Accused Hudson family killer allowed haircut before trial
BY LAUREN FITZPATRICK Sun-Times Media lfitzpatrick@suntimes.com April 2, 2012 2:02PM
William Balfour. (AP Photo/Illinois Department of Corrections)
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Updated: May 4, 2012 8:09AM
William Balfour, accused of murdering three members of Jennifer Hudson’s family, wants to look his best for the men and women tasked in upcoming weeks with deciding his fate.
With juror questioning starting Thursday, Balfour’s attorneys asked trial Judge Charles P. Burns to sign an order for a jail haircut for Balfour, 30, in the meantime. Burns did Monday, and also confirmed that Balfour will be allowed for the trial to change his clothes — out of his jail uniform into civilian garb — in a room behind the courtroom.
Balfour’s been charged with murder in the deaths of Hudson’s mother and brother and the 7-year-old son of her sister Julia, Balfour’s estranged wife. A Chicago Police mugshot from the October 2008 arrest showed Balfour with wild long hair parted down the middle.
Opening statements in the trial are scheduled for April 23.
