Police have discovered the body of the missing nephew of "Dreamgirls" star Jennifer Hudson who had not been seen since his grandmother and uncle were found murdered, officials said Monday.
"We can confirm that the body located inside the vehicle was the body of seven-year-old Julian King," Chicago police superintendent Jody Weis told reporters.
"Today a family and community are grieving but we want them to take comfort in knowing Chicago police and detectives will continue to work around the clock to make sure that justice is served."
While Weis said it was too soon to guess at a motive, he said police believe "it wasn't the case of a stranger homicide."
Weis said police have not yet identified a suspect in the case but the boy's stepfather, William Balfour, is considered a "person of interest."
Balfour, who was taken into custody for questioning on Friday, is being held on a parole violation but has not been charged.
Estranged from Hudson's older sister Julia, he has denied involvement in the murders or disappearance, law enforcement sources said.
Police believe Hudson's brother, Jason, 29, was shot through the door of the family home. The shooter then entered the home and kept firing, hitting Hudson's mother Darnell Donerson, 57, as she entered the room.
Hudson's older sister, Julia, discovered the bodies around 3:00 pm Friday but there was no sign of her son.
Hudson's family offered a 100,000 dollar reward for Julian's safe return and posted photos of Julian on her website and MySpace page.
"Please keep praying for our family and that we get Julian King back home safely," the family said in a statement on Hudson's website.
"Jennifer and her family appreciate the enormous amount of love, support and prayers they have received while she and her family try to cope with this tragedy and continue the search for Julian."
At the weekend, Julia Hudson pleaded for the return of her son.
"Give me my baby back. That's all I ask," a tearful Julia Hudson, 31, told reporters Saturday at a Baptist church on the South Side of Chicago.
"I know he's out there. Put him on the side of the street. Just let him go."
She described Julian as an easygoing child who answers to "Juicebox" and "Dr. King" and likes to read and hang out with his grandmother.
Julian was discovered in the back seat of his uncle's sports utility vehicle with fatal gunshot wounds, police said. It was not immediately clear when or where he was killed.
Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson identified the bodies of her mother and brother at the morgue shortly after jetting back to her hometown from Florida late Friday.
The actress, whose star turn in "Dreamgirls" earned her an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2007, was in Florida promoting her latest movie, "The Secret Life of Bees," when she got word of the tragedy.
Autopsies showed that the pair died from multiple gunshot wounds, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said Saturday.
Chicago police issued an Amber Alert, or child abduction bulletin, for King on Friday. On Saturday, authorities called in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to help with the search in case the boy had been taken over state lines.
"We're doing that as a precautionary measure," Weis told CNN. Weis said the slayings and the child's disappearance appeared to be a domestic matter.
Balfour had split up with Julia Hudson and moved out of the home she shared with her mother and brother, friends and neighbors said.
The 27-year-old baker has convictions for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen motor vehicle, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. He was released from prison in May 2006 and is still on probation.
Jennifer Hudson has shunned the spotlight since returning to the Windy City.
The 27-year-old was riding high with a new movie and a number one hit on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop charts from her recently released self-titled debut album, until the family tragedy upended her life.
"We can confirm that the body located inside the vehicle was the body of seven-year-old Julian King," Chicago police superintendent Jody Weis told reporters.
"Today a family and community are grieving but we want them to take comfort in knowing Chicago police and detectives will continue to work around the clock to make sure that justice is served."
While Weis said it was too soon to guess at a motive, he said police believe "it wasn't the case of a stranger homicide."
Weis said police have not yet identified a suspect in the case but the boy's stepfather, William Balfour, is considered a "person of interest."
Balfour, who was taken into custody for questioning on Friday, is being held on a parole violation but has not been charged.
Estranged from Hudson's older sister Julia, he has denied involvement in the murders or disappearance, law enforcement sources said.
Police believe Hudson's brother, Jason, 29, was shot through the door of the family home. The shooter then entered the home and kept firing, hitting Hudson's mother Darnell Donerson, 57, as she entered the room.
Hudson's older sister, Julia, discovered the bodies around 3:00 pm Friday but there was no sign of her son.
Hudson's family offered a 100,000 dollar reward for Julian's safe return and posted photos of Julian on her website and MySpace page.
"Please keep praying for our family and that we get Julian King back home safely," the family said in a statement on Hudson's website.
"Jennifer and her family appreciate the enormous amount of love, support and prayers they have received while she and her family try to cope with this tragedy and continue the search for Julian."
At the weekend, Julia Hudson pleaded for the return of her son.
"Give me my baby back. That's all I ask," a tearful Julia Hudson, 31, told reporters Saturday at a Baptist church on the South Side of Chicago.
"I know he's out there. Put him on the side of the street. Just let him go."
She described Julian as an easygoing child who answers to "Juicebox" and "Dr. King" and likes to read and hang out with his grandmother.
Julian was discovered in the back seat of his uncle's sports utility vehicle with fatal gunshot wounds, police said. It was not immediately clear when or where he was killed.
Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson identified the bodies of her mother and brother at the morgue shortly after jetting back to her hometown from Florida late Friday.
The actress, whose star turn in "Dreamgirls" earned her an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2007, was in Florida promoting her latest movie, "The Secret Life of Bees," when she got word of the tragedy.
Autopsies showed that the pair died from multiple gunshot wounds, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said Saturday.
Chicago police issued an Amber Alert, or child abduction bulletin, for King on Friday. On Saturday, authorities called in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to help with the search in case the boy had been taken over state lines.
"We're doing that as a precautionary measure," Weis told CNN. Weis said the slayings and the child's disappearance appeared to be a domestic matter.
Balfour had split up with Julia Hudson and moved out of the home she shared with her mother and brother, friends and neighbors said.
The 27-year-old baker has convictions for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen motor vehicle, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. He was released from prison in May 2006 and is still on probation.
Jennifer Hudson has shunned the spotlight since returning to the Windy City.
The 27-year-old was riding high with a new movie and a number one hit on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop charts from her recently released self-titled debut album, until the family tragedy upended her life.
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