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Here is an update of what transpired at the trial of the man accused of killing members of Jennifer Hudson's family.
Jennifer Hudson wept as she testified at the trial of the man accused of killing her mother, brother and seven-year-old nephew in a jealous rage four years ago.Hudson was the first witness called after prosecutors and attorneys for William Balfour finished their opening statements.
The singer and Oscar-winning actress wore a subdued black dress, minimal make-up and had her hair wrapped in a bun as she took the stand after emerging from a judge's chamber.
Celebrity witness: Court sketch of Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, who was questioned for more than 30 minutes on the first day of her brother-in-law's murder trial in Chicago
Emotional: Jennifer Hudson wept on the witness stand when she spoke about the murders of her mother, brother and nephew
She said: 'My name is Jennifer Kate Hudson. I’m an actress and a singer', according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
She responded to prosecutors' questions softly but confidently and when asked to identify the defendant, pointed at Balfour.
'He's sitting right there,' she said.
Hudson told the court that she had known Balfour since middle school but had never liked him. Balfour looked at Hudson but otherwise showed little emotion during her testimony.
Hudson began to cry when she spoke about her seven-year-old nephew Julian.
'It was always me and my Tugga Bear. That's what I called him,' she said of her nephew, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Hudson was tearful as she started to describe her reaction when her sister, Julia Hudson, told her she was going to marry Balfour.
'None of us wanted her to marry him,' she said, her voice cracking and struggling to hold back tears.
'None of us - myself, my mother, or my brother - we did not like how he treated her, and I didn’t like how he treated my nephew.
'I would tell her (Julia) over and over again not to marry William.'
Hudson testified about the harrowing day she learned of the deaths, flying home to Chicago on October 24, 2008, and identifying her mother and brother's bodies at the morgue.
Three days later she was back at the morgue to identify her nephew's body.
The testimony became increasingly difficult for the star when talking about seeing her family the Sunday before the killings and later when a prosecutor showed her a picture of her mother.
She identified a photo of her mother, saying: 'That’s my mommy.'
After more than 30 minutes on the stand, Hudson walked slowly across the courtroom directly in front of jurors clutching tissues.
She then took a seat in the fourth row next to her fiance David Otunga.
Troubled relationship: Jennifer Hudson's sister Julia with her estranged husband William Balfour who is standing trial for murdering her relatives
'Tugga bear': Jennifer Hudson offered $100,000 for the safe return of her nephew Julian King, seven (left)
William Balfour is charged with three counts of first-degree murder over the October 24, 2008 slayings that generated nationwide headlines because of Hudson's fame.
A former federal prosecutor said prosecutors were shrewd to call Jennifer Hudson as their first witness.
'It rivets the jury,' said Phil Turner, a Chicago attorney. 'For better or worse it increases the importance of the case in jurors' minds.'
Turner noted Hudson now can sit through the rest of the trial, in full view of the jury. Witnesses typically are not allowed to watch trials until they have testified.
Julia Hudson testified Monday afternoon, confirming that her family disapproved of her relationship with Balfour. Jennifer Hudson, clutching a plastic bag of tissues, watched from a fourth row bench.
Support: Friends and family of William Balfour walk inside of the Cook County Criminal Courts building for his trial on April 23 2012
Julia Hudson testified that Balfour was so prone to jealousy, he even became angry when Julian kissed her.
'He'd say, ''Get off my wife,''' she said.
She choked up while describing the first of many alleged threats by Balfour. After she rejected his pleas in May 2008 to reconcile, she said Balfour grew agitated.
'He said, ''If you leave me, you will be the last to die. l'll kill your family first,"' she said, her voice quivering.
'He'd say, ''Get off my wife,''' she said.
She choked up while describing the first of many alleged threats by Balfour. After she rejected his pleas in May 2008 to reconcile, she said Balfour grew agitated.
'He said, ''If you leave me, you will be the last to die. l'll kill your family first,"' she said, her voice quivering.
Traumatic: Friends and supporters of Jennifer Hudson leave court after the opening day of the trial of William Balfour which is expected to last four weeks
She said he used precisely the same words at least several other times in the months before the triple homicide.
Prosecutors have said that Balfour believed balloons he saw at the Hudson home came from Julia Hudson's new boyfriend. Driving away for her job as a school bus driver on October 24, 2008, Julia said she glimpsed Balfour in her mirror still lingering outside.
It is alleged that Balfour went back inside the three-story house around 9am and used a .45-caliber handgun to kill Hudson's mother, 57-year-old Darnell Hudson Donerson, in the living room - then shot her 29-year-old brother, Jason Hudson, twice in the head as he lay in bed.
It is alleged that Balfour went back inside the three-story house around 9am and used a .45-caliber handgun to kill Hudson's mother, 57-year-old Darnell Hudson Donerson, in the living room - then shot her 29-year-old brother, Jason Hudson, twice in the head as he lay in bed.
Trial: William Balfour is on trial accused of murdering Jennifer Hudson's mother Darnell Donerson, older brother Jason and nephew Julian King
Emotionless: An artist's impression of William Balfour (second right) as Assistant State Attorney Veryl Gambino speaks to Criminal Courts Judge Charles P Burns
He allegedly drove off in Jason Hudson's SUV with Julia Hudson's son, Julian King, inside. Authorities say he shot the boy, nicknamed Juice Box, in the head as he lay behind a front seat. His body was found in the abandoned vehicle miles away after a three-day search.
There are no known witnesses to the slayings, and it's unclear what physical evidence exists, be it fingerprints or DNA. Prosecutors say gunshot residue was found on the steering wheel of Balfour's car. But the defense says that and other evidence is circumstantial.
A gun, which Balfour allegedly stole months before from Hudson's brother, was recovered in a lot near where the SUV was found and will be presented as the murder weapon.
Establishing motive may pose less of a challenge.
Evidence: Documents for the case of William Balfour,
who is accused of killing three members of actress
and singer Jennifer Hudson's family are wheeled into court
A high-school dropout and one-time Gangster Disciple known by the gang name 'Flex', Balfour allegedly threatened to kill the Hudson family at least two dozen times, starting earlier in 2008 when he moved out of the house, lead prosecutor James McKay has said.
Court records indicate the now 34-year-old Julia Hudson's divorce from Balfour was finalized last year.
If convicted of at least two of the murder counts, the 30-year-old Balfour, on parole at the time of the killings after serving nearly seven years for attempted murder and vehicular hijacking, would face a mandatory life sentence.
Jennifer Hudson's name was among 300 on a list of potential witnesses. The 2004 American Idol finalist and 2007 Oscar winner for her role in Dreamgirls was expected to attend each day of testimony, which could last up to a month.
Harrowing: Jennifer Hudson poses with her Oscar in 2008 and brother-in-law William Balfour. She could testify at his murder trial over the shootings of her mother, brother and nephew
Tragic: Jennifer Hudson holding her Oscar with her mother other Darnell Hudson Donerson, 57, who was found dead at the family's home in Chicago in 2008
Judge Charles Burns has instructed jurors to set aside any sympathy for Hudson and decide a verdict strictly according to testimony. The panelists include a teacher, a trucker and two people who have had close relatives murdered.
Prosecutors have said Balfour claimed he wasn't near the Hudson home at the time of the killing, but they are expected to introduce cellphone records that allegedly prove he was in the area when two teenage girls who live nearby heard gunshots.
The witnesses didn't immediately report the shots to police because the sound of gunfire isn't uncommon in the impoverished, crime-ridden Englewood neighbourhood, according to court filings.
At a time when cities across the country have seen the number of homicides fall, sometimes dramatically, Chicago's jumped by 60 per cent the first three months of the year, and Englewood's violence was a big reason why.
Since he took office last May, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has used the word 'Englewood' as almost shorthand for gangs, guns and the dangers facing the city's children.
The deteriorating neighborhood has presented him with one of his biggest challenges, becoming a focus for his promise to deploy more police officers to the street while cracking down on Englewood's gangs.
Prosecutors have said Balfour claimed he wasn't near the Hudson home at the time of the killing, but they are expected to introduce cellphone records that allegedly prove he was in the area when two teenage girls who live nearby heard gunshots.
The witnesses didn't immediately report the shots to police because the sound of gunfire isn't uncommon in the impoverished, crime-ridden Englewood neighbourhood, according to court filings.
At a time when cities across the country have seen the number of homicides fall, sometimes dramatically, Chicago's jumped by 60 per cent the first three months of the year, and Englewood's violence was a big reason why.
Since he took office last May, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has used the word 'Englewood' as almost shorthand for gangs, guns and the dangers facing the city's children.
The deteriorating neighborhood has presented him with one of his biggest challenges, becoming a focus for his promise to deploy more police officers to the street while cracking down on Englewood's gangs.
Violence: The boarded up former home of Jennifer Hudson and her family in Englewood, Chicago. There are thousands of boarded-up buildings in the city's most notorious neighbourhood
There are a host of reasons for Englewood's downward spiral. But they mostly boil down to an exodus of families from an area that was predominantly single-family homes, resulting in an explosion in the number of abandoned buildings, and an influx of gang members.
Home to 100,000 residents in 1960, Englewood's population has dwindled. It had dropped to about 40,000 in 2000 and to 30,000 just 10 years later.
Part of the reason is that families moved out to safer places and others lost their homes when they lost jobs during the recession.
According to the police department, there are more than 4,100 abandoned buildings in Englewood, nearly 600 of them vacated in just the last 15 months.
Culled from The Daily Mail UK.
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