Chicago, Illinois, police arrested a man Monday in connection with the killing of three relatives of singer-actress Jennifer Hudson, a police spokesman said. William Balfour, 27, was first detained for questioning on October 24, the day Hudson's mother and brother were found shot to death. Authorities said at the time that they were holding Balfour for an unspecified parole violation.Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, and brother, Jason Hudson, were found shot to death in their South Side Chicago home. The body of her nephew, 7-year-old Julian King, was found three days later in an abandoned SUV on Chicago's West Side. Police later found a handgun near the vehicle.
Detectives served arrest warrants on Balfour on Monday afternoon, said Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond. Balfour was transferred from the Statesville Correctional Center to the custody of detectives in the case, she said, and he is awaiting formal charges on three counts of murder.
Balfour is the estranged husband of the singer's sister, Julia Hudson, and the stepfather of Julian King.
According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, Balfour spent nearly seven years in prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possessing a stolen vehicle. He was free on parole at the time of the shootings.
Hudson won a best supporting actress Oscar for her portrayal of Effie in the film version of the Broadway musical "Dreamgirls." She competed on the third season of the singing competition "American Idol" in 2004, becoming one of the top seven contestants before being eliminated from the contest.
Michele Davis-Balfour, Balfour's mother, had defended her son publicly before the arrest, saying her son had nothing to do with the slayings. "If William did do this, right, in no means am I going to sugarcoat him and say my son didn't do it," she said. "I know my son didn't do this."
Pressed about her son's whereabouts around the time of the slayings, Davis-Balfour said, "My son's alibi was one of his girlfriends, one of the girls he is dating."
She said that after her son got out of prison, he was trying to improve his life by working at a sandwich shop. She also said he obtained his GED in prison by studying horticulture.
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