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UPDATE 5:45pm EST

Jurors have started deliberating in the trial of William Balfour, the man accused of killing Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.

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After two weeks of presenting evidence and emotional testimony, closing arguments will conclude in the Jennifer Hudson family murder trial and a verdict is expected to be announced before the end of the day.

STORY: Homestretch! Prosecution Rests Its Case In Jennifer Hudson Family Murder Trial 

On the first day of the trial, Hudson took the witness stand and testified tearfully about the slayings of her mother, brother and young nephew.

William Balfour, 30, sat in the courtroom and listened to the bulk of the testimony from the 84 witnesses testified saying that he was the killer.

Testimony came to a quick end Tuesday after prosecutors rested their case and Balfour’s attorneys put on only two witnesses. Balfour didn’t testify in his own defense.

According to the Chicago Tribune, trial experts say defendants in murder cases typically have too much to lose by taking the witness stand.

Veteran criminal-defense attorney Steve Greenberg said:

“You want the jury to focus on the weaknesses in the state’s case, not on him. If you put him on and the jurors don’t like him, it’s typically fatal.”

Prosecutors contend Balfour had the motive and he was upset that his estranged wife, Hudson’s sister, Julia, wanted a divorce and was seeing another man. And all evidence, they say, indicates Balfour was near the Hudson family home in Englewood on the October 2008 morning that Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donerson, 57; brother Jason Hudson, 29; and 7-year-old nephew Julian King were fatally shot. Julian’s body was found three days later in an SUV stolen from the Hudson home.

Balfour pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder. If convicted on all counts, he faces a mandatory life prison term.

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