Jurors will deliberate for a second day at the trial of William Balfour, the man accused of killing Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.
STORY: Last Days! Verdict Expected Today In Jennifer Hudson Family Murder Trial
The jury is scheduled to return to a Chicago courthouse Thursday morning to continue discussing evidence against Hudson’s former brother-in-law who says he is innocent of all charges.
Judge Charles Burns told jurors Wednesday night, after they had deliberated for more than four hours, that they would be sequestered at a hotel for the night.
At such high-profile trials, jurors are often not permitted to go home to ensure they don’t view media coverage of the case.
Burns told jurors their cell phones also would be seized. He said they must understand that their communications must be “cut off with the outside world” as they deliberate.
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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(Courtroom sketch of lead prosecutor James McKay holding a gun at the trial of William Balfour for the murders of singer Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and nephew. (Reuters/Tad Hathaway / May 10, 2012)
