A Break In The Case

The police are doing a great job today for the Hudson family. They found what they believe to be the gun used to murder Jennifer Hudson's three family members last Friday.

The police department sent 100 police officers and staff to search the area where the body of 7-year-old Julian King was found. A handgun was found in an littered abandoned lot, about one block away from where the vehicle with Julian's body inside was parked.

The main suspect William Balfour is still being held on parole violations, yet is still refusing to cooperate with police in the investigation.




Who is William Balfour?

William Balfour has been out on parole since May 2006, after serving seven years in an Illinois state prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen vehicle. From court documents, Balfour had attempted to steal a car and with the owner still hanging on to the vehicle, then crashed the car into a telephone poll where the victim sustained burns and was hospitalized.

His father is serving a 30 year sentence for murder and his brother has previously served time for drug charges.

Balfour was arrested in June for possession of a cocaine related drug. Records show that the court dismissed the case in July for lack of probable cause.

He also missed a parole meeting on Friday morning when the murders occurred. He told his parole officer that he was babysitting at his girlfriend's home. His girlfriend, when interviewed by police after the murders, disputed his story and verified he did take part in the murder.

Murder Weapon Found

The suspected murder weapon was found after a grid search of a vacant lot a mere block from where Julian King's body was found by nearly 100 police staff.

Deputy Chief Nick Roti says some additional "small bits of evidence" were also recovered, but he didn't give details or allow for any further questions.



An Angry Phone Call

The theory is that William Balfour had taken possession of a car belonging to him and Julia, and had failed to make monthly payments. Julia's wages were garnished on October 24th,2008.

Julia called William about the money.

At this point it is assumed that William made his way to the Hudson family home in an unstoppable rage that ened the lives of the three family members.


This remains a developing story and will be updated as new details are reported.

Read more about the gruesome murders from our previous reporting here.