William Balfour

Case overview

William Balfour was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences plus 120 years in prison on July 24, 2012.

Balfour was convicted of the murders of three members of singer Jennifer Hudson’s family: Darnell Donerson, Jason Hudson, and Julian King.

Timeline

• October 24, 2008 — Jason Hudson, 29, and his 57-year-old mother, Darnell Donerson, were discovered shot to death inside Donerson’s home in Chicago, Illinois. A missing report for Jennifer Hudson’s seven-year-old nephew Julian King led to an AMBER Alert.
• October 27, 2008 — Julian King’s body was found in Chicago’s West Side area, in a parked car matching the AMBER Alert description.
• November 10, 2008 — At a parole hearing, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office told the prisoner review board that Balfour’s current or former girlfriend reported seeing him with a gun identical to the murder weapon several days before the murders.
• December 1, 2008 — Balfour was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Donerson, Jason Hudson and King, and one count of felony home invasion.
• December 3, 2008 — A court hearing took place at which Balfour was denied bail. The prosecutor alleged Balfour committed the murders out of anger because his estranged wife was dating another man.
• December 30, 2008 — Balfour was indicted.
• January 20, 2009 — Balfour pleaded not guilty to all charges.
• May 2012 — A Cook County jury convicted Balfour of the triple murder.
• May 11, 2012 — The conviction was reported as having occurred on Friday, with Balfour facing life in prison.
• July 24, 2012 — Balfour was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences plus 120 years in prison.

People

• William Balfour — defendant; Jennifer Hudson’s former brother-in-law; Julia Hudson’s estranged husband; convicted and sentenced for the murders of three family members.
• Jennifer Hudson — singer and actress; appeared as a prosecution witness during the trial; attended the trial and testified.
• Julia Hudson — Jennifer Hudson’s sister; Balfour’s estranged wife; the mother of Julian King.
• Julian King — victim; 7-year-old nephew of Jennifer Hudson; found dead with multiple gunshot wounds; located in a parked car matching the AMBER Alert description.
• Darnell Donerson — victim; 57-year-old mother of Jason Hudson; shot to death inside Donerson’s home.
• Jason Hudson — victim; 29-year-old brother of Jennifer Hudson; shot to death inside Donerson’s home.
• Jorge Montes — board chairman at the prisoner review board hearing.
• Charles Burns — judge at the sentencing hearing; imposed the sentence of three consecutive life terms plus 120 years.
• Joshua Kutnick — Balfour’s attorney; stated that Balfour maintained his innocence.
• Gregory King — Julian King’s father; testified during the sentencing hearing.
• Reginald Jones — witness; testified that he saw Balfour spying on the Hudson home; also testified about Balfour’s interactions with crack cocaine and the family.
• Maria Wilkes — witness; testified that Balfour discussed his wife being unfaithful and threatened her and her family; testified to later telling her story to prosecutors.

Background

During his brief marriage to Julia Hudson, William Balfour was described as having embraced a stepfather role. He maintained an online presence, described as declaring himself a “proud parent” and decorating his page with photos of Julian King, and Julian King was mentioned in a seven-line autobiography Balfour wrote for a social networking site.

Balfour was described as helping support his family with money he earned as a Cosi baker. The reporting described him as frequently indulging his stepson with outings and being seen with Julian on the Englewood block walking to a park and enjoying barbecues.

Balfour was alleged to have been angry that his wife wanted a divorce and was seeing someone new, and prosecutors portrayed the killings as a jealous rage.

The offence

Victims and deaths

• Darnell Donerson (57) was discovered shot to death inside Donerson’s home in Chicago, Illinois.
• Jason Hudson (29) was discovered shot to death inside Donerson’s home.
• Julian King (7) was initially reported missing, leading to an AMBER Alert. His body was found on October 27 in Chicago’s West Side area in a parked car matching the AMBER Alert description. Autopsy results indicated that Julian King’s death was due to “multiple gunshot wounds.”

Murder weapon and car

A pistol found in a West Side vacant lot was confirmed as the murder weapon by Chicago police.

Prosecutors alleged that after the shootings, Balfour kidnapped Julian and shot him in Jason Hudson’s stolen SUV before ditching the vehicle.

The SUV containing Julian was found three days after the shootings at the Hudson family home in the Englewood neighborhood.

Investigation

Chicago police held Balfour in connection with the deaths of Donerson and Jason Hudson, and he was treated as a suspect in an AMBER Alert released Friday.

The investigation included a parole hearing at which an allegation of gun possession was presented before Balfour was formally charged.

The 911 recording released included Julia Hudson’s call after she found her mother fatally shot, and her subsequent statements during the call about not knowing where Julian King was.

Arrest and charges

On December 1, 2008, Balfour was arrested and charged with:

• three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Donerson, Jason Hudson, and King
• one count of felony home invasion

At a December 3 court hearing, Balfour was denied bail.

Balfour’s attorney Joshua Kutnick said that his client maintained his innocence.

Balfour was indicted on December 30, 2008.

On January 20, 2009, Balfour pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Prior criminal history and parole context

Balfour had been on parole and had spent nearly seven years in prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking, and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Illinois Department of Corrections records revealed an address connected to the home where Donerson and Jason Hudson were murdered.

After Chicago police held Balfour for the maximum 48 hours allowable without charging him, he was held by the Illinois Department of Corrections on a parole violation.

At the November 10, 2008 parole hearing, the prisoner review board was told by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office that Balfour’s current or former girlfriend told investigators she saw Balfour with a gun identical to the murder weapon several days before the murder occurred.

Prisoner review board chairman Jorge Montes said that although Balfour may have violated other conditions of his parole, the gun allegation alone was sufficient to hold Balfour until a December 3 hearing before the full Illinois Prisoner Review Board. Montes also stated that the allegations from the woman included that Balfour had admitted to her he was involved in the murders, and that those allegations were not part of the parole review hearing. Balfour appeared at the hearing without an assigned attorney because he had not been charged with a crime.

Trial

Prosecution evidence and witnesses

Jennifer Hudson testified at trial and was described as the first prosecution witness called. She testified about having slept in a bed with her mother until she was 16, and that she communicated with her mother every day by text messages.

A prosecutor alleged that Balfour had repeatedly threatened Julia Hudson, including allegedly pledging that he would kill her family first, then her.

Balfour’s defense team characterized the case as largely circumstantial. The defense suggested that someone else committed a crime in the family’s Englewood home and argued that law enforcement focused on Balfour despite a lack of physical evidence.

The reporting stated that there was no DNA evidence or fingerprints proving Balfour’s involvement, and that defense lawyers told jurors the work of Jason Hudson—selling drugs—was more likely what led to the shootings.

Balfour’s supporters included discussion of testimony from multiple witnesses, including:

• Reginald Jones, who testified about seeing Balfour sitting in the dark under the bedroom window of his estranged wife, Julia Hudson.
• Maria Wilkes, who testified that Balfour spoke to her about his wife being unfaithful and later about an argument between Balfour and Julia Hudson; she also testified that she told her story to prosecutors last July.

Witness testimony quotations

Reginald Jones testified:

• “Reggie, what the hell are you doin’ here?”
• “It shocked me.”

Maria Wilkes testified:

• “He was talking to me about his wife and how she was cheating on him.”
• “He was just saying how she got a new boyfriend and how he didn’t want to leave her…He said he was going to have to deal with it.”
• “I heard him tell her that if she was giong to call the police, he would kill her and her family.”

Maria Wilkes, in cross-examination, testified:

• she never told her story to police and “only divulged it when prosecutors approached her last July.”
• “She also said she did not hear anything that Julia Hudson said during the alleged argument.”

Jennifer Hudson testified:

• “Yes, that’s my mommy,” when asked to look at a photograph.
• “None of us wanted her to marry him.”
• “I tried to keep my distance with William any chance I got.”
• “Where he was, I tried not to be.”

In testimony reported during the trial, Jennifer Hudson also testified:

• “I would tell her over and over again not to marry William.”

Jury deliberation and verdict

The jury was described as having six men and six women, deliberating during parts of three days, and being split when they indicated they were close to announcing their verdict. They were sequestered during deliberations in the high-profile case.

Balfour was convicted in May of the triple murder.

Sentencing

On July 24, 2012, William Balfour was sentenced by Judge Charles Burns.

Judge Burns said:

“Your heart is an arctic night, and your soul is as barren as dark space,”

Judge Burns also said:

“I have no doubt in my mind he looked to you when you put bullets in his head. I just hope his terror was short-lived.”

Judge Burns stated:

“I have no doubt in my mind he looked to you when you put bullets in his head.”

During the sentencing remarks, Burns also said:

“Three days under a tarp,” Burns said of the time the boy’s body lay in the backseat of the SUV. “Just as if you threw out the trash and left it to rot.”

Judge Burns further stated:

“I don’t think you have one ounce of remorse in your soul; I really don’t,”

Judge Burns said he was certain Balfour killed Julian because he was in the way and could have been a witness against him.

Sentence imposed

Judge Burns imposed:

• a consecutive life sentence for each of the murders
• 120 years for additional convictions for home invasion, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and aggravated kidnapping

Outcome

William Balfour was convicted of murdering Donerson, Jason Hudson, and Julian King and was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences plus 120 years on July 24, 2012.

Balfour intended to file an appeal, and one issue raised was that Jennifer Hudson should not have been allowed to testify at trial due to alleged lack of direct knowledge of the murders and the influence of her celebrity. A judge denied the request for a new trial on that issue.

Aftermath and legacy

The aftermath included the creation of the Hudson-King Foundation for Families of Slain Victims to care for the needs of families who had lost relatives to a violent crime, according to a statement released to the press.

Gregory King spoke during sentencing about the three-day search and what he missed about his son:

• “I miss picking Julian up from the school bus,”
• “I miss going on field trips with him. ... I even miss his bugging me about Sponge Bob SquarePants, a cartoon character he was kind of afraid of.”

Balfour offered condolences to the Hudson family while maintaining he did not kill the relatives, and he made the following remarks:

• “My deepest sympathies go to Julian King,”
• “I loved him. I still love him,”
• “My deepest prayers goes out to Julian King. I loved him. I still love him,”
• “I’m innocent, your honor.”