William Balfour, the only suspect in the horrific slaying of Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and 7 year old nephew could walk free on Monday if authorities do not charge him with something other than the parole violation he is currently held on. The Illinois State Parole Review Board has to rule that he has not violated the terms and conditions of his parole. TMZ.com reports that his hearing is scheduled on Monday morning at 9:00 AM.
While Balfour, estranged husband of Jennifer’s sister Julia Hudson remains in police custody and has been deemed “a person of interest†in this case, he has not been formally charged with the murders. Also police apparently lack sufficient evidence linking Balfour to the gun that was found to charge him with any crime at this time. A .45 caliber handgun, believed to be the murder weapon, was recovered in an alley last week by police. Ballistic and forensic tests are reportedly still being run.
Julia Hudson, mother of slain 7 year-old Julian King, continues to log on to her Myspace and blog from time to time. Disturbingly, the picture above was posted this week, with the caption you see below it “Now that Jason is gone I’m the prettiest one”. Very bizarre.
There were quite a few more pictures posted, that were taken on the night before the funeral for her family. Click here to see more of these strange pictures Julia posted and captioned from her partying that night. It seems as though she has some sort of inferiority complex. Some of her previous and current statements on her Myspace imply that her brother and sister were somehow loved more than she was. It seems like Julia’s posting a cry for help as well as attention. Very sad and very strange. The Hudson murders may remain a mystery for longer than we initially thought.
William Balfour hopefully will be charged by Monday with the crime, but if the authorities don’t have enough evidence right now, he’ll be back on the streets. Snarkista hopes that the forensic testing currently being done will quickly lead to an arrest in this horrible tragedy.
Police found a potential murder weapon today in a vacant lot just around the corner from where little Julian King, Jennifer Hudson’s 7 year-old murdered nephew was found. Julian was found shot in the white Suburban SUV stolen from the Hudson home. The SUV was found on the West Side of Chicago, very near where William Balfour, the only person of interest in the case, was taken in to custody.
50 officers from the police academy did a systematic grid search, some at the Hudson house, some near where the SUV found. The pistol was found by one of 50 police academy recruits who were searching parts of the city for possible evidence in the case, Deputy Chief Nick Roti said.
The recruit spotted the weapon in the thick shrubbery of a vacant alley around the corner from where the SUV was found, Roti said. No word on the caliber. News video showed it was a gun, police are still just calling it a “weapon”. Reports indicate a bullet was still in the SUV when it was found, and shell casings were reportedly found in the house. Reports say the family members were killed by a .45 caliber weapon. Bullets may have been found still inside the victims, but authorities haven’t released that information yet.
Ballistics will have to be run to see if any bullets came from the gun that was found. “Striation marks” will be on the bullet which give the exact “fingerprint” of the gun. You put ammo into the gun, fire it, and compare the bullets from the crime to see if the “fingerprints” match.
Police say there is an emerging theory that the gunman may have had help in committing the murders. How did one person shoot Jennifer’s mom and brother, grab a child, and drive the two cars that were missing from the home? One vehicle, the teal sedan, was found with William Balfour. The SUV, as we know, was found early Monday morning on the same side of town where William was found.
Last night, William Balfour’s mother made some strong allegations against Julia and Jason Hudson. She said Jason dealt drugs from the house, and that Julia had planted drugs on him. In 2004, Greg King, little Julian’s dad, and Jason Hudson did get caught in a drug deal. Both men allegedly sold crack cocaine to a registered informant. Cops then raided the same home where Jason and his mother were murdered last week. According to records, Jason, Gregory and Julia were all arrested. Jason got off, Julia got off, Greg did time. Cops say Jason and Gregory were affiliated with the gang, Gangster Disciples That’s the same gang that William Balfour, the “person of interest” was in.
Balfour’s mother insists her son is innocent, that he loved Julia, Julian and the whole Hudson family. However, neighbors say the domestic problems between Juila and William were common. William violated his parole from his prison sentence twice, but wasn’t sent back to jail. William reportedly threatened to kill the family on numerous occasions. Julia did not believe he was serious. Was this an act of revenge? Was this a drug deal gone bad? There are still so many unanswered questions. Ballistic tests may shed a lot of light on this tragic case.
William Balfour, the convicted felon suspected in the Chicago murders of Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and nephew was arrested on a drug charge in June, but authorities did NOT return him to prison on what was a CLEAR parole violation. Under the strict rules of the state’s parole program, Balfour could have gone back to prison JUST for the arrest.
The AP reports that officials who reviewed the cocaine-possession case against William Balfour, determined “the evidence that was presented during that time wouldn’t have necessarily warranted a violation.” WTF?! Cocaine possession! We’re not talking about a first-time offender here! Yep, they let him just waltz out of it.
Balfour missed a meeting with his parole officer on the day that the murdered bodies of Jennifer Hudson’s mother and brother were found. Balfour reportedly told the agent he was “baby-sitting on the West Side of Chicago.” The agent said he thought he heard a child in the background during the call. Balfour was taken into custody later Friday.
Balfour’s parole records indicate a parole supervisor declined to issue a warrant to revoke Balfour’s parole after Chicago police arrested him June 19 for possession of cocaine. “Per supervisor … no warrant. Agent to monitor offender, impose sanctions.” Great monitoring.
In Balfour’s case, a violation could have locked him up until May 2009. Even minus a day off for each day of good behavior, he still wouldn’t have been out before mid-December at the earliest.
The parole history report on Balfour alsoshows that a woman at Balfour’s home refused to open the door during an agent’s visit on Aug. 27. The woman told the agent during the 8:30 a.m. visit that Balfour was at work but Balfour’s boss told the agent he wasn’t due until noon. The report said: “Agent heard other people inside the host site and suspected maybe suspicious activities going on,” Agent will be following up for a possible warrant on parolee.” Guess what. No warrant for parole was issued.
So basically, the authorities had at least 2 CHANCES to put William Balfour back in prison, for good reasons. They failed to do so. If they HAD, 3 beloved people might be alive today. Balfour is the only person of interest in the slaying of Darnell Donerson, Jason Hudson, and Julian King…Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother, and 7 year old nephew. Nice work, guys.
UPDATE:Jennifer Hudson has identified the child’s body found in the white SUV as that of her nephew, Julian King. Law enforcement sources said that the boy was shot multiple times in the back of the vehicle. Police are testing the clothing of William Balfour for gunshot residue. He had been separated from Julia Hudson for about 2 years, and the alibi he gave police was that he was with his girlfriend during the time of the murders. She said NO HE WASN’T. Police descended on her house where Balfour was arrested, and searched it thoroughly. Now police are checking all surveillance cameras in the area to try and place Balfour and the SUV together. Rest in peace Julian, Darnell and Jason.
Chicago Breaking News says:
The boy’s aunt, actress-singer Jennifer Hudson and three other relatives went to the office and identified the body, authorities said. Chicago police brought Julian’s body to the medical examiner’s office about 12:15 p.m., said office spokesman Sean Howard. Hudson and relatives arrived about three hours later. When the group entered a viewing room at the office Hudson held her head down, as if praying, Howard said.
The family identified Julian via a video screen mounted on a wall that showed his face, according to Howard. With Hudson were two other aunts of Julian’s, an uncle, three other family members, two detectives, Howard and a medical examiner, the spokesman said.
When they saw the boy’s face on the screen, Hudson told investigators, “Yes, that is him,” Howard said.
As Snark Food reported earlier, the white SUV that Chicago police had been searching for all weekend, was found this morning on Chicago’s West Side. Inside was the body of a child, believed to be Jennifer Hudson’s nephew Julian King. Chicago police Cmdr. Wayne Gulliford said the SUV is the one wanted in an Amber Alert issued for the Oscar-winning actress’ nephew, Julian King, 7. King has been missing since Friday. That Amber Alert has just been canceled. Hudson family members were expected at the medical examiner’s office this afternoon to identify the body.
Julian had been missing since the horrific double homicide of Jennifer Hudson’s mother and brother on Friday. A neighbor who lives a block away from where the SUV was discovered parked at 1313 S. Kolin, says he remembers seeing the car Saturday. During the police press conference, the man came forward and claimed he called cops that same day but no one responded.
Meanwhile, two other neighbors told a Chicago reporter they are sure the SUV was NOT there on Saturday. If true, it may mean someone other than the suspect, William Balfour, drove it there with the body inside. Balfour was arrested Friday night.
Some neighbors of Jennifer Hudson’s family said they saw two men enter the house Friday morning before gunshots were heard. Julia Hudson, Jennifer’s sister, found the bodies of her mother and brother around 2:45pm Friday, when she came home from work. Julian was gone. Police began an intensive search for Julian AND William Balfour, and put out an Amber Alert for the boy and the white Suburban.
Investigators have closed off the area where the vehicle was found. It is not clear how long the vehicle was parked on the street. Early Monday morning, police sources say that they searched a home in the 1900-block of South Spaulding, which is about six or seven blocks from where William Balfour, 27, a person of interest in the murders, was arrested.
The SUV was reportedly found by a 75-year-old who lives on the block named John Louden. He said he has lived on the block for 18 years and worried about people selling drugs in the abandoned building behind it. He saw the SUV while walking his dog. After a second look, he realized the license plate matched the one police were looking for.
“I didn’t look in there. I didn’t touch it. I knew it was a strange vehicle,” Louden said. He said police showed up in about five minutes after his wife called them. They discovered the child inside. The body was removed and the SUV was towed away for evidence processing. “I feel bad about that baby,” Louden said.
An autopsy is currently being done on the young child. The Medical Examiner is trying to identify the child that was found. Sadly, it is almost certainly Julian. Hudson’s family members and supporters assumed this was the third member of her family killed since Friday. The FBI is now saying that it is “believed to be” young Julian King, age 7.
“It’s shocking. It’s unreal. We had been praying that it would not come to this,” said Rev. Krista Alston, a cousin of Hudson and a minister at the Pleasant Gift Baptist Church in Chicago. “We know it’s a reality now, but it’s still shocking.”
Our prayers go out for the Hudson family. Updates here as they become available.
Jennifer Hudson’s 7 year-old nephew, Julian King, is still missing this morning. An Amber Alert remains in effect for Julian. He is 5′ tall, and weighs 135 lbs. Authorities say he may look more like a teen than a 7 year old because of his size. Julian is believed to have been abducted from the crime scene, where Jennifer Hudson’s mother and brother were killed yesterday.
TMZ is reporting that the Cook County Coroner just told them that both victims had multiple gun wounds. Autopsy reports are expected later today. A statement from the family is also expected today, and we will bring it to you when it becomes available. It is now being reported that Julia Hudson was the person who discovered her murdered mother and brother after coming home from work.
William Balfour, the estranged husband of Jennifer’s sister Julia, is in Chicago police custody. He is the only suspect thus far in the double-homicide yesterday of Jennifer Hudson’s mother and brother. “Flex A Million” is the nickname on William Balfour’s Myspace. He says he doesn’t “tolerate bulls**t.”
As Snark Food posted earlier, Julia Hudson’s Myspace showed recently that her (slain) brother Jason Hudson had to “pick her up because William sold her car.” Neighbors in the Chicago South Side neighborhood reported that there had been a dispute over a car, that Balfour sold the car, and that the discussion became so heated that Balfour threatened to “kill the whole family.” Julia Hudson’s Myspace also lists William as one of her “ten best friends”, and that out of the ten is “the most likely to get arrested.” It also says that William lives with her.
Balfour may not have acted alone. Some neighbors reported seeing 2 people go into the house. Other reports out of Chicago say that the killings were an “act of revenge” because Hudson’s mother had kicked Balfour out of her house.
Police are questioning several people, but Balfour is currently the only person under arrest. He is not revealing anything about little Julian’s whereabouts. Neighbors in the area who know the family well say a few weeks ago a family member tried stealing a car, which triggered a heated argument in which the would-be thief promised revenge. No one was named specifically, but Balfour spent nearly 7 years in prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen vehicle. Balfour was released from the Illinois River Correctional Center in Canton in May 2006.
Balfour’s mother, Michelle Davis-Balfour, said her son had nothing to do with the killings. “Out of no means did my son do this. This heinous crime to this family is unbelievable. It’s unbearable,” she said. She is begging for anyone who may have Julian to please let him go. Cops don’t seem to agree with Michelle on Balfour’s involvement.
Jennifer Hudson and her sister Julia are currently in seclusion in Chicago. Chicago police are pursuing all leads, and are desperately searching for young Julian King. If you have information regarding the crimes, or have seen Julian King, please contact the Chicago Police Department at 312-745-6052. See Snark Food’s previous reports for more information on the story.
