Oct 31, 2008 1:59 pm US/Central
Police: Found Gun Used In Hudson Murders
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Police located what they now believe to be the murder weapon used in the murders of actress Jennifer Hudson's family.
CBS
Police have officially confirmed they've found the gun that was used in the killings of actress Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and nephew.
Police Superintendent Jody Weis said Friday the .45-caliber gun found Wednesday in a vacant lot was positively identified through a forensic exam as being the same one used in the killings.
He says police still have a lot of work to do, but are "extraordinarily pleased and satisfied."
The bodies of 57-year-old Darnell Donerson and 29-year-old Jason Hudson were discovered in their South Side home last Friday. The body of 7-year-old Julian King was found inside an SUV on the city's West Side on Monday morning.
All the victims were shot, authorities have said. The gun was found in the neighborhood where the SUV was found.
Police are still investigating whether the gun was linked to William Balfour, the estranged husband of Hudson's sister Julia Hudson, sources said. The gun had been sent to the Illinois State Police lab for testing.
New details emerged Friday about the victims. Sources said a curtain was covering Julian King's body in the SUV, which may explain why it took three days to locate his body. The child was Julia Hudson's son.
Also, Jennifer Hudson's slain brother, Jason, had a gunshot wound to the leg that he suffered before he was slain last Friday, sources said. Investigators are trying to determine how he got that wound and whether the circumstances of that shooting figure into his murder.
Jason Hudson and his mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, were shot to death last Friday in her Englewood home in the 7000 block of South Yale.
Julia Hudson — who was not at home at the time of the shootings — was having domestic problems with Balfour, sources said. Balfour was interviewed by police and is now locked up in Stateville Prison on a parole violation.
News linking the gun to the killings comes as the South Side church where Jennifer Hudson spent her childhood prepares for a weekend memorial service honoring the three slaying victims. Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist Church is also where Hudson's sister Julia made an emotional plea for her son Julian King's return the day after he disappeared and his relatives were found shot to death.
The Hudson sisters will not attend at the community memorial, which will be open to the public from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, according to an announcement from Hudson's publicist.
Private funeral services for Hudson's mother, brother and nephew are to be held Monday at Apostolic Church of God.
To help other victims of violent crime, the Hudson sisters have established the Hudson-King Foundation.
The Associated Press and STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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