Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Prosecutor are now laying out their case against William Balfour, explaining what motivated Jennifer Hudson's estranged brother-in-law to allegedly shoot and kill three family members. Wednesday, Balfour is being held without bond. CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports the case hinges on Balfour's troubled relationship with Hudson's sister Julia.

Bond was denied Wednesday for William Balfour, charged with the murders of actress/singer Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and young nephew.

Balfour, 27, the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson's sister, Julia, was arrested Monday afternoon at Stateville Correctional Center, where he was being held on a parole violation.

He is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of home invasion in the slayings of Darnell Donerson, Jason Hudson and 7-year-old Julian King, according to Cook County State's Attorney's office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton.

Through his attorney, Balfour has denied the charges, but on Wednesday, Cook County Circuit Judge Raymond Miles ordered Balfour held without bond.

Police believe Julia Hudson was in a quarrel with Balfour at the Hudson home in the 7000 block of South Yale in Englewood. Donerson, 57, and Jason Hudson, 29, were shot to death in the home, but Julia was not there. Julian was found dead three days later in an SUV on the West Side.

Prosecutors allege it was William Balfour's jealousy that led him to kill Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother, and nephew - furious that his estranged wife, Hudson's sister Julia had a new boyfriend.

"In early October 2008 the defendant came to Julia Hudson's workplace and made a threat to her there about seeing other men," said Assistant State's Attorney Lu Ann Snow.

Threats allegedly repeated by Balfour, when he met Julia at the Englewood home the very the day of the triple slayings.

"He had stopped by, and he saw a birthday present and he questioned her where did that birthday present come from and told her again she was not to see other men," Snow said.

Authorities say Julia and Balfour left the house together, but Balfour returned. He allegedly shot Hudson's mother, Donnell Donerson, multiple times in the living room; shot her son Jason twice in the head while he was still in bed; and abducted Julian King in Jason's white Chevy Suburban, before shooting him in the head.

"He had made an admission to his girlfriend, that he, in fact, shot the victims," said State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.

The girlfriend also told police she saw Balfour with a .45-caliber gun similar to the one used in all three killings.

In late October, police found a .45-caliber pistol in bushes near the place where the SUV was parked. The gun was linked to the murders through ballistics tests, law enforcement sources said.

The gun is believed to have belonged to Jason Hudson. It had been missing from the South Yale home for several months and authorities suspect Balfour stole it, sources said.


But Tuesday, Balfour's mother claimed the girlfriend cut a deal with prosecutors. She ducked reporters today, but William Balfour's attorney didn't.

"That confession of the girlfriend, even if it happened, is completely unbelievable," said Balfour's attorney Joshua Kutnick.

And, he claims, there's little physical evidence linking Balfour to the murders.

"What they have done is put together a very loose-knit case," Kutnick said. "It's pieced by very circumstantial evidence but there are holes in it."

Police took Balfour into custody for questioning after the murders, but he was released without charges. Shortly after that, he was taken into state custody for parole violations and has been held at Stateville ever since.

Balfour has been on parole since his release from prison for a 1999 attempted murder conviction. A full hearing on Balfour's parole was scheduled for Wednesday.

Prosecutors did reveal one new bit of physical evidence - gunshot residue found inside Balfour's personal car indicating, they say, that he had fired a handgun.

This case represents the first big test for newly elected state's attorney Anita Alvarez, who was sworn in Monday. She says her office was extremely deliberate in examining evidence to ensure there was no rush to judgment.

CBS 2's Derrick Blakley and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.

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