William Balfour Gets 3 Life Sentences For 2008 Hudson Murders

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Jul 24, 2012 7:00PM

William Balfour received three consecutive sentences of life in prison for the murder of three of singer Jennifer Hudson's family members in 2008. He was also sentenced to 50 years for home invasion, 10 years for possession of a stolen vehicle and 60 years for aggravated kidnapping.

"Mr. Balfour, you have the heart of an arctic night and your soul is as barren as deep space," Judge Charles Burns said today.

A jury found Balfour, 31, guilty in May for the October 2008 murders. Hudson's mother Darnell Donerson, 57, and her brother Jason Hudson, 29, were found shot to death at their Englewood home on Oct. 24, 2008. Three days later, the body of 7-year-old Julian King, son of Julia Hudson, was found in a stolen SUV. Balfour was the estranged husband of Hudson's sister Julia Hudson at the time of the murders, and witnesses testified he had been at the home arguing with Julia earlier in the day.

Balfour made a statement before being sentenced in which he expressed his condolences to the family saying, "My deepest sympathies go to Julian King. I loved him. I still love him."

Burns didn't buy it. The Tribune writes:

The judge said he was appalled that Balfour would claim to love Julian.

"The fact that you can stand in court and tell us you love that child is an insult to all of us," Burns said.

"There's no doubt in my mind he looked up to you as you were putting bullets into his head," Burns said in a shaking voice. "I just hope his terror was short-lived."

Balfour's attorneys also requested and were denied a new trial after they argued that Hudson's testimony should have been ruled out and that her starpower played a role in the verdict.

See our previous coverage for an in-depth look at the trial and the murders.