Hudson’s nephew likely died in SUV

CHICAGO —  Detectives believe the 7-year-old nephew of singer-actress Jennifer Hudson was probably shot in the sport utility vehicle where his body was later found, a police official said Thursday.

Police think Julian King was alive when he left the house where his uncle and grandmother were killed last week, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the case publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official would not discuss when detectives think the boy died. Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said she could not comment about the official’s statements.

The bodies of the Oscar-winning actress’ mother, 57-year-old Darnell Donerson, and brother, 29-year-old Jason Hudson, were found Oct. 24 in their home on Chicago’s South Side. Julian’s body was discovered Monday in the SUV on the city’s West Side. All three had been shot.

Nobody has been charged, but the estranged husband of Julian’s mother remained in custody on a parole violation. Police have characterized 27-year-old William Balfour, a felon, as a “person of interest,” and the official said no one else is being detained in the case.

Balfour, who is Julian’s stepfather, has refused to take a lie-detector test and stopped cooperating with detectives, the official said Wednesday.

It was unclear whether Balfour had an attorney.

Police Supt. Jody Weis said Thursday that a gun found a day earlier in a vacant lot around the corner from where the SUV had been parked was a .45-caliber weapon. It was sent to Illinois State Police for testing.

Weis said preliminary tests suggest the weapon used in the killings was a .45, and further testing should determine whether the gun found was the one used. It will be compared with shell casings found at the Hudson home, he said.

Also Thursday, a funeral home announced that services for Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and nephew will be held Monday morning. The service at Apostolic Church of God on the South Side will be closed to the public.

Hudson and her sister, Julia Hudson, announced that they had established the Hudson-King Foundation to provide food, clothing and shelter, along with grief counseling, to relatives of victims of violent crime.