Suspect indicted in Hudson family triple slayings

The man Chicago police said killed three members of singer/actress Jennifer Hudson’s family was formally indicted Tuesday.

William Balfour, 27, the estranged husband of Hudson’s sister, Julia Hudson, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of home invasion in the Oct. 24 shooting deaths of the sisters’ mother Darnell Donerson, 57; brother Jason Hudson, 29; and Julia’s 7-year-old son, Julian King.

Donerson and Jason Hudson were found fatally shot inside their home in the 7000 block of South Yale Avenue. King’s body was found in Jason’s SUV three days later and several miles away from the family’s home. Police said the boy also died of gunshot wounds and was killed the same day as his grandmother and uncle.

Police said the apparent motive was a domestic dispute between Balfour and Julia.

Escorted by three law enforcement officers and shackled at the wrists and ankles, Balfour waved to his mother and other relatives as they watched the preliminary hearing from the courtroom’s galley at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building, on 26th Street and California Avenue.

He is being held without bond on a parole violation and remains in the custody of the Illinois Dept. of Corrections. He will be arraigned on Jan. 20.

Balfour’s attorney, Joshua Kutnick, asked Cook County Circuit Court Judge Maria Cecil to transfer his client to the Cook County Jail so Kutnick could have “easier access” to Balfour.

Kutnick said he’s had “great difficulty” in the last four weeks gaining access to Balfour while he is housed in the Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet. It’s a two-hour roundtrip drive to see Balfour, he said.

“He should be able to have access to his counsel,” Kutnick said.

Cecil said she would let the chief judge handle the request on Balfour’s next court date.

Kutnick said there is no direct evidence linking Balfour to the slayings and no confession. He also questioned the credibility of the witnesses and plans to challenge all of the state’s evidence against his client.

“Our separate investigation remains actively open. I anxiously await to see (Illinois State Police) crime lab reports,” he said.