Looks like Jennifer Hudson‘s fame did play a factor when her brother-in-law was William Balfour was found guilty on three counts of murder.
STORY: Verdict Reached In Jennifer Hudson Family Murder Trial
According to TMZ, almost all the jurors admitted they knew who she was before the trial began. Of the final 12, five of the jurors admitted they had seen Hudson in Dreamgirls and six said they recognized Jennifer from her days on American Idol.
The lone juror who didn’t see Jen’s Oscar winning performance or Idol said he knew Hudson from television … but didn’t specify which show he recognized her from.
One legal expert tells us … Hudson’s level of celebrity probably didn’t hurt the case against Balfour … because jurors tend to identify with famous people.
Balfour was found guilty on three counts of first-degree murder by a jury last week:
First-degree murder of Darnell Donerson: GUILTY
First-degree murder of Jason Hudson: GUILTY
First-degree murder of Julian King: GUILTY
Aggravated Kidnapping: GUILTY
Residential Burglary: GUILTY
Possession of a Stolen Vehicle: GUILTY
Prosecutors proved that Balfour had the motive to kill Hudson’s brother, mother and nephew, as he was upset that his estranged wife, Hudson’s sister, Julia, wanted a divorce and was seeing another man.
All the evidence indicated that 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 did not take the stand during the trial as his lawyers only put two witnesses to testify, while the state presented 83 witnesses over 11 days of testimony.
