Julia Hudson, husband argued over car payments morning of murders: Sources

On the morning of the day Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were killed, the singer's sister Julia Hudson had argued with her estranged husband over car payments, sources say.

The husband, William Balfour, is in custody but has not been charged with the killings of Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.

Sources said that Julia Hudson on Friday was told by her employers at the bus company where she worked that her wages would be garnisheed over the car. Balfour was supposed to have been contributing some payments for the automobile, sources told the Sun-Times.

Julia Hudson complained to Balfour in a phone conversation Friday, a source said. Balfour later went to the Hudson residence on Friday, the same day Jennifer Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, and brother Jason Hudson, were killed in the home. The body of a nephew, Julian King, was found in an SUV on Monday.

The car dispute was among "a whole series of arguments and disagreements," a source told the Sun-Times. Balfour also had accused Julia Hudson of dating someone else, the source said.

Meanwhile, Mayor Daley said Tuesday he's "not proud² of the fact that Chicago is the homicide capital of the nation, but the Hudson murders could not have been prevented.

"We're not proud of it. But you don't hide it. You don't take the statistics, all the facts and say it didn't happen. It happens,² Daley said, apparently referring to past attempts to reclassify homicides to hold down the murder rate.

"We'll get it down next year. We'll get it down. We'll do things differently. But, this [Hudson family] crime could never have been prevented, unfortunately.² At a time when Chicago is one of four finalists for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the city's image has taken a beating in media coverage of the Hudson family tragedy.

Reporters have noted that gunfire in crime-ridden Englewood, where the Hudson family murders took place, was so routine that neighbors failed to call police when they heard gunshots on Friday morning.

Daley said the murders fall into the unfortunate category that covers 80 percent of all homicides: They're family-related. Somebody gets angry, has access to a gun and settles that dispute with deadly consequences.

Apparently referring to 27-year-old Balfour, Daley said, "Did somebody know that person had a gun? You have to do something about it. Please. I ask anyone: If there's guns in your home, call somebody.² On Monday, the Oscar-winning actress anchored her family at the morgue, calmly identifying the boy and then turning to her deep faith.

"Yes, that is him,² Hudson said when Julian King's image appeared via live video feed, according to a spokesman for the Cook County morgue.

After identifying her nephew, Hudson said she felt that her belief in Jesus would help her survive.

The identification capped 2¦ days of a wrenching search for the boy, who was missing from the Hudson family home in the 7000 block of South Yale on Friday after his mother, Julia Hudson, returned to find her mother and brother shot to death.

Balfour has been in custody since Friday evening, after he was arrested at a girlfriend's house on the Southwest Side. Balfour is being held on a parole violation on a 1999 conviction for attempted murder and vehicular hijacking and has not been charged.

But suspicious details emerged Monday.

A neighbor on his girlfriend's block, in the 1900 block of South Spaulding, said he saw a man who he now believes was Balfour park a white SUV across from his house about noon Friday. He watched the man fiddle around with something in the glove box and then leave the car and walk about half a block -- glancing over his shoulder the whole way -- to the house where Balfour was later arrested.

At that time, no one in the city knew about the slayings, and it would be hours before an alert would be issued for Julian that said he might be in a white Chevy Suburban driven by Balfour.

"[The boy] had to be in the car," said the neighbor, Willie Graham. "I figure he had to be. I wished I had known.² One theory is that Julian was shot inside the SUV soon after he was taken from home. Donerson, 57, and Jason Hudson, 29, were believed to have been shot after a confrontation started at the front door, sources said.

The possible sighting of Balfour on his girlfriend's block is potentially important because, if true, it puts him in the white Suburban after the murders, which police believe happened around 8 or 9 a.m. Friday, and before the discovery of Julian's body inside the vehicle Monday morning. Sources say Balfour's alibi already has been contradicted by his girlfriend, and his cell phone records raise suspicions about his account of his whereabouts.

Police were able to track him Friday through cell phone records, sources said.

Police also have been told that Balfour and Julia Hudson had been at the Yale home early Friday before the shootings and may have argued. A family friend said Balfour had made threats against the family and Julian. Julia Hudson and Balfour are believed to have had ongoing domestic problems.

Balfour's mother, however, has denied that her son was at the Yale home Friday or that he was involved in the shootings.

The SUV was discovered early Monday in the 1300 block of South Kolin after a dog ran to the curb where it was parked and howled -- making a noise its owner had never heard before.

"He just ran down the stairs and started howling," said John Louden, of his chihuahua, Lil' Man. "He has a very keen nose." Louden took down the plate number and went back inside to compare it with one his wife, Lynette, had written down after watching police reports about Julian's disappearance.

"When he came back in, he said, ŒIt's a match'," Lynette Louden said of her husband. "I said, ŒOh, God. I hope that child is not in there.' ² The couple called police, who responded in two minutes.

Inside the SUV was Julian, who was wearing basketball shorts and a T-shirt.

He was home Friday because of teacher meetings. The boy had been shot once in the head and was in the back seat, sources said.

The Suburban was taken to Area 5 police headquarters, which has a garage where vehicles can be minutely inspected, sources said.

Jennifer Hudson and her family had offered $100,000 for the boy's safe return.

Contributing: Mark Konkol