The mother and brother of Oscar-winning actress and chart-topping singer Jennifer Hudson have been found shot dead at the family’s Chicago home, Hudson’s publicist and authorities said.
A Chicago police department spokesman said the murders appeared to be the result of a domestic incident, but would not identify the victims.
Hudson’s personal publicist Lisa Kasteler confirmed that the victims were Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donnerson, 57, and her brother, Jason Hudson, 29.
PHOTO: AP
Donnerson suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Hudson was shot in the chest, according to the Cook County Examiner’s Office. There were no signs of forced entry to the home, according to Joseph Patterson, deputy chief of patrol of the Chicago Police.
Neighbors reported hearing gunshots at Donnerson’s home in the gritty Englewood neighborhood on the city’s South Side between 8am and 9am on Friday, but no one raised the alarm until around 3pm, authorities said.
It was Julia Hudson who made the gruesome discovery after returning home from her day shift at a bus company.
The older sister of Jennifer Hudson summoned the police and also reportedly told them that her seven-year-old son was missing.
Authorities immediately issued an all-points bulletin for the missing boy, Julian King.
Police said the missing youngster might have been abducted from the home and could be in the company of William Balfour, a suspect in the double homicide, who should be considered armed and dangerous.
The bulletin said Balfour, 27, could be driving a Chevrolet Suburban truck. The truck was registered to Jason Hudson, the slain brother of the singer, records showed.
Neighbors and news reports identified Balfour as Julia Hudson’s estranged husband and the step-father of her son.
On his MySpace page, Balfour described himself as a “proud parent” and played up his links to Jennifer Hudson.
“I might as well let you all know that Jennifer Hudson is my wife’s sister. I’m proud of her and wish her nothing but the best in what she do. But don’t hit me up asking about her, other than that it’s on!” he wrote.
Balfour is on parole after serving six-and-a-half years for attempted murder. He also has a conviction for possession of a stolen vehicle. At one time he listed Donnerson’s home as one of his previous addresses.
The Chicago Tribune newspaper reported the ex-con was taken into custody by police late on Friday while FOX News reported that Balfour was not cooperating with investigators and was not disclosing whether he knew the whereabouts of the seven-year-old boy.
However, Chicago police would not confirm these reports.
Jennifer Hudson was reported to be flying home to Chicago from Tampa, Florida.
The 27-year-old singer shot to nationwide fame on American Idol, the wildly popular television talent show. Last year, she earned an Oscar for supporting actress for her turn in Dreamgirls, alongside Beyonce and Jamie Foxx.
In recent weeks she has been promoting her latest film project, The Secret Life of Bees.
Hudson’s MySpace page was flooded with messages of condolences and support.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
CHIP WAR: The new restrictions are expected to cut off China’s access to Taiwan’s technologies, materials and equipment essential to building AI semiconductors Taiwan has blacklisted Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯), dealing another major blow to the two companies spearheading China’s efforts to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) chip technologies. The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ International Trade Administration has included Huawei, SMIC and several of their subsidiaries in an update of its so-called strategic high-tech commodities entity list, the latest version on its Web site showed on Saturday. It did not publicly announce the change. Other entities on the list include organizations such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as companies in China, Iran and elsewhere. Local companies need
CRITICISM: It is generally accepted that the Straits Forum is a CCP ‘united front’ platform, and anyone attending should maintain Taiwan’s dignity, the council said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it deeply regrets that former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) echoed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “one China” principle and “united front” tactics by telling the Straits Forum that Taiwanese yearn for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to move toward “peace” and “integration.” The 17th annual Straits Forum yesterday opened in Xiamen, China, and while the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) local government heads were absent for the first time in 17 years, Ma attended the forum as “former KMT chairperson” and met with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧). Wang
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
RSS