Police Confirm Body Found Is Hudson's Missing Nephew

Oct. 27, 2008 — -- The body found in a sports utility vehicle on Chicago's West Side Monday morning has been identified as Julian King, the 7-year-old nephew of Oscar-winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson.

Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis confirmed the Hudson family's worst fears at a press conference Monday afternoon.

The 7-year-old's body was found in the back seat of a white Chevrolet Suburban that police had been looking for since Friday, when he went missing and Hudson's mother and brother were found shot to death in their home on Chicago's South Side.

Police discovered Julian's body and the missing vehicle about 10 miles southeast of the Hudson family home.

According to law enforcement sources quoted in the Chicago Tribune Monday afternoon, King had been shot multiple times.

"We're just sad. We're going through this stage where we're just sad and in shock," Hudson's aunt, Dorothy Hudson, told the Associated Press Monday. She and her husband, John, own a Chicago funeral home that plans to handle arrangements for the family.

Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, was found dead on the living room floor by her other daughter, Julia Hudson. Officers later discovered Hudson's brother, Jason Hudson, 29, in a bedroom.

Hudson's representative Christine Tripicchio said that "no statement from Jennifer or the family will be issued at this time, understandably."

Earlier, there were reports that one of Hudson's personal assistants named Jay called Fox News shortly after the police discovery of the body and said Hudson was "so distraught she cannot talk."

Police have not filed any charges in the murders, but they have been questioning a "person of interest," William Balfour, the estranged husband of Julia Hudson, Julian King's mother and Hudson's sister. Balfour is not Julian's father.

Records from the Illinois Department of Corrections show Balfour, 27, is on parole and spent nearly seven years in prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possessing a stolen vehicle.

According to their marriage license, Balfour and Julia Hudson were married on Nov. 14, 2006. Neighbors and his family members said the couple had been separated for about a year.

Balfour's mother, Michelle Davis Balfour, said Donerson had ordered Balfour to move out of the family's home last winter, according to local reports.