Jennifer Hudson's Mother, Brother Killed; Amber Alert For 7-Year-Old Nephew

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Oct 25, 2008 1:00AM

Following up on the earlier mention in "Extra, Extra," it seems that the two victims of the double homicide on the South Side were the mother and brother of actress/singer Jennifer Hudson and a child, possibly Hudson's nephew Julian King (left), was missing; an Amber Alert has been issued. While police have not officially named the victims yet, the house where the bodies were found (the 7000 block of South Yale Avenue) belongs to Hudson's mother, Darnell Donnerson, and while the Trib is holding off on identifying the victims, the Sun-Times is quoting law enforcement sources in naming the victims as Donnerson and Hudson's brother, Jason. According to her bodyguard, Hudson was not involved in the incident.

Police also have a suspect: William Balfour (right). Balfour has previously been convicted of attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and receiving stolen property; he was paroled in 2006. Balfour's relationship to the Hudson's is currently unknown. Police say he's possibly driving one of two cars: a white 1994 Chevrolet Suburban (IL plate - X584859) or a teal Chrysler Concord (temp tag - 332K823). Police consider Balfour armed and dangerous but has not been charged with anything. Police believe the shooting stemmed from a domestic incident. Balfour has previously listed Donnerson's home as a residence.

Update - According to the Trib, Hudson's publicist has confirmed it was Hudson's mother and brother who were killed.

Update II - TMZ is reporting that the whole incident might stem from a feud between Balfour and Hudson's sister Julia, mother of missing 7-year-old Julian. Julia is a bus driver for the CTA. A posting on her MySpace picture page alludes to the incident, saying, "...William bitch ass sold my car." Pic is after the jump.

Update III - The Trib reports the suspect William Balfour is in police custody but that Julian was not found.