'Dreamgirl' Hudson's family nightmare

Jennifer Hudson makes tragic homecoming to Chicago as FBI searches for missing nephew

Updated Sunday, October 26th 2008, 12:49 AM

Chicago police vehicles outside the Chicago home where Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were found murdered Friday.

Hudson at the premiere of 'Sex & the City' at Radio City Music Hall in May. Saturday she returned to Chicago to identify the bodies of her kin.

Hudson, center, with her older sister Julia (l.), Julia's son Julian King, and Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, who was found murdered Friday. Julian, age 7, has not been seen since.

Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson's older sister made a heartwrenching plea Saturday to the person responsible for abducting her son to "just let my baby go."

"I don't care who you are," said an emotional Julia Hudson, her eyes red-rimmed. "Just let my son go....He doesn't deserve this."

"I know he's out there," she pleaded. "Just let him go. Put him on the side of the street. He'll sit there. Somebody will see him. He'll probably cry until somebody comes along."

RELATED: PAROLEE BRAGS OF HUDSON, BUT HIDES CHECKERED PAST

Hudson, 31, speaking at Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, disclosed no new information on the murder of her mother and brother inside the family's home on Friday, insisting that her priority was her missing son, Julian King, 7.

Julia Hudson said her famous sister began screaming after she gave her the horrific news by phone in the hours after the slaying.

"Despite her being who she is, she is still my sister," Julia Hudson said. "She understood. She flew in right away, and we've been together since.

"We're all still in a state of shock," she said, as her son's father, Greg King, stood nearby. "I don't know nothing to do but pray."

RELATED: MOM'S HOME KEPT HUDSON GROUNDED

Julia Hudson then spoke directly to little Julian, who disappeared from the home after his family members were gunned down. "I love you, and Mama's looking for you," Hudson said. "I'm not going to stop until you come home."

Julia Hudson made her emotional plea hours after her famous sister completed a mournful pilgrimage to her hometown to identify the bodies of her slain mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, and brother Jason, 29, in the morgue.

The FBI joined the hunt for Julian, last seen before the bodies were discovered with multiple gunshot wounds in Hudson's childhood home. The arrival of the feds suggested the boy may have been taken across state lines.

"It's really, really spooky," John Buckner, a cousin of the star singer, told the Daily News. "I'm so worried about the kid right now. It's all pretty much in God's hands."

Buckner said the missing child - described as a happy-go-lucky boy - was the only grandchild of Hudson's slain mother. "She was a wonderful person, very sweet person," he said of Donerson. "We never knew her to have any problems with anyone."

As the fruitless hunt for the boy - who goes by the nicknames, Juicebox and Dr. King - stretched into a second day, the level of despair for his recovery increased.

"We need to find that kid by sundown," Ziff Sistrunk, a community activist, said Saturday afternoon.

"Dreamgirls" star Hudson, along with other family members, visited the Cook County medical examiner's office to identify the bodies, the office said Saturday. It was a devastating homecoming for Hudson, who was extraordinarily close to her mom and loyal to her Chicago neighborhood.

Hudson's publicist, Lisa Kasteler, said the actress and her family wanted privacy. But attention in the case focused on a family member: Hudson's brother-in-law, William Balfour,a violent ex-con with a long rap sheet.

Balfour, 27, was arrested Friday after another family member found the two victims shot to death in the white three-story home on South Yale Ave. He has not been charged.

Hudson's mother was found on the living room floor and her brother in a bedroom - both shot several times, the Cook County medical examiner said after conducting autopsies.

Randy Jackson, a judge on "American Idol," the reality show that propelled Hudson to nationwide fame in 2004, said he left the former contestant a "couple heartfelt messages."

"My heart goes out to her," Jackson told In Touch magazine. "When I heard about it, I couldn't believe it. Her mom was so great."

Balfour's mother, Michele, said Balfour and Julia Hudson split up last winter after two years of marriage. Michele Balfour added that Donerson had ordered her son to move out of the home last winter, but she insisted he was not involved in the shootings.

Less than a day after the slayings, an impromptu memorial appeared outside the home. Three sad-faced stuffed animals, several bouquets and a bottle of Remy Martin cognac were placed on the sidewalk near the front gate.

Authorities said neighbors heard gunshots around 9 a.m. Friday, although no one called police - apparently because the sound was common on the block.

"It's normal around here morning, noon and night," said local resident Bobby Israel. "If it wasn't Jennifer Hudson - no disrespect - I don't think none of you would be here."

Jennifer Hudson, who rose to Oscar-winning stardom in the face of initial rejection on 'American Idol,' was confronted with horrific tragedy as her mother and brother were found murdered on Friday, October 24. Here, the actress and singer with her mother, Darnell Donerson, at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York in 2006.

The actress, center, surrounded by her mother, right; her older sister Julia, left; and Julia's son, Julian King.

'I might as well let you all know that Jennifer Hudson is my wife's sister,' Balfour wrote on his MySpace page. 'I'm proud of her and wish her nothing but the best in what she do, but don't hit me up asking about her.'

Journalists wait behind police tape Friday night. The house is a few miles away from that of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Body found after search for Jennifer Hudson's nephew

Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:10am EDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Police on Monday found the body of a young boy following a search for Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson's 7-year-old nephew, who has been missing since Hudson's mother and brother were slain last week.

Police did not immediately release the boy's identity but local media reports said a vehicle in which the body was found belonged to Hudson's slain brother, Jason, 29. Police had issued an alert on Friday saying the boy may have been abducted in that vehicle.

The boy, Julian King, has been missing since Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, and Jason Hudson were found shot dead in Donerson's South Side Chicago home.

Police said the slayings appeared to be part of a domestic disturbance. Various media reports said police had taken William Balfour into custody as a suspect in the double homicide investigation.

Balfour, 27, had a relationship with Hudson's sister Julia but is not the father of the missing boy. Balfour's mother said earlier her son and Julia were estranged and that he had nothing to do with the slayings.

The Illinois Department of Corrections Web site lists Balfour as having been convicted of attempted murder, car theft and vehicular hijacking. He was released from prison in 2006.

Hudson gained fame in 2005 as a contestant on the top-rated U.S. television show "American Idol." She was one of 12 finalists in the third season but was voted off.

Her booming voice and popularity kept her touring in live shows and she earned the role of Effie White in the 2006 film version of the stage musical "Dreamgirls."

The role of soulful singer White, who is kicked out of an all-girl 1960s singing group, earned Hudson the Oscar for best supporting actress and made her an instant star in Hollywood.

Hudson has since appeared in the movie version of "Sex and the City" and is currently in "The Secret Life of Bees."