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Post by 2ton on Oct 25, 2008 7:07:44 GMT -5
Isn't it horrible, about Jennifer Hudson's mom being murdered! I remember she was very close to her mom.
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Post by Gee on Oct 25, 2008 13:46:55 GMT -5
Really? ? what!!! hugs gee
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Post by sunshine on Oct 25, 2008 14:09:35 GMT -5
Her mother and brother were murdered yesterday and her 7 year old nephew is missing. There is an Amber Alert out for him now. So sad and scary.
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Post by Tigerlily on Oct 25, 2008 14:18:17 GMT -5
Yep, Jennifer's mom and another person who was unidentified as of the news I saw last night were found shot to death in the mother's home on the southside of Chicago. I think it's horrible. It's a sad thing that you're not even safe in your own home at times. I hope they catch whoever did this quickly.
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Post by Tigerlily on Oct 25, 2008 18:03:06 GMT -5
Well, here's more news on the Jennifer Hudson front. This was posted on Yahoo when I signed in just a few minutes ago. There were apparently THREE victims in this sad situation as well as a kidnapped 7-year-old. So very sad.
CHICAGO - It was the cradle of her greatest triumphs. It's now the scene of her darkest hour. Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson has often credited her rise to fame to her upbringing in the impoverished neighborhood on Chicago's South Side where she went to grade school and sang in church.
But on Saturday, her family struggled to come to terms with the shooting deaths of Hudson's mother and brother in Englewood, while praying for the safe return of Hudson's missing 7-year-old nephew.
Authorities reportedly had in custody a suspect with ties to the family, but no one had been charged with wrongdoing Saturday.
The Hudsons, who insisted on not allowing 27-year-old Jennifer's fame to alter their lives, lived in a three-story white house bookended by vacant lots. A grill and bottle of mustard stood on the lawn on Saturday, remnants of the barbecues they were known to throw on birthdays and holidays.
"They wouldn't turn anyone away," said Bob Israel, who lives in the neighborhood. "They didn't want to change a bit."
An autopsy Saturday showed Darnell Donerson, 57, and Jason Hudson, 29, died of gunshot wounds, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Their deaths were ruled homicides.
Police said a family member entering Donerson's South Side home Friday found a woman's body on the living room floor. Officers later found Hudson shot in the bedroom. At least one of the victims suffered defensive wounds, said authorities, who described the shooting as domestic violence.
That same day, Julia Hudson, Jennifer Hudson's sister, reported her son Julian King missing.
William Balfour, a man suspected in the deaths and named in an Amber Alert issued Friday, was arrested Friday but had not been charged, law enforcement sources told the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times.
Bond, who declined to comment Saturday on a suspect, said no one had been charged. She has said that investigators were talking to "a number of people in custody."
On Saturday, neighbors and friends gathered outside the Hudson home and planned to scour the neighborhood to look for the child.
"We need to find that kid by sundown," said Ziff Sistrunk, a friend of the Hudson family.
Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said the FBI had been called to help in the search for the boy on "the possibility or any theory that he could have been take across state lines." But she added, "We have nothing to prove that."
Records from the Illinois Department of Corrections show Balfour, 27, is on parole and spent nearly seven years in prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possessing a stolen vehicle. Public records show one of Balfour's addresses as the home where Donerson and Jason Hudson were shot.
Balfour's mother, Michele Balfour, said that her son had been married to Hudson's sister, Julia Hudson, for several years, but that they were separated. She also said Donerson had ordered him to move out of the home last winter.
Michele Balfour told reporters that she offered her condolences to the family and denied her son had any involvement.
"All I want is for my son to come home," she said.
Jennifer Hudson's personal publicist, Lisa Kasteler, did not disclose the actress' whereabouts Friday or Saturday. She said the family wanted privacy and did not return messages seeking comment.
Hudson, who won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2007 for her role in "Dreamgirls," talked of the influence of her family often.
In a recent AP interview she said her family helped keep her grounded because her fame hasn't changed them.
"My faith in God and my family, they're very realistic and very normal, they're not into the whole limelight kind of thing, so when I go home to Chicago that's just another place that's home," she said. "I stand in line with everybody else, or, when I go home to my mom I'm just Jennifer."
Neighbors, including Dana Thomson, whose daughter worked at Burger King with Jennifer and Julia Hudson, echoed the sentiment.
"The mother didn't want to move. She was not accustomed to it," Thomson said. "She knew everybody here."
The tragedy comes as Jennifer Hudson's star continues to rise. Her song "Spotlight" is No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts and her recent self-titled debut album is selling well. She was featured in this year's blockbuster "Sex and the City" movie and also stars in the hit film "The Secret Life of Bees."
My heart and prayers go out to Jennifer, her remaining family and friends.
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Post by 2ton on Oct 25, 2008 22:25:21 GMT -5
It's such a tragedy. I can't imagine having to live through such an ordeal!
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Post by mbucksfan on Oct 26, 2008 1:42:58 GMT -5
I feel so bad for her and her family. Life will never be the same for them again. I hope they find the other two alive and that they haven't ahrmed them. That poor little boy must be so scared.
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Post by laurkat22 on Oct 26, 2008 11:32:31 GMT -5
What a horrible tragedy. I heard about this on Friday. I hope they find whoever did this.
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Post by ChiFan on Oct 27, 2008 9:04:51 GMT -5
It sounds like the news has gotten even worse. Police have confirmed that the body of a young African American boy has been found in the missing white suv. It's absolutely heartbreaking.
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Post by imbadd on Oct 27, 2008 9:11:44 GMT -5
I'm at a loss for words
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Post by 2ton on Oct 27, 2008 9:18:34 GMT -5
That is so tragic. They just have to find the perp. There should be some evidence in that SUV! Those who lost their lives deserve to have their murdered punished, especially that innocent little boy.
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Post by ChiFan on Oct 27, 2008 9:34:55 GMT -5
The boy's stepfather is in custody for a parole violation, and all fingers point to him as the murderer.
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Post by imbadd on Oct 27, 2008 11:45:14 GMT -5
Killing is BUT, killing a child #watchit#
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Post by mbucksfan on Oct 27, 2008 13:11:54 GMT -5
Poor Jennifer and the rest of the family. It is hard to think anyone could be so evil asd to murder innocent children. Is the nephew still missing?
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Post by Tigerlily on Oct 27, 2008 16:12:23 GMT -5
This just posted about two hours ago on Yahoo: The police in Chicagohave positively identified the childs body as that of Julian, Jennifer's nephew. Once the autopsy is done they may have a better idea of how long he has been dead and it may shine some light on the other two murders.
CHICAGO - A top FBI official said Monday that a body found in an SUV is believed to be that of Jennifer Hudson's missing 7-year-old nephew, the focus of a desperate search since the Oscar winner's mother and brother were found shot to death in their home three days earlier.
While the body has not been positively identified, FBI Deputy Director John S. Pistole said authorities believe it to be that of Julian King, who also lived in the home.
Chicago police said the body of a black male child was found shortly after 7 a.m. in the rear seat of an SUV. An autopsy was planned for Tuesday.
The SUV was found parked on the street in a neighborhood of brownstone homes and apartment buildings, and matched the one sought in an Amber Alert issued after Hudson's mother and brother were found slain Friday, police Cmdr. Wayne Gulliford said.
In Washington, Pistole said at a news conference on child exploitation that authorities found a body "who we believe to be the missing victim in Chicago, the nephew of Jennifer Hudson. We are working with Chicago police to get a positive identification of the victim."
Hudson had offered $100,000 Sunday for information leading to Julian's safe return. He is the son of Jennifer Hudson's sister, Julia Hudson. Telephone and e-mail messages left Monday for Hudson's publicist, who had been releasing statements on behalf of the family, were not answered.
Chicago police have characterized the killings as "domestic related" and have been questioning William Balfour, who is the estranged husband of Julia Hudson and is being held in state custody on a parole violation. Balfour is not the boy's father and has not been charged in the slayings.
Balfour, 27, was taken into custody Friday by Chicago police for questioning in the killings. On Sunday, he was transferred to the Illinois Department of Corrections "based on his active parole violation unrelated to this investigation."
Records from the Corrections Department show Balfour is on parole and spent nearly seven years in prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possessing a stolen vehicle.
Balfour's mother, Michele Balfour, has said Hudson's mother kicked Balfour out of the family home last winter. She denied her son had anything to do with the killings.
Corrections spokeswoman Januari Smith said Balfour would probably remain in state custody until the Illinois Prisoner Review Board looked at his case. She would not say where Balfour was being held, and it was unclear whether Balfour had an attorney.
Hudson, who won an Academy Award in 2007 for her role in "Dreamgirls," was in Chicago during the weekend. The medical examiner's office confirmed Hudson, 27, identified the bodies of her mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, and 29-year-old brother, Jason Hudson. The deaths were ruled homicides.
Neighbors and well-wishers brought stuffed animals and other items to a makeshift memorial outside Donerson's two-story white clapboard home as news of Monday's discovery spread.
"Everybody knows Jennifer Hudson, but I would be here even if it was little Suzy on the corner," said Tacara Juarez, 26, who doesn't know the family but lives in the neighborhood.
On Sunday, Hudson appealed to the public for help, offering the reward and asking any information be given to Chicago police.
"Jennifer and her family appreciate the enormous amount of love, support and prayers they have received while she and her family try to cope with this tragedy and continue the search for Julian," said a statement from her publicist.
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