William Balfour
Gossip

Jennifer Hudson's estranged brother-in-law, William Balfour, has pleaded not guilty in the murders of the singer's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.

Balfour, 27, entered his plea to charges of first-degree murder and home invasion Tuesday at Cook County Criminal Court in Chicago. Before doing so he nodded to members of his family in the courtroom, The Associated Press reports.

He is being held without bail. He is due in court again January 27.

The estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson's sister, Julia Hudson, William Balfour was arrested in connection to the three grisly murders in December.

Hudson's mother Darnell Donerson, 57, and brother Jason Hudson, 29, were found shot to death in the family's Chicago home on October 24.

The body of Julian King, 7, was found three days later.

Prosecutors had claimed that Balfour, considered the prime suspect from very early on in the investigation, was upset that Julia Hudson was dating another man and that his jealously may have played a role in the crime. The gift of a car is also at issue.

Jennifer Hudson is set to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl on February 1, and is also slated to perform at the upcoming Grammy Awards.

According to Chicago police officials, the chain of events leading to the tragic murders of Jennifer Hudson's three family members began when her sister, Julia, celebrated her 31st birthday on October 23 with cake and a small party at home.

The next morning, Julia's estranged husband William Balfour – booted last February from the house in Chicago where they lived with Julia's mother and 7-year-old son – showed up and spotted a gift he believed came from another man.

That jealousy is the motive that allegedly led Balfour, 27, to return to the house after Julia had left for work and shoot her mother Darnell Donerson, 57, Jennifer's brother Jason, 29, then take Julia's son, 7-year-old Julian King.

He would go on to later kill him as well, prosecutors allege.

Jennifer Hudson and other family members were "relieved and happy" after Balfour was charged December 2 with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of home invasion, Chicago Police Deputy Superintendent Steve Patterson said.

Those family members assisted "every step of the way under very stressful and painful circumstances," adds police Superintendent Jody Weis.

William Balfour's attorney, Joshua Kutnick, says the stormy relationship between William Balfour and Julia Hudson makes his client "a convenient target."

"We are extremely confident that once all of the evidence has come to light and has been tested by our vigorous analysis of the case, that William will be found not guilty," Kutnick said after a judge ordered Balfour held without bail.

But the revelation that gunpowder residue turned up in William Balfour's green Chrysler "is indicative that he fired a handgun," Cook County Assistant State's Attorney LuAnn Snow says. "So yes, there is physical evidence."

In detailing their case against their prime suspect from day one, the police have described a growing tension between William Balfour and Julia Hudson.

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Chicago Prosecutors say William Balfour killed Jennifer Hudson's brother, mother and nephew because he was angry his estranged wife was dating other men.

At a hearing Wednesday, prosecutors claimed Balfour came to the family's home the morning of the October 24 murders and confronted his estranged wife Julia Hudson.

Balfour and Julia Hudson left together but Balfour returned to the home; the bodies of Hudson's mother and brother were found there later that day.

Darnell Donerson was 57 and Jason Hudson was 29. The body of Julia Hudson's 7-year-old son, Julian King, was found in an SUV three days later.

Although his defense insists William Balfour is innocent, a judge denied bail.

The prosecutor said Balfour - who was the prime suspect in the murder investigation from the beginning - confessed October 24 when asked for an alibi.

According to the Chicago Tribune, prosecutors debunked statements William Balfour made to police, such as the fact that he said he was at home at the time of the grisly murders, but cell phone records place him in Hudson's neighborhood.

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Jennifer Hudson's estranged brother-in-law William Balfour, who was arrested this week in the October murders of her mother, brother and seven-year-old nephew, has been formally charged with the crimes after getting arrested yesterday.

He has been charged with three counts of first degree murder and one count of home invasion. Cops say Balfour hasn't confessed to the crime, despite prior reports he did. But they also say he has "talked about the investigation."

The 27-year-old is expected to held without bail at a hearing tomorrow, but says he "did not commit these crimes," his lawyer was quoted as saying.

"The delay between the crimes and his actual arrest shows weakness in the case," Joshua Kutnick said, despite Balfour being a person of interest from the start.

"This case is not a strong case against William. He is a convenient suspect."

William Balfour was transferred from an Illinois state prison – where he has been held on suspicion of a parole violation – back into police custody.

Jennifer Hudson's mother Darnell Donerson, 57, brother Jason Hudson, 29, and Balfour's own stepson, Julian King, 7, were slain last month. Balfour is married to, but separated from Hudson's sister Julia, the mother of Julian.

Jennifer Hudson's estranged brother-in-law, William Balfour, was arrested late Monday in the slayings of the Oscar winner's mother, brother and seven-year-old nephew, according to Chicago police and the Chicago Tribune.

Formal charges have not yet been brought by the Cook County prosecutor's office, but Balfour was transferred from an Illinois state prison – where he has been held on suspicion of a parole violation – back into police custody.

He has been considered the prime suspect for weeks.

Balfour, 27, who is married but separated from Hudson's sister, Julia, was arrested in the first-degree murders of Hudson's mother Darnell Donerson, 57, brother Jason Hudson, 29, and Julia's son - his own stepson - Julian King, 7.

William Balfour, who previously served prison time for attempted murder and car hijacking, was arrested hours after the first victims were discovered.

The bodies of Donerson and Hudson were found shot to death October 24 in the family home on Chicago's South Side by Hudson's sister, Julia.

The body of King, Julia's son, was found three days later in the backseat of Jason's abandoned Chevrolet Suburban. All died from gunshot wounds.

Balfour and Julia Hudson married on December 30, 2006.

They lived together at the family home at first, but their relationship was marred by myriad fights over money and infidelities, according to family members.

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William Balfour, the murder suspect in the Jennifer Hudson family deaths, will remain in prison as investigators continue to investigate the triple slaying.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board ruled this morning that there was reason to believe Balfour violated his parole.

Balfour's girlfriend had said that she had seen him with a gun that matched the murder weapon, according to Jorge Montes, chairman of the review board.

He also violated parole by being in places where drugs were sold, stemming from a June 19 drug arrest, but Balfour's parole was not revoked at that time.

William Balfour, who is not represented by an attorney, protested the evidence used to hold him. A full hearing on whether to revoke his parole is set for December 3.

Balfour, who is still technically married to the American Idol singer and Academy Award-winning actress' sister, Julia Hudson - the mother of Julian King, 7, who was slain - has been on parole for a 1999 attempted murder conviction.

After he was questioned by Chicago detectives for 48 hours, his parole was temporarily revoked following the brutal killings of Julian King, Jennifer's mother Darnell Donerson, and her brother, Jason Hudson, the morning of October 24.

Although he has not been formally charged with any of the murders, Balfour's current girlfriend also told police that he told her he had been involved in the killings of Donerson and Hudson, according to sources. Stay tuned.

The murder weapon used to kill Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson's mom, brother and young nephew has been found, police in Chicago believe.

The gun was found by a detective searching land close to where the body of seven-year-old Julian King was discovered in a car last weekend.

Mother Darnell Donerson, 57, brother Jason Hudson, 29, and nephew Julian King, 7, are believed to have been killed with a .45-caliber weapon.

Technicians from the Illinois State Police crime lab will test the gun they found today against shell casings recovered at the crime scenes.

Nick Roti, deputy police chief, said a few other "small bits of evidence" were recovered in the thick shrubbery where the gun was found in a parking lot.

Police sent about 100 personnel to the area on the city's West Side after the breakthrough yesterday. Suspect William Balfour remains in custody.

The Dreamgirls star's family tragedy took place last Friday, when her mother and brother were found shot and killed at their home in Chicago.

That was when Julian King was reported missing, and Jennifer Hudson offered a $100,000 reward for any information leading to his return.

A day later, the boy's body was found in the rear of a 1994 white Chevrolet Suburban vehicle. He was shot at least once in the head.

William Balfour, the estranged husband of Hudson's sister (Julian's mom) Julia, is under investigation as the person of most interest in the case.

While he has not been charged with the killings, he has been arrested on parole violations, having just served seven years for attempted murder.

The case is building against William Balfour, the man police sources have pinpointed as the primary suspect in the Jennifer Hudson family murders.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Balfour's girlfriend - whose house he was arrested at Friday - has contradicted his alibi from the window during which the murders took place, and cops have caught him in at least one other lie.

William Balfour is still technically married (we think) to Jennifer's sister, Julia, whose little boy officially became the third murder victim yesterday. He is said to have been involved in an "ongoing domestic dispute" with the Hudson family.

Police have been tracking William Balfour through his cell phone records. These are his mug shots past (he served seven years for attempted murder) and present.

A neighbor says a man he believes to be Balfour was seen pulling up to his girlfriend's house around noon on Friday, got out of the car "carrying what appeared to be a bottle of liquor," and was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt.

William Balfour is in custody and is considered the primary suspect in the killings of Hudson's mother Darnell Donerson, her brother Jason Hudson, and presumably her seven-year-old nephew Julian King, whose body was discovered yesterday.

William Balfour, a suspect in the Jennifer Hudson family murders, is in custody. Her mother and brother are dead, and her seven-year-old nephew is missing.

Balfour was once married to J-Hud's sister Julia - the mother of Julian, the boy who is unaccounted for. An AMBER Alert was issued for Julian as of yesterday.

In a cryptic statement, a Chicago PD spokeswoman has said that investigators are talking to "a number of people in custody" but didn't explain further.

At least one of the victims - Jennifer's mom Darnell Donerson and brother Jason Hudson - had defensive wounds, which may suggest domestic violence.

William Balfour was recently paroled after serving seven years in jail.

Here's the interesting thing - according to TMZ, neighbors in the Chicago area who know the family well say a few weeks ago a family member tried stealing a car, which triggered an argument in which the would-be thief vowed revenge.

No one was named specifically in the incident, but William Balfour, who is currently on parole and lists Donerson's address as his, spent nearly seven years in prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Julia's MySpace page recently showed a picture of Jason with a caption that reads, "Jason picking up my ass from work, cause bitch ass William sold my car."

Follow the jump for more on the car theory that police are investigating in connection with the killings, and William Balfour's MySpace page ...

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