Jennifer Hudson's nephew missing after slayings

Authorities investigating the shooting deaths of Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were searching for the missing 7-year-old nephew of the Oscar-winning actress.

A suspect in the deaths was in custody Friday night, but young Julian King had not been seen since the bodies of Darnell Donerson, 57, and Jason Hudson, 29, were found Friday afternoon.

A family member entering Donerson's South Side home Friday afternoon found the woman shot on the living room floor. Officers later found Hudson shot in the bedroom, police said.

At least one of the victims suffered defensive wounds, said authorities who described the shooting as domestic violence.

William Balfour, a man suspected in the deaths, was arrested Friday but had not been charged, law enforcement sources told Chicago newspapers.

Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said investigators were talking to "a number of people in custody," but she declined to elaborate. An Amber Alert issued Friday said Balfour was a suspect in the double homicide.

Balfour was married to Hudson's sister, Julia, for several years but they were separated, said his mother, Michelle. She said Donerson had ordered him to move out of the family's home last winter.

Authorities would not confirm the identity of Julian King's parents, but family friends said he is Julia's son. There was no immediate word on the identity of the missing boy's father.

Jennifer Hudson's personal publicist, Lisa Kasteler, said the family wanted privacy.

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. Public records show one of Balfour's addresses as the home where Donerson and Jason Hudson were shot.

The Cook County medical examiner's office said autopsies were being conducted Saturday morning, but results would not be available until later in the day.

The tragedy comes as Hudson, who grew up in Chicago, continues to reach new heights in her career. Her song "Spotlight" is No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts and her recently released, self-tiled debut album has been a top seller. She was featured in this year's blockbuster "Sex and the City" movie and is also starring in the hit film "The Secret Life of Bees."

She won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2007 for her role in "Dreamgirls." In an interview last year with Vogue, Hudson credited her mother with encouraging her to audition for "American Idol," which launched her career.

The singer, whose father died when she was a teenager, described herself as very close to her family. In a recent AP interview she said her family, which includes older siblings Julia and Jason, helped keep her grounded.

"My faith in God and my family, they're very realistic and very normal, they're not into the whole limelight kind of thing, so when I go home to Chicago that's just another place that's home," she said. "I stand in line with everybody else, or, when I go home to my mom, I'm just Jennifer, (so she says), 'You get up and you take care of your own stuff.' And I love that; I don't like when people tell you everything you want to hear, I want to hear the truth, you know what I mean."

Hudson recently announced her engagement to David Otunga, best known for his stint on VH1's reality show "I Love New York."

Hudson's representatives would not disclose her whereabouts Friday. She had been scheduled to appear Monday in Los Angeles to collect an ensemble cast honor at the Hollywood Awards for "The Secret Life of Bees" with co-stars including Alicia Keys, Queen Latifah and Dakota Fanning. AP

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The Challenges of The Jennifer Hudson Family Tragedies Mark S. Allen It goes without saying that millions of people are praying for Jennifer Hudson and her immediate and extended families through these murders. I was born and raised in The Englewood community and share with all residents the most high profile crime in many of our lifetimes. There are many of us who have been through domestic and child custody challenges and can only Thank God it did not result in life threatening challenges to us our families or our children. In this Hudson case we must pray for those individuals who have to make some significant and life changing decisions to bring this current Hudson case to some closure. As Julia Hudson, Jennifer's sister and mother of the missing child stated, "she has already experienced the worst with the deaths of her mother and brother, and the only highlight she can experience now is the safe return of her son." If the child was an eyewitness to the murders then there is the challenge of the captor facing the challenge of immediate arrest maybe the rest of their lives in jail upon the child's release, so there must be prayer for the captor to think beyond their selfish concerns and should not consider harming that child as a means of their escape from justice. There is the hurtful challenges to the family of the step-father who may have to accept that he may have done something fatal in his lost of emotions in the alleged domestic dispute. Watching one channel's news coverage you see the suspects mother and family saying that he would never have the capacity to commit murder, yet he just served served several years for attempted murder. Then switch to another channel and see one of the Hudson neighbors who said he personally heard and witnessed on more than one occasion, the current suspect telling the child mother that he would in fact kidnap her son if she not treat him better. If the stepfather did not take the missing child, then we are now looking at even more participants involved in this most tragic affair. With all these issues STILL in front of Jennifer Hudson and family, we still have to get through the planning of a two funerals and it does not help with so many unresolved issues that will surely bring more pain and suffering to an already horrific affair. This Hudson family tragedy has touched people from all elements from our society, and what an interesting and heartfelt site to see many people who the community would called negative elements openly and publicly put their street reputations on the line in asking that members of the alleged negative element organize their peers in helping do various neighborhood searches for the missing 7 year old. This Hudson family tragedy will generate more questions by the day and we must remain prayerful for just human natured responses and reactions won't bring this matter to any kind of closure. The only source that we MUST continue to seek through these upcoming days are God, for only God can see us through these most tragic days of our lives. Only the power of God can see us through these most difficult times. As Jennifer Hudson and family face the challenges of healing, lets lift her, her immediate and extended family and us all up in prayer. Various levels of law enforcement will do what they have to do in this case, and God has to do only what he can do to all of us who have been impacted by this tragedy, in the Englewood community and to millions across the world. It's the almighty and eternal God in whose hands all of our lives rest.

Jennifer Hudson's nephew missing after slayings

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