balfour also made a public plea to reporters at the Area 1 police station for the return of Julian.


“Please, I’m begging you to return [him],” she said.


Police think William Balfour was at the Donerson family home around 9 a.m. Friday, the time neighbors reported hearing gunshots, a source said. Police were then able to track him to the Near Southwest Side, where he was arrested, the source said.


According to his MySpace page, Balfour says he is married to Julia Hudson. Michele Davis Balfour said her son and Julia Hudson had been married about two years, but had problems as recently as two weeks ago.


He had not lived at the Yale Avenue address since May, his mother said.


On the Web site, Balfour also talks of having a stepson and wanting to “experience everything.’’


“I don’t tolerate bull- - - -,’’ he wrote. “So don’t come to me with it.’’


Balfour, 27, was paroled in 2006 after convictions for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and receiving stolen property, state records show.


Donerson and Jason Hudson were found at about 3 p.m. in their home, police said. Donerson was on the living room floor. Jason Hudson was found in a bedroom.


The door to the house was unlocked, and there were no immediate signs of a robbery, police said.


Jennifer Hudson’s publicist said that the actress would not make any statement Friday. “The family has asked that their privacy be respected at this difficult time.’’


Jason Hudson had been living at the family home after being shot about two years ago during a home invasion at a suburban home, Buckner said. Jason Hudson was shot in the leg, and had been recovering.


“He was more or less a happy individual, trying to get his life straitened out,” Buckner said. “We nearly lost him a couple years ago.”


The news of the double slaying shocked the close-knit family, said their pastor.


“These are such difficult times,’’ said the Rev. Willie R. Davis, of the Progressive Baptist Church. “To lose a mother and a brother at one time — and then to lose them under these circumstances would be difficult for anyone. We just have to wait until the opportunity permits that we can sit down with them and have prayer. Jennifer is a very strong lady. She is deep-rooted in her faith. We know that through it all, she will get through.”


Cook County property records show the home where they were found is owned by Donerson.


Friends and neighbors said Jason Hudson was a fun-loving person who liked to barbecue, play dominoes and always had the latest video games.


Donerson was more soft-spoken. But she “always made you feel like family,” said Joseph Sardin, a childhood friend of Jason Hudson.


The tragedy comes as Jennifer Hudson continues to reach new heights in her career. Her song ‘‘Spotlight’’ is No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts and her recently released, self-tiled debut album has been a top seller. She was featured in this year’s blockbuster ‘‘Sex and the City’’ movie and is also starring in the hit film ‘‘The Secret Life of Bees.’’


She won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2007 for her role in ‘‘Dreamgirls.’’ In an interview last year with Vogue, Hudson credited her mother with encouraging her to audition for ‘‘American Idol,’’ which launched her career.


The singer, whose father died when she was a teenager, described herself as very close to her family. In a recent AP interview she said her family, which includes older siblings Julia and Jason, helped keep her grounded.


‘‘My faith in God and my family, they’re very realistic and very normal, they’re not into the whole limelight kind of thing, so when I go home to Chicago that’s just another place that’s home,’’ she said. ‘‘I stand in line with everybody else, or, when I go home to my mom I’m just Jennifer, [so she says], ‘You get up and you take care of your own stuff.’ And I love that; I don’t like when people tell you everything you want to hear, I want to hear the truth, you know what I mean.’’


Hudson recently announced her engagement to David Otunga, best known for his stint on VH1’s reality show ‘‘I Love New York.’’


Contributing: Frank Main, AP