Two people believed to be Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were shot and killed this afternoon in the home of the mother, Darnell Hudson Donnerson. They were found by the actress's cousin. Jennifer's 7-year-old nephew was reportedly kidnapped from the scene, and there is an Amber Alert out in the greater Chicago area. The boy's mother reported him missing. Click for details and information about the vehicle they are looking for. Jennifer Hudson was not harmed in the incident, and she is on her way to Chicago right now.
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Oh that is awful! My prayers to her and her family.
1Oh no -- that's horrible news.
2So sad!
3That is beyond heartbreaking news.
My thoughts and prayers go to Jennifer and the rest of her
family. I hope they find her cousin safe and sound.
4how horrid! I hope they find this child and that the perpetrator of the murders AND the kidnapping is brought to justice. Poor Jennifer and her entire family.
5i saw the alert on E! News - and that's just AWFUL ...my thoughts and prayers go out to jennifer and her family and i hope that they find the nephew really soon - cause that's just a scary thing. i'm shocked about this, and i don't even know what else to say
6oh my goodness, how horrible
7That is so shocking. Poor Jennifer she seems like such a genuinely sweet girl.
8OMG this is more that horrible!
9Such sad & heartbreaking news. I hope that little boy is found safe & sound.
10Wow, they look a lot like each other. RIP.
Kidnapped? Isn't that a bit melodramatic? All we know is that he's missing.
11This is just heartbreaking. I hope they can find the little boy. My thoughts to her and her family.
12Oct 24 2008 6:34 PM EDT
Jennifer Hudson's Mother, Brother Murdered
Hudson's 7-year-old nephew reported missing; police have identified suspect.
Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother died of fatal gunshot wounds Friday (October 24), police have confirmed to MTV News.
A Chicago police representative said the singer's mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, and older brother, Jason, were killed. Donerson was 57 years old; Jason was 29.
Officers received a call shortly before 3 p.m. Friday, the representative said, and upon arriving at the residence, 7019 South Yale Avenue, found the two victims. The incident has been declared a double homicide; police emphasized that this may be a domestic situation.
Julian King, Hudson's young nephew, who had been living at the residence, has been reported missing. Chicago police confirmed to MTV News that the child may be in the company of identified suspect William Balfour, an African-American male in his late 20s, who is considered armed and dangerous. King may be wearing khaki pants and a tan polo shirt with the number 5 on it, according to ABC News; the Chicago Tribune reported that he is 5 feet tall, weighs 135 pounds and has brown eyes and black hair.
Balfour had been living at the residence, according to public records, and may have had a romantic relationship with Hudson's sister Julia, as vehicles are co-registered to both of them. Police said Balfour is believed to be driving either a white Chevrolet Suburban, 1994 model, with the license plate X584859, or a green Chrysler Concord, with the license plate 332K823.
Area 2 Deputy Chief Joseph Patterson told ABC News that neighbors reported hearing shots between 8 and 9 a.m. Friday. Patterson said a family member found the body of Donerson in the living room Friday afternoon and left the house to call police. When authorities arrived, they found Jason Hudson in a bedroom. Patterson said there was no sign of forced entry.
According to public records, the home is owned by Hudson's mother, but both Jennifer and Jason have been listed as residents for the second apartment.
The Tribune reported that Hudson is not injured, according to her bodyguard. ABC News reported that Hudson was traveling to Chicago from Tampa, Florida.
13What a horrible thing to go through...I can't even imagine.
14wow thats horrible my prayers are with the family.
15Lola, it says reportedly kidnapped. I don't think they're trying to be melodramatic.
16I can't begin to imagine, and Lola, how is the term "kidnapping" melodramatic in this case? Did you miss the part where the mother, and brother were killed? It seems as if the 7 year old nephew's disappearance would be related since it happened at the same time and so I doubt he's just down the street. They've also issued an amber alert, which isn't taken lightly and shows they have reason to believe the child is in danger.
17This is so sad.
18My thoughts and prayers go out to Jennifer and her other family members, may god bring them strength and some swift justice. It seems like she has an amazing support system and wonderful fans.
I also want to commend people on this website for being true human beings with great hearts, I saw the article on another website(usmagazine.com)and people were saying the nastiest things and calling into question her fame and since she wasnt famous then they didnt care! So thank you to everyone for being genuine its nice to see it still exists in this world!
19^I just read some of the comments on the site and they were terrible.
One said: "That's what she gets for being ugly." and anoter said: "They died because they were probably rabidly fighting for the last piece of chicken."
Horrible.
20THat's absolutely AWFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will never understand how people can be so cruel!
21oh my. that's crazy.
22Where did you read those comments from *lolaSwelt*...TMZ? Because those are the type comments that those people love to type on their website, cruel and unneeded.
23I'm so saddened by this
I just went to see The Secret Life of Bees last night and commented on
how talented Jennifer is. My thoughts and prayers are with her. I couldn't even imagine losing my mother and brother in one day.
24And this is terrible news of course. RIP to all of them and condolences to Jennifer.
25Wow. This is heartbreaking.
I hope they find her nephew.
...and those comments on TMZ are terrible! How can people be so cruel?
26Sadder yet, if it wasn't Jennifer Hudson's family, we likely wouldn't ever even hear about it.
27This is beyond sad; thoughts & prayers are definitely with the Hudson family.
28seems like they have a suspect.. William Balfour.
this is so sad.
can anyone answer me this question, where her mother and brother lived at is that bad area? I was just wondering because my husband said it was.
29#23, the comments were from USMagazine. The previous poster said there were horrid comments and I went to look on there. Just go on their site and you'll see the story straight away.
30how devastating. condolences to jennifer.
31This is just horrible! thoghuts and prayers to the Jennifer and family! May they rest in peace
32thoughts*
33I'm glad Sugar doesn't tolerate those types of comments on their website. We surely appreciate a friendly website on the web. It's getting to be a rare thing these days.
34What a tragedy. I can't even imagine the emotions she must be feeling right now. My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family also. And very much for the young boy. I hope they find him very soon.
35this is horrible news. my prayers go out to her and her family.
36Oh no, it gets worse, they just posted the following update on TMZ
UPDATE 8:35 PM ET: Lost in all this is Jennifer's sister Julia, mother of the missing 7-year-old. We're told she works as a bus driver in Chicago. Her employer told us she worked her shift today. She hasn't been seen since.
37I hope she hasn't been seen because she's got the little boy and is hiding.
38beyond horrible..its so painful to lose loved ones like that
39this is so horrible
40R.I.P.
I really hope they find the boy.
My prayers to her and her family, this is awful news!
41This is so horrific. I hope they find the little boy unharmed, and I hope the family has strong support to help them get through this.
42This is horrible news
My condolences to their family.
43This is so terrible. I will definitely be praying for her and her family, and for the protection of her nephew. Hopefully he will be found soon.
44Awful, awful news. Hopefully they find the little boy.
45This is uttelry despicable and horrifying !
May God help Jennifer and her family in those terrible times
46So shocking. I just saw this on Yahoo... my heart goes out to the family.
47How horrible!!! I am so sorry for Jennifer and her family!!
48OMG that is the worst possible news.... my prayers go out to her family!
49OMG my prayers goes out to her. I really hope it is not her mom and brother.
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