Singer Jennifer Hudson will be reminded of painful memories soon, as the trial of William Balfour—the man accused of brutally murdering three members of her family in 2008—begins today.
ABC News reports that a Chicago court will begin whittling down a pool of 150 potential jurors in Balfour’s trial, where he’s accused of brutally murdering Hudson’s mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. Judge Charles Burns plans to begin questioning prospective jurors one by one.
Reports from prosecutors suggest Balfour, who is the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson’s sister Julia Hudson, shot the three in cold blood after he learned that his wife was dating another man. Balfour was charged with three counts of first degree murder and one count of home invasion in December 2010. He was on parole for previous attempted murder, vehicular hijacking, and stolen car charges, which he spent nearly seven years in prison for.
It’s also being reported that Jen will in fact be present for the trial, reports even saying she’ll attend the trial every day, and could be called to testify as a potential witnesses. Our hearts go out to Jennifer during this time, as we expect it to be a difficult journey to revisit.
