Watch CBS News

Day After Verdict In Family Murders, Jennifer Hudson All Smiles At Great America

GURNEE, Ill. (CBS) -- Jennifer Hudson and her fiancé went to Six Flags Great America Saturday, a day after she listened to guilty verdicts against her former brother-in-law for killing her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.

Hudson and David Otunga rode the brand new X Flight roller coaster at the amusement park in Gurnee, a Six Flags spokesman confirmed to the Chicago Sun-Times.

A photograph taken Saturday showed her and Otunga in casual clothes and all smiles as they were belted into the ride that debuted this week.

Hudson spent the last three weeks in a Cook County courtroom, with her sister, Julia Hudson, and Otunga, listening to brutal evidence and hiding her eyes from crime scene photos in the October 2008 murders of her mother, Darnell Donerson, brother Jason Hudson and nephew Julian King.

Late Friday, jurors convicted William Balfour, the former husband of Julia Hudson, of murdering the three in a jealous rage.

Jennifer Hudson, who stayed far from cameras during the trial, released a written statement Friday night from her and her sister, quoting Corinthians and asking God to forgive Balfour.

Hudson's publicist could not be reached immediately for comment.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.