The Verdict Is In For Jennifer Hudsons Family Murder Case

Well we have been waiting along time for the verdict to come out of this case, but as of today the verdict came through in the Jennifer Hudson families murder case.

A jury in Chicago has found William Balfour guilty on all counts in the murders of Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother, and 7-year-old nephew.

The verdict came shortly after the jury told the judge that it was split after 18 hours of deliberations over three days.   The judge then told the jury to resume deliberations.  Jennifer, her fiance David and her sister Julia Hudson were present in the courtroom for the verdict.

Balfour, 30, was accused of killing the three in a jealous rage, believing that his estranged wife, Julia Hudson, was dating another man.  He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder.  He pleaded not guilty.

The trial began on April 23 in Chicago.  Prosecutors called more than 80 witnesses over two weeks, and the defense rested its case after 30 minutes, calling only two witnesses to the stand.  Balfour did not testify.

Prosecutors alleged that Balfour fatally shot Hudson's mother Darnell Donerson, 57, in her living room, and then shot Hudson's brother Jason Hudson, 29, as he lay in bed.  He then kidnapped Hudson's nephew Julian King, who was 7. Investigators believe the boy was shot in the head as he lay behind the front seat of an SUV.

Prosecuting State Attorney Veryl Gambino said Balfour was in a state of rage over Julia Hudson's dating another man, and said Balfour had issued several threats against her and her family.

In Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Bagby's closing arguments, she said that Balfour "was fueled by his obsession, his jealousy, his determination to catch his wife, Julia Hudson, with another man.  She didn't want him around, her family didn't want him around.  But in his mind, she was his wife, and if he couldn't have her, no one could."

Bagby punctuated her narrative by frequently quoting Balfour's allegedly repeated threat to his estranged wife: "If you leave me, I will kill you.  I will kill your family first.  You will be the last to die."

While the defense argued that there was no physical evidence linking Balfour to the murders, prosecutors spent significant portions of their closing arguments focusing on what they said was important physical evidence in this case.

The evidence included cell phone records that put Balfour near the scene at the time of murders, gun residue found on Balfour's clothing and on the steering wheel of his car and the key to Jason Hudson's SUV, which was found on Balfour when he was arrested.

Man although her family can never be replaced, I am sure that t his is a heavy burden lifted off of her back and hopefully she can go ahead and get her newly formed family back on the right track and put her focus there. Hopefully the media will give her time to get deal with the verdict and deal with it in her own way.