Jennifer Hudson's Nephew Found; William Balfour is "Person of Interest"

With the body of a young black boy found dead in a white SUV in Chicago believed to be that of Julian King, Jennifer Hudson's missing 7-year-old nephew, most eyes have turned toward William Balfour as the most likely suspect in the murders of Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, brother, Jason Hudson, and now the child as well. William Balfour is the estranged ex-husband of Julian King's mother, Julia, to whom he was married in 2006.

According to CNN.com, Chicago police responded to a call of a "suspicious vehicle" at approximately 7 a.m. They subsequently found the body of a young black boy inside a parked white SUV. The body was believed to be that of Julian King. Jennifer Hudson and her sister, Julia, were reported to have been summoned to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.

Although was no official confirmation, FBI Deputy Director John S. Pistole said that the body inside the vehicle was probably that of young Julian King.

According to witnesses, William Balfour was at the scene of the double murder at the time shots were heard fired (9 a.m.). He was also seen leaving with Julian King in a white Chevrolet Suburban. The recovered vehicle is believed to be the one driven by Balfour when he left the house.

It was William Balfour that was cited as a person the young boy might in the company of in an Amber Alert that was issued as soon as authorities found out that Julian King was missing Friday evening.

Police brought Balfour in for questioning around 11 p.m. the night of the murders. Julian King remained missing.

CNN reports that William Balfour stopped cooperating with police but they did not have enough evidence to charge him with a crime. Since Balfour was a parolee for an attempted murder and carjacking committed before he married Julia King, the Chicago police handed Balfour over into the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections for violating his parole (not cooperating with police is a violation). He remains a "person of interest" in the Julian King abduction as well as the Hudson family murders.

It is hoped that, with the finding of the body of the young black male and the vehicle of interest, there will be enough evidence to formally charge Balfour with the crimes.

It is also known that William Balfour recently had an altercation with the Hudson family over the selling of a family automobile that did not belong to him and that the argument got rather heated. One neighbor told police that Balfour was overheard yelling that he would kill "Julia's family."

William Balfour's mother, Michele, however, maintains that her son is innocent, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. She said that her son has never used a gun and that she does not believe he was near the Hudson residence on Friday. She did tell the paper that her son had talked about divorce in the past two weeks, that he confided that the marriage to Julia King had fallen apart. Michele Balfour also said that her son had been in constant contact the day of the incident.

CNN reported at 3 p.m. on Monday, October 27, that the Amber Alert for Julian King had been canceled, which points to the safe assumption that the body found in the SUV was that of young Julian King.

It is believed that William Balfour is somehow involved in the Hudson murders. It is believed that there will soon be evidence to link him to those murders. In the meantime, Julia and Bernard King, the parents of Julian, grieve with Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson, over the loss of family members.

Sources:

CNN Television

CNN.com

SunTimes.com