William Balfour Sentenced for Murdering Jennifer Hudson’s Family

The guilty verdict came in two months ago, and now William Balfour is officially set to spend the rest of his life behind bars for the murders of Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and nephew.

Judge Charles Burns presided over Balfour’s sentencing hearing in a Cook County courthouse. Balfour was given the opportunity to speak to his ex-wife and others impacted by his actions, at which point he said:

My condolences go out to the family. My deepest sympathies go to Julian King. I loved him. I still love him.

After denying the defense’s motion for a new trial and hearing Balfour’s statement to the Hudson family, Burns ordered that Balfour serve three consecutive life sentences without parole for killing Darnell Donerson, Jason Hudson and Julian King on October 24, 2008. Burns added an additional 120 years to Balfour’s service for home invasion and aggravated kidnapping, and had some harsh words for Balfour. The Chicago Tribune reported that Burns compared Balfour’s soul to a barren dark space and, in response to Balfour’s statement that he loved Julian King, told Balfour that “The fact that you can stand in court and tell us you love that child is an insult to all of us.”

Hudson and her sister Julia were present at the sentencing, as was Julian King’s father.