Hudson Living Under Spotlight of Tragedy

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by Dwayne T. Ervinand Lesley R. Chinn

Officials from the CookCounty Medical Examinersoffice released an autopsy statementon Tuesday that ruled thecause and manner of death ofseven-year-old Julian King,nephew of actress-singerJennifer Hudson as a homicide.King was shot multiple times,officials said.

King was found dead onMonday morning on the 1300block of S. Kolin inside a white1994 Chevrolet Suburban vehicle.An AMBER Alert was previouslyissued for Hudsonsnephew after her older sisterJulia, reported him missing.

Joined by Kings two aunts anduncle, Jennifer Hudson identifiedthe body of her nephew onMonday by looking at his faceon a live-feed flat-screen monitorin a separate room at the familysrequest. The viewing took20 minutes.

Hudson kept her composurewith the family. They were cryingand distraught and held hands as a sign of strength.Hudson was the leader of thatgroup and encouraged her familyto remain strong, said SeanHoward, a spokesman for theCook County MedicalExaminers Office.

Before she flew into town,Hudson was on vacation inFlorida with her fianc, whenshe heard about the deaths of hermother, Darnell Donerson, andbrother, Jason Hudson, whowere found dead last Friday attheir Englewood home on 70thand Yale.

The tragedy of the triple homicidedrew an outpour of supportfor Hudson from U.S. SenatorBarack Obama, where she hadthe pleasure of singing thenational anthem in August forthe Democratic NationalConvention in Denver, CO.,where he accepted the presidentialnomination.

Michelle and I were absolutelyheartbroken to learn about thisunimaginable tragedy, and wewant Jennifer to know that she isin our thoughts and prayers duringthis very difficult time,Obama said.

Chicago Richard M. Daley, whoonce described Hudson as anextremely talented actress andsinger at an event the city hostedlast year in her honor, said toreporters that his prayers go outto them, and (the police) areworking to make sure they getthe offender and other factsinvolved in the case.

Congressman Bobby Rush,whose district includesEnglewood where the Hudsonfamily lives, described thekillings as senseless murdersthat never should have happened.

I mourn today because threepeople in the Englewood communitydied a senseless deathapparently at the barrel of a gun.I mourn because Darnell, Jasonand Julian are members of mycommunity. I mourn becauseeveryday, 45 people, on average,are fatally shot in the UnitedStates, which is more than thenumber of American soldierskilled in combat in Iraq andAfghanistan combined.Americans of conscious mustcome together to stop thesesenseless deaths. We must sayenough is enough, stop thekilling, Rush stated.

Support also poured in fromactress Queen Latifah, whomHudson starred with in the recentmovie, The Secret Life ofBees. I know the family isdevastated and heartbroken and Ihope that friends and fans andthose who care about her justpray for her and give her all thesupport that she needs at thismoment and for quite a long timeto come, Queen Latifah stated.

According to reports, JenniferHudsons sister Julia and herhusband William Balfour, had ahistory of domestic violence.The two were separated and onthe verge of a divorce.

Although he has not beencharged, Balfour is considered aperson of interest, in the caseand has been questioned but notcharged in the killings. JuliaHudson and Balfours maritalproblems reportedly led up to hiseviction from the household onthe 7000 S. Block of Yale earlierthis year.

He has convictions for attemptedmurder, vehicular hijackingand possession of a stolen motorvehicle, according to the IllinoisCorrections Department and iscurrently being held on a paroleviolation by the department.

Jennifer Hudson, an AristaRecords label artist, currentlyhas a top R&B debut singleSpotlight, on the BillboardChart.

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