Although Chicago police have only one known suspect in the slayings of three relatives of actress Jennifer Hudson, some evidence suggests that more than one person may have been involved, law-enforcement sources said today.
Investigators have focused on suspect William Balfour's movements on Friday, the day of the murders, as well as his conflicts with his estranged wife, Julia Hudson, and other members of the family. They are trying to determine whether another person drove Balfour to the West Side after the killings at the Hudsons' South Side home, sources said.
Witnesses said Balfour drove his teal Chrysler to the Hudsons' block Friday, arriving about 7 a.m. But later the vehicle was discovered by police parked about a mile away outside Robeson High School. Balfour's girlfriend told police that he was at her West Side home not long after the slayings of Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, and the Oscar-winning actress' brother, Jason, at their Englewood home, sources said.
The body of Hudson's 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, was discovered Monday morning in the back of Jason Hudson's Chevy Suburban, parked on a West Side street.
Balfour has not been charged in connection with the murders but is held on a parole violation after being arrested and questioned in the case over the weekend.
Security video at the South Side high school showed someone parking the Chrysler on Friday, but investigators have not been able to determine the person's identity from the images, the sources said. A time stamp on the video showed the car was left there at 12:30 p.m. Friday, but it was unclear whether the stamp was accurate, sources said.
Meanwhile, cell phone records placed Balfour on the West Side at that hour, sources said. If the time stamp is accurate, it would suggest another person may have driven the Chrysler from the Hudson home to Robeson, sources said. In any event, Balfour did not use his own car to travel from the Hudson's Englewood house to his girlfriend's home near 19th Street and Spaulding Avenue on the West Side, police said.
As detectives continued searching for answers, the Cook County medical examiner's office released autopsy results Tuesday showing Julian King died of multiple gunshot wounds.
Also on Tuesday, new details emerged about Balfour's criminal and personal history.
In June, while on parole for a 1999 attempted murder conviction, Balfour was arrested for possession of cocaine.
According to court records, Balfour was stopped by officers after he got out of a vehicle that had turned a corner at high speed in an area where police were investigating calls of shots fired. Police found drugs in the car Balfour was driving.
The Illinois Department of Corrections was contacted about the new drug charges because he was on parole, but the agency decided not to revoke his parole and return him to prison, according to the records.
The case was dropped on July 16 after Cook County Circuit Judge David Skryd found police had no probable cause to arrest Balfour.
A law-enforcement source said Balfour also had violated his parole by failing to complete required counseling programs for substance abuse and anger management. His case fell through the cracks, the source said.Prisoner Review Board Chairman Jorge Montessaid it is not uncommon for parole violations to go unnoticed.
He said most inmates commit minor violations. Generally, a warrant for arrest on a violation is only issued in cases where a more serious crime or infraction has occurred, Montes said.
Balfour was one of two children born to a mother who worked two jobs to support her family and a father who was serving a 30-year prison sentence for murder.
David Heinzmann, Angela Rozas and Matthew Walberg, Chicago Tribune
Tribune reporter Stacy St. Clair contributed to this report.
GOD BLESS HER FAMILY & FRIENDS
PLEASE POUR OUT A BLESSING TO THEM
SINCERELY RESTORE EVERY AREA & PERSON
THANK GOD THAT YOU PROTECT THEM