( 4UMF NEWS ) Balfour Found Guilty Of Hudson Family Murder:
William Balfour has been convicted of the murders of actress Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.
Hudson bowed her head as jurors entered the courtroom around 4:40 p.m. She leaned forward as the verdict was read and relatives squeezed her shoulders. She softly cried as her fiancé comforted her.
The verdict came less than three hours after jurors sent out a note telling the judge they were split but still trying to reach a decision. Jurors gave a breakdown of their votes but Judge Charles Burns did not disclose it.
A second note, issued at the same time, asked for all available evidence about the “cell phone tower coverage.” The note concluded by saying “we are trying,” an apparent reference to their continued talks.
The judge agreed to send back a transcript of the testimony of FBI Special Agent Nikki Skovran, who performed a forensic analysis of Balfour’s cell phone from the day of the murders that placed him near the Hudson home around the time the victims were shot.
“With regard to the first question, please continue to deliberate,” Burns wrote.
The notes were sent out hours after jurors requested two videos: One from a high school showing the time Balfour’s car was left parked on the street, and the other a video showing the police interrogation of Balfour claiming he left it there about 8:30 a.m. on the day of the murders.
Prosecutors have argued that the time stamp on the school security video proved Balfour was lying about his whereabouts that morning.
The jury of six men and six women began deliberations late Wednesday and have been sequestered for two nights at a hotel. They resumed deliberations today at 10:10 a.m.
Balfour, who turned 31 on Thursday, is accused of fatally shooting the singer’s mother, Darnell Donerson, 57; her brother, Jason Hudson, 29, and her 7-year-old nephew Julian King in October 2008.
