Actress and singer Jennifer Hudson has heard of the moment her mother’s body was found sprawled on the living room floor of their family home with gunshot wounds through her back.
Sitting in a Chicago courtroom, she lowered her eyes as a police officer described finding Hudson’s mother Darnell Donerson, 57, followed by the body of her 29-year-old brother, Jason, who had been shot in the head while in bed. His sheets had been pulled up as if he was sleeping.The 30-year-old star left the court for a short time while the jury was shown photographs of the bloodied bodies.
The evidence was presented in the case against Hudson’s brother-in-law, William Balfour, who was separated from his wife, Hudson’s sister Julia, at the time.He is also charged with kidnapping and murdering Hudson’s seven-year-old nephew, Julian King.Another officer told the court how police hunted for the boy, who was found shot dead in a car three days later.
Prosecutors, who are trying to prove Balfour was in the area at the time, showed the court CCTV images of him at a petrol station near the family home before the killings in October 2008.As the video was played, Hudson put her head on her knees for several minutes.The Oscar-winner gave evidence on the first day of the trial, tearfully telling how she had not wanted her sister to marry Balfour because the family did not like the way he treated her.
The evidence against Balfour is circumstantial, with his defence lawyer, Amy Thompson, telling the court that DNA found on a gun believed to be the murder weapon did not match his, which “absolutely, positively” excludes him as the killer.Balfour will serve a life sentence behind bars if he is convicted of at least two of the murders. – Skynews
