Hudson shows strength during her darkest hour

Shielded by a black umbrella on a dreary Chicago day, Jennifer Hudson arrived at a nondescript county building Monday with a heartbreaking task -- to identify the body of her 7-year-old nephew.

Tragically, it was a scene all too familiar to the Oscar-winning actress.

Only three days earlier, Hudson flew to her hometown on the news that her mother and brother had been shot to death in their Chicago home. Then, too, Hudson went to view the bodies and identify them for authorities.

The singer and actress, who started out on "American Idol" and won an Oscar for "Dreamgirls," has stayed out of the spotlight and close to her family since the killings. Her most public statement came Sunday when, through her publicist, she offered a $100,000 reward for the safe return of 7-year-old Julian King, the son of her sister, Julia Hudson.

Police found Julian's body in an SUV on Monday, ending a frantic search that began after the slayings of his grandmother and uncle in the home they shared. Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond said the boy also had been shot. The medical examiner's office planned a Tuesday autopsy.

Authorities have called the slayings "domestic related" and are questioning the estranged husband of Hudson's sister. No one has been charged.

Although Hudson has not spoken publicly, the 27-year-old has emerged as a pillar of strength amid the tragedy.

She was among seven family members and close friends who cried and held hands as they identified Julian King's body from a live image on a television screen at the Cook County Medical Examiner's office Monday afternoon.

"It was apparent she was the leader of that group," said Sean Howard, a Cook County spokesman.

Julian's body was found shortly after 7 a.m. in the rear seat of the SUV, which was parked on the street in a neighborhood of brownstone homes and apartment buildings about 10 miles from his home and had been the subject of an Amber Alert issued after Hudson's mother and brother were found slain.

Hudson's publicist did not immediately return calls and e-mail messages Monday.

Hudson's aunt, Dorothy Hudson, said the Chicago funeral home she owns with her husband will handle arrangements for the family, but details were pending.

"We're just sad. We're going through this stage where we're just sad and in shock," Dorothy Hudson said.

The Amber Alert issued Friday and canceled Monday listed William Balfour, the estranged husband of Julia Hudson, as a suspect in a "double homicide investigation." He is not the boy's father and has not been charged in the slayings.

Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis said Monday that Balfour "remains a person of interest."

The chief said he was confident that with two crime scenes, investigators would find important clues.

"I suspect we'll have some evidence that will link us to the killer," said Weis, who added that surveillance cameras throughout the city may have captured images that would help the investigation.

Balfour, 27, was taken into custody Friday by Chicago police for questioning in the killings. On Sunday, he was transferred to the Illinois Department of Corrections, where a spokeswoman declined Monday to discuss his parole violation.

Corrections records show Balfour spent nearly seven years in prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possessing a stolen vehicle. He was expected to remain in state custody until the Illinois Prisoner Review Board looked at his case.

Balfour's mother, Michele Balfour, has said Hudson's mother kicked Balfour out of the family home last winter. She denied her son had anything to do with the killings.

It was unclear whether Balfour had an attorney.

Lynette Louden, 47, said she called police about the SUV across the street from her home on Chicago's West Side after her family's Chihuahua started barking at it early Monday. Some neighbors said they hadn't seen the vehicle before Monday, but Louden said it had been there since at least Saturday.

"I only hoped the body wasn't in there," she said. "When they said that it was, I cried."

Weis said police were waiting for the autopsy to determine how long the boy had been dead, but estimated the vehicle was parked on the street "a couple of days."

When asked how officers could have missed the SUV during their massive search, Weis noted that Chicago is "a big city" and that the vehicle was "several miles away from the first crime scene."

Steve Peterson, head of the department's Bureau of Investigative Services, said the search for the boy had been centered farther east based on information they had about where Balfour's current girlfriend lives.

At a candlelight vigil on Monday night, hundreds of people gathered outside the Englewood home where Darnell Donerson and Jason Hudson's bodies were found. They sang, held hands and cried in the cold as they contributed to an expanding memorial of stuffed animals, balloons and flowers.

"I wanted to come out and support the community in their endeavor and to let Jennifer Hudson know how much we care and we're praying for her," said Doris Jones, who lives in the neighborhood. "It pains all of us to know three lives are gone and we don't know why."

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Associated Press writers Caryn Rousseau, Don Babwin, Carla K. Johnson and Michael Tarm contributed to this report.

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