Jury convicts man of murdering Hudson kin
Source: Agencies |
May 13, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A JURY convicted Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson's former brother-in-law on Friday of murdering her mother, brother and seven-year-old nephew in what prosecutors described as an act of vengeance by a jilted husband.
Hudson, who expressed her undisguised disdain for William Balfour when she took the witness stand and endured weeks of excruciating testimony about the 2008 killings, was overcome with emotion as the verdict was read. She bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. She then looked at her sister, Julia Hudson, and smiled.
The sisters left the courthouse without speaking to reporters but released a statement on Friday night extending a prayer to the Balfour family, saying "we have all suffered terrible loss in this tragedy."
"It is our prayer that the Lord will forgive Mr Balfour of these heinous acts and bring his heart into repentance someday," they said in the statement.
Balfour, who faces a mandatory life prison sentence, showed no emotion after the verdict. A few of his relatives looked upset.
Jurors deliberated for three days before reaching their verdict against Balfour, a 31-year-old former gang member who was the estranged husband of Julia Hudson at the time of the murders.
With no surviving witnesses to the October 24, 2008, slayings or fingerprints, prosecutors built a circumstantial case against Balfour by calling 83 witnesses over 11 days of testimony. Witnesses said he threatened to kill the entire family if Julia Hudson spurned him.
Balfour had lived in the Hudsons' three-story Englewood home after marrying Julia Hudson in 2006. He moved out in early 2008 after falling out with his wife. The killings occurred the morning after Julia Hudson's birthday, and prosecutors said he became enraged when he stopped by the home and saw a gift of balloons in the house from her new boyfriend.
Hudson, who expressed her undisguised disdain for William Balfour when she took the witness stand and endured weeks of excruciating testimony about the 2008 killings, was overcome with emotion as the verdict was read. She bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. She then looked at her sister, Julia Hudson, and smiled.
The sisters left the courthouse without speaking to reporters but released a statement on Friday night extending a prayer to the Balfour family, saying "we have all suffered terrible loss in this tragedy."
"It is our prayer that the Lord will forgive Mr Balfour of these heinous acts and bring his heart into repentance someday," they said in the statement.
Balfour, who faces a mandatory life prison sentence, showed no emotion after the verdict. A few of his relatives looked upset.
Jurors deliberated for three days before reaching their verdict against Balfour, a 31-year-old former gang member who was the estranged husband of Julia Hudson at the time of the murders.
With no surviving witnesses to the October 24, 2008, slayings or fingerprints, prosecutors built a circumstantial case against Balfour by calling 83 witnesses over 11 days of testimony. Witnesses said he threatened to kill the entire family if Julia Hudson spurned him.
Balfour had lived in the Hudsons' three-story Englewood home after marrying Julia Hudson in 2006. He moved out in early 2008 after falling out with his wife. The killings occurred the morning after Julia Hudson's birthday, and prosecutors said he became enraged when he stopped by the home and saw a gift of balloons in the house from her new boyfriend.
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