A somber Jennifer Hudson became overwhelmed with emotion as she testified against the defendant William Balfour” [the man who is charged for killing Hudson’s mother, brother, and 7-year old nephew back in October of 2008] The singer gave a heartfelt testimony as she described her recent moments with her family just days before their fatal death and she even revealed that no one in her family wanted her sister [Julia Hudson] to marry Balfour.
The AP reports:
The singer and actress, who wore a subdued black dress and whose hair was wrapped in a bun, at first seemed composed as a prosecutor began asking her questions. But the testimony became increasingly difficult, and she began crying when talking about seeing her family the Sunday before the killings and later when a prosecutor showed her a picture of her mother.
Her voice also broke as she described her reaction when her sister, Julia Hudson, told her she was going to marry Balfour.
“None of us wanted her to marry him,” she said, her voice cracking and struggling to hold back tears. “We did not like how he treated her,” she said.
Balfour has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in the October 2008 slayings. Early on during Hudson’s testimony, a prosecutor asked her to identify the defendant. Hudson poked her head around the judge’s bench and pointed at Balfour.
“He’s sitting right there,” she said. Balfour looked back at Hudson and otherwise showed little emotion during her testimony and during opening statements.
After more than 30 minutes on the stand, Hudson grabbed a fistful of tissues and walked slowly across the courtroom directly in front of jurors. She then took a seat next to her fiance, David Otunga, best known for his stint on VH1’s reality show “I Love New York.”
A former federal prosecutor said prosecutors were shrewd to call Jennifer Hudson as their first witness.”It rivets the jury,” said Phil Turner, a Chicago attorney. “For better or worse it increases the importance of the case in jurors’ minds.”
Turner noted Hudson now can sit through the rest of the trial, in full view of the jury.
Julia Hudson [Jennifer’s sister] testified that Balfour was so prone to jealousy, he even became angry when Julian kissed his mom.
“He’d say, `Get off my wife,'” she said.
She choked up while describing the first of many alleged threats by Balfour. After she rejected his pleas in May 2008 to reconcile, she said Balfour grew agitated.
“He said, `If you leave me, you will be the last to die. l’ll kill your family first,” she said, her voice quivering. She said he used precisely the same words at least several other times in the months before the triple homicide.
During opening statements, prosecutor Veryl Gambino said Balfour began threatening to harm the family after moving out of Hudson’s family home. Balfour’s divorce from Julia Hudson was finalized last year.
Defense Attorney Amy Thompson offered jurors another take on the killings, telling jurors police pinned them on Balfour because they felt pressured to make an arrest.
“As soon as that (that a celebrity was linked to the case) became known, they knew coverage would explode,” Thompson said. “The police were on the hook. They had to find their man and find him fast.”
Julia Hudson’s birthday was the day before the killing, and prosecutors say Balfour became enraged by balloons he saw at the home that he thought were from her new boyfriend.
Prosecutors say Balfour went inside the three-story house around 9 a.m. and used a .45-caliber handgun to kill Hudson’s mother, 57-year-old Darnell Donerson, in the living room, and then shot her 29-year-old brother, Jason Hudson, twice in the head as he lay in bed.
Balfour allegedly drove off in Jason Hudson’s SUV with Julian inside. Authorities say he shot the boy in the head as he lay behind a front seat. His body was found in the abandoned vehicle miles away after a three-day search.
There are no known witnesses to the slayings, and it’s unclear what physical evidence exists, including fingerprints or DNA. Prosecutors say gunshot residue was found on the steering wheel of Balfour’s car. But the defense says it and other evidence is circumstantial.
Stay Tuned- People!