Justice for Jennifer Hudson: Week 3

Friday, May 11, 5:50 p.m. EDT: William Balfour found guilty on all counts: A jury has found William Balfour guilty of murdering actress Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew in 2008, ABC News reports. Balfour, 30, was accused of killing the three in a jealous rage, believing that his estranged wife, Julia Hudson, Jennifer Hudson's sister, was dating another man. The jury found Balfour guilty on all counts against him after some 18 hours of deliberations over three days. Balfour, who pleaded not guilty, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder

Friday, May 11, 9:58 a.m. EDT: Third day of deliberations begins: For the second straight day, a jury deliberating the fate of William Balfour, the man charged with murdering the mother, brother and nephew of superstar Jennifer Hudson, wasn't able to reach a verdict. Jurors deliberated for 7 1/2 hours Thursday but didn't come to an agreement. The third day of deliberations was scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. today.

Thursday, May 10, 2:23 p.m. EDT: Jury deliberates for second day: Jurors returned to a Chicago courthouse today to resume deliberating in the case against Jennifer Hudson's former brother-in-law, who is accused of murdering three of the Oscar winner's family members because her sister refused to take him back. Judge Charles Burns ordered the jurors sequestered at a hotel for the night after they deliberated for four hours Wednesday following closing arguments in the case against William Balfour, Fox News reports.

Wednesday, May 9, 2:23 p.m. EDT: Trial comes to a close: The Root's Lynette Holloway reported from the courtroom today that Jennifer Hudson, flanked by her fiancé and sister Julia, lowered her head and wept during the hourlong closing, during which prosecutors worked hard to tie Balfour to the murders of her family membres, in a case that is mostly based on circumstantial evidence. Read her entire account here.

Wednesday, May 9, 7:45 a.m. EDT: Closing arguments to begin today: The court heard the last bit of testimony yesterday in the murder trial of William Balfour, and closing arguments are set to begin this morning.

Wednesday, May 9, 12:45 a.m. EDT: Defendant declines to take the stand: The man accused of killing three of Jennifer Hudson's relatives did not take the stand, and his attorneys put on a mere 30-minute defense Tuesday, calling just two detectives in a bid to suggest that they botched the 2008 investigation, the Associated Press reports.

Tuesday, May 8, 10:06 a.m. EDT: Jury sees police interrogation of Balfour: Authorities say that detectives caught William Balfour, the man accused of murdering Jennifer Hudson's family members, in a lie regarding his movements on the day the crime was committed, the Chicago Tribune reports. He said he used his CTA card to take a train and bus to his girlfriend's house on the West Side on the morning of Oct. 24, 2008. Yesterday, jurors saw a 45-minute video recording of an interrogation in which detectives confront him with their knowledge that he didn't use his bus pass that day.

Monday, May 7, 9:46 a.m. EDT: State to dismantle Balfour's alibi: Today prosecutors plan to dismantle William Balfour's alibi in the 2008 murders of Jennifer Hudson's family, NBC Chicago reports. He was arrested at a girlfriend's house and told detectives he'd taken the train there. Prosecutors are expected to call those detectives to the stand, along with an expert who will tell the court that Balfour's Chicago Transit Authority card was not used that day as he claimed.

Read prior courtroom updates from The Root's Midwest bureau chief, Lynette Holloway, here.

Read all of The Root's Jennifer Hudson coverage here.

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