The body Chicago police found dead inside an SUV this morning was confirmed as Jennifer Hudson’s nephew who has been missing since Friday, a top FBI official said.
Seven-year-old Julian King was discovered with a gunshot wound to his head inside a white Chevrolet Suburban on the city’s West Side, CBS2 Chicago is reporting.
The white Chevrolet Suburban was taken away by investigators, and a medical examiner identified the body inside as King this afternoon.
Over the weekend, Hudson offered a $100,000 reward for the safe return of her nephew.
“Please keep praying for our family and that we get Julian King back home safely,” Hudson said in a posting on her MySpace page Sunday. “If anyone has any information about his whereabouts please contact the authorities immediately.”
Hudson also posted two pictures of her nephew wearing the brown-and-orange striped polo shirt he was wearing when he was last seen, CNN reported.
William Balfour, Hudson’s sister’s estranged husband and father of King, was arrested Friday as the main suspect in the deaths. Balfour’s mother claims Balfour is innocent of his son’s death, CNN reported.
An Amber Alert was issued Friday naming Balfour as a suspect in the double homicide. He has not been charged yet, law enforcement sources told the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times.
A family member found the bodies at the Donerson’s home Friday afternoon. Donerson was found shot in the living room while Jason Hudson was found in the bedroom, police said.
Authorities described the shooting as domestic violence and said at least one of the victims suffered defensive wounds, Yahoo! News reported.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office has said autopsies for Donerson and Jason Hudson were pending as of Saturday.
Records from the Illinois Department of Corrections show Balfour, 27, is on parole and spent nearly seven years in prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possessing a stolen vehicle, Yahoo! News reported. Public records show one of Balfour’s addresses as the home where Donerson and Jason Hudson were shot.
Jennifer Hudson won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2007 for her role in “Dreamgirls” and her self-titled debut album is a top seller. She was featured in this year’s “Sex and the City” movie and is also starring in “The Secret Life of Bees” which is in theaters now.
In an interview last year with Vogue, Hudson credited her mother with encouraging her to audition for “American Idol” which launched her career.
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