Chicago jury chosen in Hudson family murder trial

 
No Author Published: April 10, 2012    Comment on this article Leave a comment

photo -   FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2011 file photo, singer and Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson speaks in Chicago. On Monday, April 9, 2012, a judge will question potential jurors as jury selection begins in earnest at the Chicago trial of William Balfour, the man accused of murdering Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew in 2008. Testimony begins April 23. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2011 file photo, singer and Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson speaks in Chicago. On Monday, April 9, 2012, a judge will question potential jurors as jury selection begins in earnest at the Chicago trial of William Balfour, the man accused of murdering Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew in 2008. Testimony begins April 23. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

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During juror questioning Tuesday, Balfour, 30, sat unsmiling and slumping in his chair. But he kept his eyes fixed on each would-be juror as they sat a few feet across a table to answer questions.

Balfour, the estranged husband of Hudson's sister, is accused of shooting to death Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, brother, Jason Hudson, 29, and her 7-year-old nephew, Julian King. Jennifer Hudson is on a 300-name list of potential witnesses and is expected to attend each day of the trial once testimony begins April 23.

Questioning of jurors highlighted just how many people in the Chicago area or their relatives have had brushes with violence.

At least two people selected for the jury had family members who were murdered. The son of one woman dismissed Tuesday was shot in 2002 and is paralyzed from his chest down. And on Monday, an unemployed widow whose nephew recently killed his pregnant wife doubted she would hear the evidence against Balfour dispassionately.

"It's way too close to home," she said. "It's just that there's a child involved, and I can't get past that."

The young man in the acrobatic group is a member of the Jesse White Tumbling Team, which was formed by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. Among others selected over the two days was a custodian, a former corrections officers and a truck driver.

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Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mtarm

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