Accused Murderer's Lawyers Want To Talk With Jennifer Hudson
UPDATED 02/08/12 5:52 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) - Attorneys for the man accused of killing three of Jennifer Hudson's relatives want to talk to the singer.
As WBBM Newsradio's Bob Conway reports, attorneys for William Balfour are asking to talk to Hudson in case she is called to the stand during Balfour's April murder trial.
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Hudson had never been identified as a witness in the case against William Balfour, the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson's sister, Julia.
But defense attorney Amy Thompson pointed to the possible evidence of a text Hudson exchanged with her mother around the time of the older woman's fatal shooting.
Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, and the singer's brother, Jason Hudson, were found dead on Oct. 24, 2008, inside their home in Englewood. Julia Hudson's 7-year-old son, Julian King, was found dead three days later in the back of Jason Hudson's car.
All three were shot to death.
Thompson made the request to talk to Jennifer Hudson Tuesday as she and Cook County prosecutors wrangled over whether there was enough "probable cause" for Balfour's arrest.
Thompson, who is seeking to have Balfour's arrest thrown out, argued he wasn't doing anything illegal when he was picked up after officers traced his cell phone to his girlfriend's apartment.
But Assistant State's Attorney James McKay urged Judge Charles Burns to consider the testimony of officers who described how Balfour constantly threatened to kill Hudson's sister Julia in the days leading up to the murders.
Wentworth Area Detective Tim Nolan Tuesday said Julia Hudson let Balfour, 30, use the washroom in her Englewood home hours before he allegedly murdered her relatives there.
Although Julia Hudson started seeing another man and told Balfour she didn't want to speak to him, she would still let him in the residence despite her brother Jason's protests, Nolan said in the pretrial hearing.
Balfour was spotted roaming around the South Side neighborhood drunk with a gun days prior to the slayings and asked Julia Hudson that morning why she had been ignoring him, Nolan said.
When she drove off for work, Julia Hudson told officers she saw Balfour in her rearview mirror still standing by the home, Nolan said.
Donerson, 57, and Jason Hudson, 29, were found shot to death inside when she returned. Donerson was holding the bristle of a broom and a shell casing was found inside Julia Hudson's son's playroom, retired detective Allen Szudarski testified.
Julian was found dead in Jason Hudson's stolen sport-utility vehicle on the West Side three days later.
Burns will rule on the motion to quash Balfour's arrest on Tuesday, Feb. 14.
The Chicago Sun-Times' Rumanna Hussain contributed to this report, via the Sun-Times Media Wire.
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