I am holding my mule y’all on the whole Jennifer Hudson situation out of outright compassion. I can’t bring myself to pile on before Jennifer’s family is buried in the ground. I could write about twenty posts about Michelle Balfour, the Mama of the main “person” of interest and Julia Hudson, Jennifer Hudson’s sister and mother of little seven year old Julian Hudson.
Look at MIchelle Balfour on Nancy Grace.
If you will recall, Michelle Balfour came out while Julian was still missing to say her son didn’t do this. COMPLAIN about having to leave work early and to declare that she didn’t raise “no murderer.” Well let’s see, her precious son was already CONVICTED of attempted murder and drug possession. William Balfour’s father apparently is serving 30 years on murder charges and William’s brother is serving drug dealing charges. So CLEARLY Michelle you are in no position to judge the criminal proclivities of the men you procreate with and give birth to. So be quiet. Your son, even if he is innocent was clearly trifling and maybe if you had been a better parent you wouldn’t have chosen a murder as your mate and produced two criminals.
Julia, It’s time for your Wilderness Journey… Get the HECK off of MYSPACE!!!
Julia, please for the love of God, I understand wanting to connect with people online, that is laudable, but you need to cut the cord and DEAL WITH THE REAL WORD!!! Stop using Myspace to vent and put your profile on PRIVATE. You can still interact with all of your “friends” online. Y’all don’t even go look at the Myspace page because if she hasn’t changed the content of the page, it is going to give about half of y’all instant aneurysms.
I GUESS IT’S TIME TO UPDATE THIS WHEN I STARTED MY MYSPACE ALL OF THE ABOVE WAS TRUE, NOW BECAUSE I CHOSE TO DO WHAT WAS NATURAL TO ME AND LOVE SOMEONE, IT COST ME MY BEAUTIFUL FAMILY MY WONDERFUL BEAUTIFUL LOVING SUPPORTING MOTHER DARNELL, MY TRUE BLUE BABY BROTHER JASON , I LOVE U BIG BABY … AND LAST BUT NEVER NOT LEAST MY ONLY SON JULIAN , MY INNOCENT BABY ONE THAT WAS SHELTERED FROM ALL THE EVIL IN THE WORLD BECAUSE WE LOVED HIM SO MUCH Julia Hudson on Myspace
In case none of your relatives will tell you, its INAPPROPRIATE! It was inappropriate before this tragedy and only moreso now. I will not comment on the content of the Myspace page because I mean the Lord is really working on me in this case.
To be blunt. I like Jennifer Hudson. Always have. All the way back to American Idol. Loved her in Dream Girls and watch it just to see her sing “And I am Telling You.” Ran to the theater to see it. If Julia was NOT Jennifer Hudson’s sister, I already would have been to the right and to the left, but reading that “LOVE” is responsible for this horror just makes my blood boil. But I am going to hold my mule! Hold my mule!!!
102 comments ↓
I am in shock that this woman has the audacity to even go on Nancy Grace to talk about this case, and then cop an attitude.
I also agree that Julia needs to get off of myspace. I would also like to know how this man was a “catch” to her. Seriously. His own momma admits he had a bunch of girlfriends, but yet Julia and him were still married. What kind of LOVE is that?
Both parties have displayed a lot of dysfunctionality, but I’ve refrained from commenting because I don’t believe in kicking people when they are down.
However, I will say that Michelle Balfour is a H.A.M. and needs to be quiet. All these bogus excuses she continues to make for her son show she’s an enabler. No wonder her son turned out so bad.
I’m going to try to be the voice of mercy here.
I think Julia is in so much pain and heartbreak; she just doesn’t know what to do with it and wants to get it out of her system. Not knowing any of the people involved in this tragedy, this is just my guess.
I agree, however, she should put her page on private. I can understand wanting to vent, but I hope someone who knows her will get her to put the page on private or perhaps someone at myspace will invoke some little known element in the user agreement and re-set the page to private.
Michelle Balfour may turn out to be her son’s worst enemy. She is probably doing all of this talking because she sees the scrutiny directed at her son as a personal attack (“I didn’t raise no murderer!!”).
It’s just time for everyone to be quiet and, as you said, embrace their wilderness journey. Privately. Please.
My condolences go out to Jennifer Hudson and her family.
I agree with you that Jennifer Hudson’s sister Julia Hudson needs to put her myspace on private. The vulgar language she uses to decribe herself in her “About Me” section is horrible and a disgrace. It shows a severe lack of maturity and intelligence. As they say on the streets, “Not a good look” especially now that the world is looking at her page leaving condolences and words of support.
We get to the page and we see this young lady has some serious issues. It speaks to the larger issue that so many teens, 20somethings and young 30somethings
use myspace and facebook in some of the most irresponsible ways one can imagine. The way they comment on themselves and each other’s pages in the vulgar language exchanges is shameful and disgraceful and for them all to have them set to “Public View” makes me think they need their heads examined.
Julia Hudson is of that generation and it shows on her page.
If I was Jennifer Hudson’s publicist, I would tell Jennifer Hudson to tell her sister to clean up the language or put it on private or tell myspace to close it.
I saw the Balfour mother’s interview on Nancy Grace too. I agree that was another mess too.
This case has drama, drama, drama written all over it that appears to be so deep I am thinking we have only seen the tip of the iceberg.
Theirs always two sides to a story right.Well we all know the media will make something small look bigger than what it is.If you steal a candy bar out of the store it’s no longer petty theft it’s commerical burglary.I think Michelle was making some good points and I question why was Nancy Grace getting so upset that was so unproffesional.Why would a man kill the mom,the brother and a 7 year old kid because his wife was cheating?That’s sounds Insane.Now the real must be Shared the truth is Michelle Balfour is a real person.Now why did the Hudson Family get Murdered it sounds like the brother was selling drugs out of the house and owed somebody a large amount of money.My homie Died the same way they happen to burn a connected Dealer for 500,000 they killed my homies connect then drove to my homies house killed his Wife found my homie drove him to a junk yard shot him in the head burnt his Suv up with him in it.A sad days this reminds me of the same thing.I really don’t like that William Balfour did this,and if he did why aint the police charging him with murder.I think Jennifer probably feels bad because she made it out the Hood.and left he Moms in the hood.I would of bought my moms a house away from all the madness.She put up 100,000 for Julian so the tells me she could of moved her mom out the hood and that’s how I feel.
Celebrities always forget who they are some love to play god then god shows you who’s really Boss.
I am not going to comment on her sons innocence or guilt because that remains to be established but I will say that I am tired of people holding black mother solely responsible for the actions of their children. Did you ever stop think about just how unsupported black mothers are when it comes to raising children? If they come from a background of poverty it can make motherhood even twice as difficult. There are no support programs and everday is a struggle. You have no idea if she didn’t do her damn best by that child and you are ready to convict her.
Sometimes no matter how hard you try children will go there own way. You can tell your child one thing until you are blue in face but you cannot live their lives for them.
I also would like to know what it is that give society a free pass on this and choose to blame the black mother. Raising a son in a world that fills his head with the image of black masculinity as thug like and dangerous is an up hill battle. I fight this daily. Why are you not speaking out about that and blaming the mother once again. Children do not grow in a vacuum they are a product of our social world and no one person, no matter how close to them is solely responsible for what they become in adulthood.
I am not blaming her because she isa mother. I a blaming her for going on national television show acting a fool.
You aren’t going to hide behind blaming black mothers.
I blame the daddy to, BUT THEY AIN’T MAKING EXCUSES on national tv.
Renee,
You are definitely a NEOPHYTE reader of this blog. I’m gonna help you out just a bit before Gina trains you in the way of WAOD and the disgruntled readers club.
I am almost quite certain that Gina in no way made a generalization to blame black mothers for the failures of their offspring. In fact, Gina recognizes the fact that black women have been used as doormats by all people, black and white, and vigorously defends the honor of black women to a fault.
Read this post for what it is; a scathing critique of ONE TRIFLING PARENT who reared ONE TRIFLING SON who KILLED THREE INNOCENT PEOPLE. That’s all this post was about. I’m not even going to comment about the Julia Hudson myspace stuff because then I’ll want to use profanity and I’m not doing that on Gina’s blog.
Renee,
No mother, father, parent, or guardian should be on TV defending the actions of a man who has an extensive criminal rap sheet and a penchant for violent behavior. His mother obviously has NO IDEA what here son is capable of because of the aforementioned. She is NOT qualified to talk about what he wouldn’t do.
However if she decides to act in the affirmative and criticize everyone else for what has happened with her “baby” and that “she didn’t raise no murderer”, then someone has the right to call her on it. Is she implying that she DID raise a thief and an attempted murderer since he was convicted of those charges?
I hope he rots in hell. I hope Michelle Balfour goes somewhere to have a nice cup of STFU.
Blkseagoat. I a in the middle of a conference so I could not go of, but I wil deal with renee later….OR NOT!!!
crimainals come in all colors.
this is a terrible tragedy and the mother of william shot her mouth off like a fool and should just shut up.
the racial B.S. is just another excuse! i am soooo sick of hearing this crap.
you do the crime, you do the time. that’s that!
and hopefully the family gets the justice they deserve.
thoughts and prayers to the Hudson’s.
If Julia wants to vent, she should put her myspace on private, or she should get a livejournal account, less folks on livejournal.
I do not blame Michelle Balfour for what happened. I do know that a parent can do all the right things and the child can still come out a killer. But I do blame Michelle Balfour for going on Nancy Grace’s show, because by going on a show like that you hold yourself up for scrutiny.
I don’t comment often but I read this blog quite a bit. I am asking a legitmate question. What exactly was your intent by the following phrase if not to convict yet another black mother?
Your son, even if he is innocent was clearly trifling and maybe if you had been a better parent you wouldn’t have chosen a murder as your mate and produced two criminals.
I am not saying that the woman is not partially responsible for what her son became I am saying that she is not solely responsible. We are all socially culpable when someone because a deviant, especially in the case of property theft.
Black motherhood is maligned enough daily without black women jumping on the first bandwagon that comes along. We need to consider the circumstances behind what lead this man to make the decisions he made beyond the fact that he is the issue of a black womb.
I wouldn’t be surprise if some celebrities did want their moms to move to a better place, but they -the moms- feel to comfortable and knowledgeable in their own area and don’t want to move away.
Who’s giving her advice?
If she’s getting any, is she taking it?
Surely, she is being told to take some time to deal with this in the family, in private, and not spill this on Nancy Grace or MySpace. I can’t imagine anyone telling her anything different. The question is this: Is she listening?
Mary Balfour is a simple-minded azz-backward embarrassment to her race. Gina your assessment of her life choices are on point. Renee, stop making excuses for these pathologically ignorant ghetto bunnies times will not get better unless or until they take a look at themselves in the mirror. oh yeah, blkseagoat I rather enjoy your colorful communication and will be checking you blog to get your scathing take on this matter.
I don’t think anyone is coming down on the mother for caring about her child. She is just not helping matters by going on Nancy Grace and telling all of America that her son has two girlfriends, etc. I think we can all pretty much agree that such information does not help his case.
I also thought Nancy held back quite a bit in that interview and gave the mother a lot of room to speak her mind. More than usual on that program, but maybe I am wrong. Unless I am missing something, it seemed like the mother just kept attacking the media in general and Nancy had to speak up. I can’t say her program is always 100% fair, but the coverage I have seen (emphasis on what I have seen) on this doesn’t seem too bad.
Back to parenting, I know plenty of people who grew up in loving homes with two working parents who did their best, but the kids still ended up selling/doing drugs, criminals, violent against women, etc. Having both parents helps, no doubt, but its no guarantee. The point I am trying to make is that this is a tragedy. Period. There really is no rationalizing or pointing the blame as I am sure that there is a long list of circumstances, actions, and in-actions by a host of people that brought these people to this point.
My heart goes out to all involved. 3 lives are gone and for what?
Thanks for the post Gina. I got two comments. I moved from one of the worst places one could call home. I lived in a two red light swamp land. Crime and crooks meet you at the county line. I tried for years to get my mother, grandmother to move away. When I go home, it takes me weeks to get over the guilt and depression that I feel when I go there. I went back to spend time with my grandfather before he died, and I was damn near suicidal by the time I left.
Jennifer Hudson is a relative new star. Her mother was taking care of siblings and her grandson. I do not believe she was banking that kind of money.
As for her sister, ( my age is showing here) why would a grieving mother turn to myspace? I do not get that at all. When I lost my grandfather, I did not get on a computer for months. I am sorry, very sorry for their lost, but I am disturbed by reaching out on myspace.
Bossolo~
I can’t believe anyone would try to come on here to make excuses for this dude & then try to put the blame on Jennifer for not moving her family out the hood.
Actually, Jennifer did offer to move her mother and brother out of the house but her mother declined because it was her house and she had lived in the neighborhood for years.
One of the things that Nancy Grace didn’t ask and Ms. Balfour did not address is why did her son miss his parole meeting that morning (re: Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/10/ap-hudson-suspect-had-june-drug-arrest.html)
Renee said
“I also would like to know what it is that give society a free pass on this and choose to blame the black mother. Raising a son in a world that fills his head with the image of black masculinity as thug like and dangerous is an up hill battle. I fight this daily. Why are you not speaking out about that and blaming the mother once again. Children do not grow in a vacuum they are a product of our social world and no one person, no matter how close to them is solely responsible for what they become in adulthood.”
Let’s not be naive. The young man’s father is a murderer. I don’t know if William Balfour committed the crimes but I do believe that women raise their sons to become the men that they admire themselves –either consciously or inadvertently. We need to get real about the conditions in many of our low income neighborhoods. The popularity of the thug boys for fathers isn’t just because that is all there is but also because it’s what the women expect. It’s how manhood is defined in those communities and to be otherwise is a punk.
I know of thug guys who put all their property in their mother’s name –not the mother of their children. Not just because she’s probably the only one working but also because he is “her” man in the house. Not sexually, but economically.
As for Julia… she needs to shut her page down.
Sorry to blow up your page with my comments, especially for my first time. Next time I’ll make it brief.
“I wouldn’t be surprise if some celebrities did want their moms to move to a better place, but they -the moms- feel to comfortable and knowledgeable in their own area and don’t want to move away.”
“Actually, Jennifer did offer to move her mother and brother out of the house but her mother declined because it was her house and she had lived in the neighborhood for years.”
This is tragic in a way, but more common than one might imagine. I know of situations like this and they just leave you with a shaking head and a sad heart. In the end, people sometimes choose what’s easy but not what’s best or safest.
I just want to say that Ms. ignorant Michelle needs to get somewhere and pray. That is all she can do right now. The things she is saying out of her mouth is only making this matter worse. And her friends, that she is all on myspace posing all ghetto with should tell her that the things she is saying is stupid.
I agree with the fact that she laid down with a bad, murderer man, had two bad azz murderer, drug dealing boys and you have the nerve to get on tv (probaby thinking you were going to get some kind of fame) and say that your son got his GED in jail and this is suppose to rule him out.
This lady and her son’s need help. They need the kind of help that only God can give them.
That boy did it and even if he did not do it, he was certainly involved there is no doubt about that.
I have loved the wrong people in my life, BUT I knew when to cut it off, or after finding out information that was not good, cutting it off. It states that they married AFTER he did that to that man and his car, so that right there would have been a no no but some people like bad boys so hey.
I do agree she should block her myspace page. If Julia wanted to comment, I think she should have just said thank you for the support and that’s it. I was born and raised in Chicago and I really feel bad for my very own, but God has that family now.
We can all sit here and judge all we want to….this world is so crazy that we never know what people are going to do. Those poor people did not deserve what happened to me….That poor baby did not have to loose his life, his precious life. I kinda feel where his mother is coming from….he didn’t come off as such a threat b/c Julia is logging onto myspace everyday…now if she felt like this ex husband had something to do with the death of her family she should be deleting every picture of him along w/ his profile of her top friends none of this is happening she still has him on there. Something is not right….looks to me like he’s being framed. The whole situation is confusing and I just think its more to what everyone is saying about this family. If he did it then yes he needs to be punished but I have a feeling that was an inside job. The police need to get it together and find who did this horrible crime!
Look Renee there is no need to be super-defensive just because you may be a single parent mother raising a black son, and you may be raising him in a rough disadvantaged neighborhood.
MY mother was a single parent raising me by herself all the time…..BUT….my mother never wanted to be in the ghetto, no where near the ghetto, because of the negativity of the ghetto.
She didn’t wanna be a statistic! And she didn’t want me to be either! She didn’t come from a ghetto anyway, even though she grew up poor in Jamaica for a little while.
But instead of getting defensive just like how Ms. Balfour’s getting defensive over the actions of an ADULT child who should be held accountabl;e, you need to move your son or daughter OUT of the GHETTO! Get two more jobs shoot, but stay out of the ghetto.
That way those negative thug images won’t be chasing him or her! They’ll be surrounded by more positive possibilities. You should be heading out of the ghetto while your still waddling around pregnant or at least when they’re still in diapers. Don’t wait till puberty hits and they can run around on the street, or get a girl pregnant, or if they are the girl, become pregnant and sit around the house!
You blame the media and their thug images, which also come from black male rappers and athletes and the way they carry on, but you can’t understand how staying in a ghetto which encourages and never discourages the black male thug criminal lifestyle may be a huge chunk of the blame when it comes to poorer black children turning out wrong, when that could have been prevented?
Women stuck in the ghetto because of financial reasons and because they have to spend their small income on their one child, shouldn’t even think about becoming pregnant again before they take steps to come out of the ghetto. Planned Parenthood is a fine organisation with services that black disadvantaged women should use to their advantage.
Hey they helped white women out a lot especially back in the day!
Okay, I understand your non commenting about the Hudson situation. But what about commenting about Isiah Thomas drug overdosing and blaming it on her 17 year old daughter? If that does not warrant commenting, I do not know what does.
I can’t imagine what Julia Hudson is going through. People do all sorts of insane things after they loose a loved one. I don’t use myspace, but I could imagine the comfort one might find in escaping online w/ strangers, but I really can’t wrap my head around this. I can’t imagine what it’s like to loose a child and I hope I never have to.
This mans mother needs to stop doing interviews or hire an attorney to do them for her. If her goal was to clear his name, she did not do a good job. I don’t necessarily believe he’s responsible for this, but her statement of the “facts” is not particularly helpful to him.
I don’t know this woman so I’m not going to call her a “ghetto bunny” or any of the other derogatory names given to black women. However I do sense that she has issues “cutting the cord”. A lot of mother’s have this problem, but when the stakes are as high as they are with him, her coddling is more detrimental than ever. Her discussing his and Julia’s relationship revealed a lot, as did the stolen car story. If this man is innocent, than he’s young enough to pull his life together – hopefully it will be a wake up call.
Whoever could do this, particularly to that little boy, has to be extremely demented or detached from society. I pray this family can pull their lives back together and I pray that these people didn’t die in vein.
@AK
Nice to know how easy it is to make assumptions about someones class status, education and residence simply because they choose to voice an opinion on the oppressed. Maligning me only serves to show the world the classist nature of your thought patterns.
I won’t bother to correct your assumptions because whether or not I come from a working class background or not is irrelevant. You clearly have no respect for someone who is working/under class. Someone’s class position is more often than not an indicator of the systemic inequalities that are inherent to the racist, capitalist, patriarchal world in which we live rather than a reflection of self. Of course with your false belief in meritocracy (read: pull yourself up by your bootstraps mentality) you would be blind to that.
Again it is a valid statement to make that he is a product of his environment and not solely the result of his mothers parenting skills. If you cannot see the ways in which the world acts on and informs your behavior you must lead quite the myopic existence. Each body is encoded with messages, and does not exist outside of discoursive elements; however you would know that if you were not so busy drinking the kool aid of classism. Who is ghetto now?
I refuse to believe that a child can grow up in a happy well adjusted family and become a murderer. Just because it looks okay from the outside does not mean that family is picture perfect. People in the suburbs abuse their kids just as much as poor people. They raise selfish narcissistic brats too.
Ooooh I watched it live and my jaw was on the floor. The amount of denial is as long and as wide as the Pacific. For the mother to try to fault the first victim of the car jacking (her son was only 16 and a ’simple’ car theft became a jacking and attempted murder because the owner jumped on the hood) had me shaking my head in shame. Nancy Grace wouldn’t cover the pregnant 12 y.o. but she covers this instead.
I would be curious to address her accusations of the police denying him a lawyer if only to avoid potential legal maneuvers later, but he wasn’t charged with the cocaine position in June so he’s been given breaks. He is not a victim of ‘the man’.
And the kicker for me was the discussion of him spending the night with one woman and moving on during the day to the other woman – the pregnant one.
“But Julia’s got a boyfriend too.”
And she just lost me when she talked about the brother being a drug dealer. The boy’s father is a convicted drug trafficker as well. So it may turn out other people are involved in whole or in part but this is just SAD.
It’s a miracle Jennifer got out and became so successful in her career. Now she needs to reevaluate her reality show alum fiancee. I know he went to Harvard…but still.
When are people going to realize that it doesn’t matter where you live, if somone has the intention to kill they are going to kill. Its not that hard to figure out.
Ok, I’ve read all the comments and I just have to throw my $.02 in. First of I don’t know where AK comes off assuming that Renee is a single parent living in the ghetto just because she defended black single parent moms. That right there discounted whatever else AK had to say as far as I’m concerned. And unless you’ve lived in the ghetto you don’t know how difficult it can be to get out. Single mom get 2 or 3 jobs if you have to…then who the heck is going to raise the child or children? I have 1 job, a husband and only 2 kids and my time is still short.
Second, has any of you ever lived on the other end of a real life tragedy to understand how far off the media is MOST of the time in reporting the real FACTS of the case? And how much information is actually kept away from the public? With that said many of you are convicting William Balfour way too prematurely with too little evidence. If the police don’t have enough evidence to even officially charge the manchild then how the hell can we convict him…regardless of his past crimes? If he’s guilty then I agree absolutely that he should rot UNDER the jail, but what have you guys heard that I haven’t that makes you so sure that he is guilty?
And as ineloquently as his mother spoke, I think that she POSSIBLY knows a little more about the real truth than we do, even though she did not express it clearly or appropriately to our standards. And as out of line and “ghetto” as she may have sounded, I think she expressed her own truth in the best way SHE knew how because she believes that the public is persecuting her son without knowing all the facts. Which apparently we are!
And regarding the myspace page…now we’re judging “appropriate” reactions to grief. Maybe Julia spent an inordinate amount on her myspace page before this tragedy so in her current state of overwhelming loss and grief she turned to what she knew. And if her page was never private before, maybe she just never thought to make it private before posting that intimate message. But Gina, you were right when you said that NOW is not the time to criticize her on the stuff that was out there before reflecting the person she is/was before the public put its “spotlight” on her (pun intended).
And regarding this statement: “If I was Jennifer Hudson’s publicist, I would tell Jennifer Hudson to tell her sister to clean up the language or put it on private or tell myspace to close it.” Julia is a grown A** woman, Jennifer and her publicist can’t control how she expresses herself. And as grown people we need to know how to separate Jennifer from her sister and not let that reflect how we view Jennifer. It’s not her page.
ALL the people involved in this mess need a whole lot of counseling and healing not just blame and criticism. If you’re not a part of the solution then you’re part of the problem so STFU! Lest someone shine the light into your backyard and see what they find…
I meant to write that she spent an inordinate amount of TIME on that myspace page…
@ Just saying
I totally agree with you your comments.
OK Renee and the rest of the DEFENSE-OLYMPICS, it’s elitist to want to get out of the ghetto or stay out of it BEFORE you get weighed down with one kid or more?
And if somebody does get out of the ghetto before they have kids or after they do, they shouldn’t consider moving to the suburbs or out in the country because they MIGHT be moving next door to an abusive, mentally-unstable person?
Ok then. Fine. Have it your way as I’m sure you will. Have fun dodging those bullets and dodging the derelicts that hang out on the corners! If only your poor kids could say the same.
Don’t expose your kids to different worlds, and different experiences outside the stifling, stereotypical and very MYOPIC world of the Ghetto in order to undo the damage of societal messages against young black men and women BECAUSE of the direct effects of their environment on them.
Hey that’s your call. And when people bring up a subject of um let’s say ‘Theft’ in a little conversation and then a person starts getting super-defensive saying that ‘thieves are not all bad’ or ‘there’s a reason why these poor thieves became what they became, it’s not all their fault’ and they bring out an attitude like someone just accused them of theft, I like some people will think ‘Damn, what was that all about? He/she must have been caught red-handed once for them to react so strongly’.
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Just Saying: Um but my Mom DID IT, she just did the damn thing, I don’t know how but she did.
It’s mule-ish and not ideal I know but she just worked with what she had and worked her butt off like so many black single parents do. But I am childless now because hey when I fully ready financially to live how I need to live when supporting kids, I’ll have em.
I don’t wanna be caught with one foot stuck in the wrong neighborhood whether I’m pregnant or not.
There are decent people living the right way in the ghetto with no police records who get caught with a bullet in their head sometimes and the people connected to the topic of this thread are the case in point.
Why be living the right way and not bothering anybody AND be dodging bullets and whatever else when you don’t have to?
Just get out BEFORE you get stuck somehow. But it’s YOUR life and I’m through.
AK, it’s not really worth responding to most of your comments except to say, or rather ask this: Do you really believe that most people are living in the ghetto out of choice? For every 1 person who makes it out, like your mom, there’s 20 left behind. You think that’s coincidental? Or that they’re just not working hard enough? Grow up! I mean really, grow up! It sounds like the only person living in a MYOPIC world is you, if you think it’s just that easy.
Through regarding my Above’s there but JustSaying if Oprah or Johnetta B. Cole was interviewed by Nancy Grace and one of them was publicly defending their adult kids for a crime they are being questioned about or accused of, that would STILL be a stupid action.
Wow stupid actions cross the classes, races and sexes…WOW…I swear that I had NO IDEA that stupid actions happen everywhere.
Hey cool it’s like I discovered plutonium or something.
But you have no hard proof of where your adult children are because you don’t live their lives for them, and you’re not always around to see what they do, so how can you publicly loudly or quietly defend their actions?
Just stay out of it. Or atleast be super-defensive about your son privately and not in front of the press! LOL
Eloquently or ineloquetly. That has nothing to do with it. Stop putting your feelings and your business out there in the public eye at this time. We don’t even need to hear Michelle Balfour’s side when she’s not being accused, the police don’t need to see her, becaus eshe has nothing to do with it?
So why the need for her to draw attention to herself? You don’t need a cool few million and a bunch of degrees to keep a low profile and be quiet and act intelligently while this situation is carrying on.
Yes I do believe that people in the ghetto can have capabilities to do just that! LOL LOL
We can talk about this situation for days people. It is important to be exposed to people of different social status and points of view just to avoid being indoctrinated with a very limited perspective of what being Black means. If you live in a neighborhood full of criminals or people who want to be or make excuses about why that’s their only option then leaving is a good idea. Unless you can get enough people to Combat the bad apples.I don’t like refering to someone in derogatory terms like ghetto but think further evaluation of our motivations are necessary for our survival. There are plenty of people who aren’t poor who act “ghetto”.It isn’t about blaming Black women but we must certainly ask why so many of us have children with men who have shown themselves to be inadequate partners or parents, why we share men with other women and why we make excuses for our choices poor or not. And why do we attach false standards of Blackness? Jenniffer should not have had to be financially responsible for anyone but herself. Michelle is not responsible for what her 27 year old GROWN son does. Nor should she be defending him on Nancy Grace.
AK. You’re proof that you don’t have to live in the ghetto to sound ignorant.
If you seriously think that the solution to improving the lives of every poor black woman and child is to move them out of the ghetto than you’re extremely misguided and have a very limited view of what is actually occurring in most inner city neighborhoods. There are poor and working class black neighborhoods across this country where children live perfectly normal lives and don’t fall into a life of crime and ignorance. There’s no crime in being poor or working class and living in a neighborhood that is affordable to you. That’s what people do when their poor – they live in their means and in neighborhoods they can afford.
Criminal behavior should not be tolerated anywhere and no one should have to be chased out of their neighborhoods by the few who want to do harm. We need to take a stand against violence to ensure safety for everyone-regardless of their class, because crime eventually affects everyone, everywhere. Across this country poor people in many cities have taken back their once crime ridden neighborhoods and have made them safe and attractive places to raise families. So attractive in fact, that they’re now being pushed out. Most inner city neighborhoods have incredible assets (like access to mass transit), that are not realized because of crime or the perception of crime. Poor people across the country recognize the value in their neighborhoods and are setting the tone for what’s acceptable and what’s not. It’s not about where we live, it’s about what we will tolerate. I’ve visited public housing projects that look like private condominiums, because the residents have set a standard for what they will and will not accept. There poor, black and many are single moms, and they act just as responsibly as anyone else. It is possible.
You don’t have to live in the suburbs or country to be “exposed” to other things in life. As a matter of fact, kids who grow up in the city often have much more access and exposure to other things if they have parents who are willing to show initiative. Good parenting is not a class issues, it’s a personal issue and it’s so sad to see poor black parents continually scapegoated for the failings of the entire black community. Especially when there are plenty of trifling parents raising trifling kids in the suburbs everyday with much more resources at their disposal than poor parents. Your mother sounds like an outstanding woman. Her story, like the stories of a whole bunch of other black mothers who are doing the right thing by their children, often get ignored, by people who make the type of comments you did.
I actually don’t think this post is an indictment on black mothers. However your response to Renee was, considering how much you assumed about a person you don’t know anything about. Poor black people are so demonized, it’s remarkable. When white people are poor and ignorant their called “the backbone of America”. When a white woman is as inarticulate, ignorant and dysfunctional as Sarah Palin she is considered “folksy”, while her black equivalent is “ghetto”. It just boggles the mind.
Now for Michelle Balfour, as I said before, she seems to need to “cut the cord” and I do believe that she would be better off having a lawyer speak for her. Not because of the way she speaks, but because there’s no point in engaging with the media if you can’t get your point across. She didn’t get her point across and just opened her and her son up to more criticism which seems to defeat the purpose.
Faith said:
“It isn’t about blaming Black women but we must certainly ask why so many of us have children with men who have shown themselves to be inadequate partners or parents, why we share men with other women and why we make excuses for our choices poor or not. And why do we attach false standards of Blackness? Jenniffer should not have had to be financially responsible for anyone but herself. Michelle is not responsible for what her 27 year old GROWN son does. Nor should she be defending him on Nancy Grace.”
^ Agreed.
Thanks Faith. You voice is like a beacon, the light from a lighthouse on a coast, in a dark and dank fog of WHATEVER!
Renee,
I can certainly identify with you on the point that black motherhood is demonized. But we have to be careful not allow our understandable anger to cause us to defend every black woman or mother. For example, I will never defend any black woman who harms a child for any reason. Not saying you would, just making a point.
I’ve been reading this blog for quite some time, and I really don’t think that Gina would verbally attack a black mother without a good reason.
Again, I understand where you are coming from.
@LorMarie
I certainly believe that there are black mothers that are very capable of heinous crimes. Colour is not an indication of whether or not someone may or may not be abusive. My point in my original query has more to do with why we don’t factor in socialization into the debate when it comes to race.
We already know that if a person is black and porrt they are facing two areas of stigmatizations and therefore their life chances are greatly effected. I firmly believe in social culpability. No child is born a thief or a murderer we create the conditions that cause these behaviours. Whether they occur because of institutionalized racism, sexism, classism, etc., it is these intersections that ultimately lead to dissociative behaviors.
@AK
If you cannot make a point without a personal attack then you have no point to make. With each comment you make yourself more and more irrelevant.
Justsaying, I want to tell you… I could not have said it any better.
THE NEXT PERSON TO CALL OR INFER THAT ANOTHER COMMENTATOR IS STUPID OR CHARACTERIZE THE QUALITY OF ANOTHER RESPONSE WILL BE BANNED. DISCUSS THE POST OR LURK.
GROW UP or GET OUT!!!
.
The juvenile antics on this thread are an embarrassment. You took a perfectly good discussion and ruined it by throwing spitwads. The two major points in the thread are not mutually exclusive.
@ Iman, Your points are well taken and received. That’s an excellent point to state that the goal should not be to leave the working class/poorer neighborhoods, it’s about cleaning them up and making them safe for everyone who remains, either by choice or by necessity. As american citizens we All deserve the basic right of PERSONAL security not just national security.
Well, her myspace page is set to private now.
Michelle Balfour is an idiot for asking “Wouldn’t she get a restraining order?” Nancy checked her for that. Cut the cord already. You spawned a loser. Own up to it already.
@ Bossolo,
I don’t think it’s fair to accuse Jennifer of forgetting her roots. For all we know, maybe her family wanted to stay there. Some people can be so proud and see assistance as a handout. And Jennifer felt safe enough to stay over whenever she touched down.
Dottie, they made it private because the probably read this blog…. and I am NOT exaggerating.
@ Anonymiss
Attitudes like this are exactly why recidivism rates are so high. If we continue to judge someone on their past deeds and label with scarlet letters how exactly do expect them to become functional members of society. This man has not been charged in connection with this crime and yet you are allowing his prior bad acts to color your view of him.
Attitudes like this are exactly why recidivism rates are so high. If we continue to judge someone on their past deeds and label with scarlet letters how exactly do expect them to become functional members of society. This man has not been charged in connection with this crime and yet you are allowing his prior bad acts to color your view of him.
SHe didn’t call him a murderer, she said he was a “loser.” Let’s just for kicks assume he had nothing to do with the slayings, which is within the relm of possibility because everybody in the orbit or that house was apparently up to no good.
What we do know is that he was a married man with “girlfriends” =loser
One of the girlfriends was pregnant… while he was still married= Big L
Don’t try to blame recitivism rates on people making asessments about your character based on your prior behavior. its called deductive reasoning skills and survival.
Instead of blaming those who “judge” for recitivism, why not blame the individual impulsive decisions that get people caught up in the system in the first place.
Many people are in jail because that is exactly where they belong.
How do you expect people to become functional members of society when you repeatedly excuse their lack of impulse control, delayed gratification, unwillingness to conform to social strictures doom them. I am sorry. This man was on Parole working at a bakery with apparently no car. What was he doing with a pregnant girlfriend.
Why should the world have to adjust to them? The world doesn’t adjust to me.
Recidivism rates are so high because we have normalized jail culture. Its not shameful or embarrassing, but a right of passage.
Malcom X only had to go to jail ONCE to get a clue.
No recidivism rates are as high as they are because we close avenues of employment for people that have been in jail those dooming them to a lifetime of poverty. Recidivism rates are as high as they are because we have yet to deal with the social issues behind what originally sent people to jail in the first place. Most people are in jail for drug related crimes. Obviously treatement would make more sense than locking up an entire generation but then who would profit from the prison industrial complex then?
Right, cause because what someone does sexually is an indicator of his worth…I think not. This kind of rabid moralizing and disciplining of behavior is ridiculous. Everywhere we look we can see images of sex and yet when a person engages in sex they are suddenly a bad person. Marriage and monogamy are not necessarily the ideal state for everyone.
She is a sorry excuse for a mother and a woman; she disgusts me so much that I refuse to even mention her name. I refuse to watch the clip of her because I am SICK AND DAMN TIRED of women defending and coddling their sorry ass sons and sorry ass romantic partners.
I saw Julia’s MySpace page the other day. I had to try hard not to judge her….. VERY hard.
You know what? I quit humanity. Where’s my damn ticket to Neptune.
You know what? I quit humanity. Where’s my damn ticket to Neptune.
Spinster, you just won the quote of the week award. You made me laugh and I needed that
I went to Julia’s website to offer condolences and did. I wasn’t shocked by her vulgarity but was saddened by it.
I couldn’t help but wonder if she used the same language in front of little Julian. The words she used to describe her sexuality and body parts is something I would expect from an immature pre-adolescent boy with raging hormones, not an adult loving mother. Her invitations to “get with” others while not caring if they were men or women was an invitation I felt bordered on prostitution. William’s intro listed her as his wife and boasted about Jennifer being his sister but warned not to ask about her- well why mention it then? I wonder if William married Julia because Jennifer Hudson is her sister?
oops – when speaking about William’s site, I meant to say he mentioned Jennifer being Julia’s sister, not his.
I’m going to add my two cents to this (like everyone else)….First of all, for those of you (not all) talking about how ignorant and stupid Julia is you need to learn how to speak and write properly….Before you decide to run your mouth about someone else at least proof read what you right first and make sure your spelling is on point, because you all look like a bunch of idiots….I’m going to agree that Julia’s state of mind is questionable..I mean why would you want to get yourself involve with that type of individual in the first place?…Also even though she’s a BIG girl ( and there’s nothing wrong with that, let me add) you can see that she has absolutely no self-esteem…like at all!!! Why you would get on Myspace, make your profile public and then speak about yourself and others in that way…It really goes to show just how immature and stupid she is…For someone her age she sounds very young-minded…I also question the fact that you’re constantly on Myspace while you’re dealing with your whole family (except of course for Jennifer) being murdered!!! She was on there the whole time accepting new friends and even while her son was missing and after he was found dead, she still had time to make friends on Myspace…If that was me in her shoes I wouldn’t be able to function and you can bet your A** that the last thing on my mind would be let me log onto Myspace and see how many friends I can make today…Also William’s mom Michelle is just as ignorant to go on TV while all of this is going on…Shut the hell up!! How can you defend that criminal of a son, you don’t know shit!!! Were you there? How do you know he didn’t do it? You are an enabler and I see why your children turned out the way they did…as you said yourself “Let’s get that straight”. And then to admit that your son wasn’t put out of the home, he moved out b/c he has respect and then all in the same sentence say how he was with his girlfriends? You mentioned two but how many more did he have? I mean by looking on his Myspace page it was nothing but females on there…Then to suggest that Julia planted the drugs on him..I’m not going to say that couldn’t have happened b/c you do have some vindictive females out here who are more than capable of doing that, but why would you say that at a moment like this on live TV…You just dont’ want to accept the fact that your son is a murderer and crack-head….And yes I’m going to say it…you did a shitty job as a mom that both your sons are criminals and your husband is a murderer..You know the saying like father, like son…..And Julia even if she didn’t have anything to do with this you have to be somewhat be resentful b/c maybe you’re not the pretty one, the talented one..Are you pissed b/c you don’t have the money and the fame while being stuck living with your mother, with no money, working as a bus driver? Yes it’s harsh what I’m saying but I’m just saying what millions of people are thinking!!! I don’t want to kick someone while their down, but at the same time someone has to talk some sense into her and tell her to stay off Myspace…I see now her page is private!!!! I little too late don’t you think? I feel for the Hudson family and I’m sorry that this happene to them but someone has to ask this quesitons? So don’t give me no shit about!!! I’m just keeping it real!
I meant to say write not right…sorry!!
Spoiledrotten touch on something else I meant to say…Julia claims that b/c she chose to “love” something that comes natural to her she’s lost her whole family…but if that’s the case why do you still have “FLEX” as one of your top friends..and why are he’s stupid pictures still on your page along with the ones of your deceased love ones? And then you have a posting of Mrs. Flex with guns and shit on there? Are you serious????? The only reason I would’ve been logging onto Myspace at a time like this is to make sure that every trace of William A.K.A. Flex is gone from there….. Now something else must be going on b/c it’s been over a week that this incident happened, poor little Julian was found dead and the police have found the murder weapon but they have yet to charge him? There is a lot more going on that we “the public” don’t know about but this is definately not looking good for anyone.
@chula78
interesting
I’m very confused about Julia? I’m wondering is she in a state of shock….because why is “Flex” still all over her My Space page? things that make you go hmmmm. I will be keeping you and your family in my prayers
A lot of interesting things have been said on this blog. And some people posting here are riding the front seat of the mammy-bulance.
Pancakes and syrup for some but not all.
Michelle Balfour is doing what comes natural for a mother whose son my face the death sentence. I definitely don’t condon it, but I undertand human reactions. I believe from what the news, internet and Julia Hudson’s my space before it was changed there is something more to this story that’’s being told. My heart goes out to the Hudson family. Let’s look at facts: if Jennifer Hudson wasn’t a celebrity what position would you take in this case. Was her brother Jason dealing in drugs? What did Jason or Julia do for a living? Does Jason have a criminal record? Let’s go here, does Julia have a criminal record? Don’t ever think all answers and innocence are due to one side. Don’t read anymore into what I’ve said, just think about all possibilities. A murder that should have only affected the decision making individual and not the mother or 7 year old nephew. My God show all evidence to police and those involved
After a little more reading it’s found the Julia per news article was the only one who knew where brothers’ gun was locked up. She is also the only one that had access to the home. Julila drove the school bus. She said she worked that day. Why is she lying? What’s this about loving this husband of hers’ and family murdered??!! God, Oh my God, this doesn’t sound good. I’m speechless. Something isn’t right with this picture.
It is such a sad situation about the Hudson murders. Unfortunately this happens more times then a few. We cannot point fingers and say whose innocent and who is not. Even William Balfour’s mother cannot determine whether or not her son commited this crime. Any mother would like to think not but you really do not know. But I will say that her son was convicted of of attempted murder and hijacking so why would she be so quick to say he didn’t commit this crime. She can only hope he didn’t. As far as Julia is concerned everyone handles pain differently but at the same time her behavior is little awkard to me. But who knows we can only wait and see what’s really going on. Only time will tell.
chula78 You are saying that ppl really need to proof read before they post well you need to take your own advice. Dumbass!!!!
I do believe this had to do with an esteem issue also.I have thought this from the being -because there is no way as a female she did not know what kind of man he was.He smiled in her face,said a few sweet things,showed her attention,and she thought this was love.Heavy woman or not-keep some pride in yourself-he was a loser from the start-should have never ever been around her child!!!Simply latched on to a person for being in your face-knowing he was not in love with her but using her.Women stay to yourself don’t sell yourself short by being with the first man that pays you attention-knowing you are plus size-you still deserve better.Obviously,he was with other women-and she had to know something about his background.This is not the kind of person you want around your family!Now an innocent child gone behind bad jugdement-and him never having morals from the get.You can not change a person like that-yes-some people can be helped and do change their life around,but at some point you have to know what is best -what is right and wrong.She had to have known better.I do not wish to make a person feel bad doing such a terrible time.I know she did not pull the trigger-but she played such a drastic role in it even if she doesn’t realize it.
correction during not doing
judgement sorry again – just going to fast-
The main factor in all of this is the Hudson family has lost a majority of their family and noone has been charged for the murders. That is what’s important and that needs to be handled asap. Michelle has a right to make a statement but I agree that she needs to limit what she has to say. Being that her son has served 7 years in jail for horrible crimes, she clearly cant state that she didnt raise a murderer. Had the victim died, he would have been a murderer. Her choice of men is horrible because this boy’s father is serving a 30 year sentence for murder. Julia Hudson should not have been on myspace at all and clearly her page was inappropriate for the circumstances. If love is what caused this madness then she needs to dig deep within and find herself. This guy had 2 girlfriends according to his mother with 1 of them being pregnant. This just seems to be very complicated and some answers need to be provided to the Hudson Family ASAP and the murderers need to be placed in jail and or executed for this tradegy. As for Jennifer should have moved her family out of the hood, maybe that’s where her mother wanted to be. They may have been her comfort zone and that may have been where she felt at home. I am sure Jennifer would have moved her if she wanted that.
First of all, for those who are ready to jump on the Balfour banwagon let me just say…He has been on the wrong path for a long time. His mother is too blind to see that someone like him has serious issues. Her speaking out on Nancy Grace only proves their lack of intelligence. She needs to deal with reality. If one is married ones does not have girlfriends. If one has an attempted murder charge already, one is prone to violence. With regard to Julia’s my space page – it is aweful to see her use the language she does and have the Lord’s name in the same sentence. She needs to grow up. Jason had some issues too. The mother did not want to move because that was home to her. The child is an innocent beautiful soul who got caught up in the sins of adults and paid a dear price. jennifer is blessed to have her career and be out of that area and life. There are good people in the hood. Good mothers who strive everyday to make sure their kids get a good education and learn the powerful lessons of life. So being poor or being in a bad neighborhood is not the issue. The real issue lies in mothers who disregard their responsibility and God given gift to be a mother and let the streets claim their children. Let these souls rest in peace. Julia has to deal with own concious in whatever role she played in this. God is in control and will see to it that the guilty are brought to justice if not here on this earth, certainlly in heaven. In the meantime pray for this family. It is difficult enough to loose one loved one but to have your entire immediate family wiped away in one weekend – is more than the soul can bare. Let’s work together in our own communitites to make sure that Satan does not claim anymore of our children be it the streets, drugs, violence our children do not belong to Satan, give them up to God.
Jason sold drugs out of the house and Julia planted drugs in the car her son was driving. The way she is talking her son didn’t do anything. My son didn’t do this and my son didn’t do that. His mother needs to wake up and stop covering for him she don’t know what her son did or didn’t do. Children don’t tell their parents everything that they do they tell their parents what they want them to know.
This is a terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to Jennifer Hudson. I normally don’t post comments but felt compelled to in this case. While I am sure that Julia Hudson Balfour is beyond grief at the death of her only child, I could not help but think (when I saw her briefly on TV)……”next, please.” I agree with the person that stated Jennifer’s publicist should caution her (Julia) to maintain a dignified silence. At least until we find out definitively who is responsible , whether it is the former husband (no comment on him at all for obvious reasons) or others.
So, has it been established that this family was entrenched in the gang / drug business yet? Someone said that the father (Jennifer, Jason and Julia’s) was also involved w/ the Ganster Deciples. Has this been confirmed yet?
It brings me back to what I’d blogged earlier in the week: Mothers & Grandmothers were getting locked up right along with their drug-dealing son’s. They were cooking and botteling up the crack RIGHT ALONG WITH THEM. Could it be that the Hudson’s were more criminal than we thought? Making Keysha Cole’s family look like saints in comparison.
No-no. The story isn’t over yet, I’m sure. Election Day is today. Give it ’til the end of the week before they bring Miss Julia in for questioning. No doubt she knows more than what she’s saying.
God Bless You, Jennifer. You’re in my prayers, but when it’s all over, do yourself a favor; RUN RUN RUN!!!
well julia is guilty about something she had a lot of knowledge what was going to take place trust this was a inside job plotted,planned and carried out,it was said that someone shot from the outside of the door,how they know it wasnt from the bullet that shot the mother and brother from the inside,questionable.the bullet hole from the door is not how they got in it was a small hole in the door.they said the bodies had been in the house for several hours,think,why was julia at work when there was no school on that day.whoever shot the family knew that baby was in there,everybody know that the granny kept the baby all the time,im pretty sure they knew there was no school that day,if mr.balfour was kicked out the house,how he knew where the keys to jason hudson truck was,they also mention the gun that shot the family belonged to jason,hudson,so if thats the case balfour or the killers had to have someone to tell them where jason kept the gun,and i also heard from a guy that was talking to the news media that the police kicked the back door down at bafour girlfriend house,arrested him and took the girlfriend in for qestioning,the mother of balfour said he was not arrested,he turned himself in.hmm.lady please keep ur mouth close u the one going to cause ur son pain.they havent charge him for murdering this family.they only holding him until investigation is over with.jennifer when the truth finally come out changre ur phone number and ur where abouts,u have nothing to come back there for.im sooooooooo sorry jennifer,julia u not pleading for help,u wanted to feel what being on tv felt like.yes u said u work for a living jennifer do to dont think she lay around all day and wait on money she have to get up and work to.i believe she is working harder,you sit down and drives buses.mrs.balfour encourage ur son to take the lie detective test,because if ever he started talking the truth is going to come out,i believe if someone ever start talking i bet it boils down with insurance money easy money where nobody have to work a 9 to 5 looking to be like sister,big money,i believe somebody offered some of the money to killed the family and when it was carried out as planned,then they pointed the finger at balfour,so he would be locked up and cut out the deal so know they running,you can run but u cant hide,when u point 1 finger the other 3 is pointing back at u,believe that,GOD sits high and looks low.this story is very twisted but proof and evidence is visable to the necked eye people,first as i was watching her and the babys father standing there i know right then and there something was not right no emotions,no crying,i dont care how strong u is,ur mother,brother,and worst of all ur only baby,oh boy i would have been down on my knees balling my eyes out,they was acting as thou it never happen,they ask the babys father did u have something to say,he said what im i suppose to say bring my son back home.and he walked off,oh my.and another thing is mr.balfour did all that killing and u the one he really wanted why he didnt get u he got capture late friday night,if he did all that killing so u say,he was going to finish off everybody including u julia,because he knew was going to point he out.which what happen anyway,but thats how i know he didnt do the actual killing he probly was in on it for the promise money,but anyway it goes it was still someone knew alot about what goes on inside that house,the where abouts and the ends and out of the house.they need to ask her employment was this day a schduel work day for her,and the little boy i believe was carried out with someone he knew,because he would have been screaming and hollowing with a stranger,either the child wasnt there from the get go or he seen the whole thing and was eyes and ears,or they didnt what to be a parent no more because jennifer didnt have children,and they what to follow in her foots steps,and they figured they can go anywhere they want with a chil hanging around.if a person walked off the street and shot these people up like that trust me they would have found the babys body in the house as well robbers dont leave nobody alive for witness.who ever murdered this family seem to me they didnt want the baby dead right away,they wanted to spend time with the baby before the said good bye to him,they wanted to spend his last days with him,he probly was crying and asking questions why,what kind of question,i really wonder did the baby die in pain or was he asleep.i really like to know that,because even when my baby is sick and he cry it hurts me to see him going thru that pain,people keep pointing fingers at mr.balfour but the real killer is free.when the day of the murders how did find time to go on myspace and call her sister,did she do this all at the home the murder took place or what,thats something they should look at.what time did she show up for work,they said she reported to work on friday,but they hadnt heard or seen her after that.humm.something to think about.and to put pictures on the net of this man u said murdered ur family,either u dont have good sense or u just so dam involve somehow another.are u sending a message to someone,perhaps on of his girlfriends or the public that u are guilty as hell and this the man that stuck with u and ur plan.julia stop it.everybody is hurting from this and i believe u is rubbing it in by getting on the net like someone really want to see u.is this how u think u going to make it famous in this world well sweety u aint,u just leading people to think about u is at fault about something this is not going to give u a movie deal.or a celeb,sit it going to get u investigated because u saying alot,how did u figure they might be driving ur brothers truck with ur baby in it.when robbers and thieves come they come in there own vehicles julia,or on foot,they dont have time searching for keys julia its a in and out thing sweetheart,and they said u never walked back to the back,when u seen ur mom u immediatly phone police,it said u never went to any other part of the house,then ur baby could have been with jason at that time,but they said u said that ur baby was kidnapped,and could be in ur brother truck,well it seems to me u knew he was in the truck already,who open the door for this man to come in first of all,because from the picture on the door with that little bullet hole didnt cause the door to open,they said the brother was shot in his room then the mother ran in the front screaming,then thats when they shot and killed her,in the front room,so somebody either had the door open for this person or they open it up for this person,check julia phone records as well from the beginning of oct.thru the time the murders took place and check phone records from the time the baby was missing.check williams phone and julia,and there it is.R.I.P DONERSON,HUDSON,KING.u know another thing is,julia was a bus driver,and so was there father,and jennifer have a singing voice,and so the mother had a singing voice.is this a story of cain and able.
god sits high and looks low,
are you okay?
Not only is “god sits high and looks low” ok, but I think the owner of this site might want to forward “god sits on high and looks low’s” insights and speculations to the appropriate authorities. There is something in that response. Some key info and insights. Some very compelling questions. In fact, I find his/her insights, and the length of his/her posts chilling. This person may have more access to the real story than we are aware. The incorrect language and grammar that ‘god sits on high and looks low” uses maybe deliberate because the intelligent insights suggest something entirely different. Just my thoughts and I normally do not respond to any posts.
genmaspeaks – HA HAAA
Yeah it’s very compelling and insightful to place all the blame and masterminding of the crime on a black woman in the inner city driving a bus who has a famous sister, it’s true. My eyes have been opened, why couldn’t I see through all of that too? She’s so typically cunning, devious, and will doing anything to bring a brutha down.
All this finger pointing to a true brutha with a car jacking and attempted murder rap that the man be tryin to hit him wit just got to stop!
No finger pointing on my end. Rather my larger point is that there are significant gaps and inconsistencies in the story that need serious reconsideration. First, it would be seem nearly impossible for this Balfour character (or whomever we find to perpetrator(s) to be) to have acted alone. Think about it. In addition, witnesses have since tipped off spotting two male occupants in the white truck on the Saturday following the murders. Also, why would the killer(s) take poor little Julian along away from the crime scene and then wait to kill him so brutally later? Was he intended to be a hostage at first (in the initial planning) who would then be able to identify the killer(s) after the plan went awry? Or was he EVEN there in the home in the first place that morning with his grandmother and uncle whe the murder went down? Finally, we cannot dismiss the fact that drug peddling has gone on (and was still going on?) in outside of the home. And while it could be that the beef was over this, why take the child and kill him later? Oh, and I will also say that like those who work in law enforcement, I think no one can be ruled out at this point. Being such a personally heinous crime with a yet unknown vendetta, everybody in that immediate circle is still suspect. And behavioral and circumstantial evidence can and should be of interest / relevant.
With that siad, it was my first speculation that the original plan was to go and take Julian for blackmail or to prevent Julia from calling the cops over the car that had been stolen and sold (parole violation, the summer’s arrest incident, and the impending three strikes was wreaking madness in Balfour’s brain). The grandmother and uncle would, of course, refuse and this is when it got real messy and the plan went mad-crazy. The problem here, though, is if the plan was not to kill them initially why would the killer(s) take the risk in leaving them alive if they could be identified (which would have us to question if it was Balfour who was at the residence). Unless he was there with a story to get Julian under the premise of taking him somewhere (since school was out, then calling Julia later to say that he was holding the child hostage – ransom). But the grandmother and uncle would not release Julian to Balfour or the suspected person(s). Then it would seem that taking Julian even after shooting them was a panicked move, wherein the hostage/ransom plan was botched and the child was no longer needed. The surrounding facts of Julian’s death in that truck suggest an eery mix of the killer(s) regret-to-hasty indecision, brutal mis-directed anger and raging, irrational desperation of a plan gone wrong. I would suspect that the child was never meant to be killed but the perpetrator(s) felt left with no other options. This is all very horrifying and all very, very sad. I agree with many who have expressed that we need to be very vigilant about the crimes that continue to happen as we remain far too passive and silent. It will be a tremendous disgrace and insult to black life in that Chicago community should this crime go unsolved and the real murderers go free while people sit by and let it pass. What can they do? Well, I would say that the Hudson’s immediate community of the church whould ride the investigators’ asses, become vocal in the fact that the case remains unsolves and contact other churches in the community to be just a vocal. Post fliers, keeping calling the mayor, get the media to the community as much as possible, write editorials, keep calling the police department; any and all of this just to keep fact that this case has not been solved in the public eye and press. It would also seem that MySpace could have been a part of this initiative used in a politically focused way in seeking justice. Amazing things can happen when people work collectively together against evil forces for the greeater good. Just think about the recent historic election. There are many teaching points in this unfortunate story and talking about this heinous crime from many difference perspectives is a way to not let this story slip out of sight and to make us more discerning, informed, engaged, and mutually connected people. Just my thoughts and contribution.
ALL OF YOU GUYS NEED TO STOP MAKING ASSUMPTIONS UNTIL THE TRUTH COMES OUT..NO ONE KNOWS WHO COMMITED THIS HORRIBLE ACT….
ak,
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I’m sorry to be the one to play devils advocate.
But, has anyone really taken a good hard look at Julia Hudson? I mean have the police really questioned her? Have they asked her to take a lie detector test? Where was she at the time all of this went down?
Did anyone stop to think maybe she is the second or only party in these murders. If it wasn’t for the fact that she is a super stars sister – she would have been a suspect. Lets face it from day one she has been acting like Susan Smith. Who everyone felt sorry for until it came out that she killed her own sons.
Julia Hudson said it in her oun words on MySpace. “Now it’s her time to be the pretty one!!!!”
So many unanswered questions. The police need to stop being star struck and ask them.
Back when you asked that person if they were OK genmaspeaks
Maria, you are reading my thoughts exactly and yes comment to #81 we should, but we are curious by nature. Have you heard the latest: http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-balfour-hearing-1109,0,1657754.story.
There is more to this story. It is so sad on so many levels. I really do believe Julia knows who did this (if she wasn’t involved). I read that Jennifer did try to get her mom to move, but she refused. I guess she didn’t want to leave her home or her grandchild because she knew Julia probably would’nt take care of him like she did. I really hope justice is served in this case. I feel so sorry for Jennifer. Now, Julia will really be a “hanger-on”.
I think the sister had something to do with it all along she just used william as a skate goat. For one
she thinks shes jennifer and another thing its seems like she was never in the spot light as a child now that her mother brother and her son is gone now the shes in the spotlight .Karma dont go away what goes around always finds its way home see how william is sitting in jail thats gone be you before the new year then u could see how it feels to blame things on innocent people for your on selfish reasons.
I don’t want to be judgemental but I have been keeping close eye on this case.
I heard officers in Chicago saying that Jennifer Hudson’s brother was affiliated with a BLACK DECIPLE gang and that he was known to be dealing with drugs. I do believe that there is more to the story with this case.
Knowing those two things about the brother and what I learned on gangs there is a thing that they call a “BLACK OUT” and if you are selling drugs and failed to produce someone’s money they will do a “BLACK OUT” on you and your family. That means come inside and kill everyone that is in the house to make an example to others that are in that type of lifestyle. It was said that “You don’t play with a man’s money”; it shows levels of disrespect.
I send the utmost Condolences to the surviving family members and close friends.
However, looking at all of the facts in the case I ask myself, how or why would William Balfour do such an animalistic thing like this? I am almost sure he knows something (about the murders) and is afraid to talk because there is a rule for snitching on the streets.
I don’t believe William Balfour was responsible for the murders; it makes no since. I believe the Chicago Police department don’t believe he committed the murders either but they are holding him for withholding information.
I am intitled to my own opinion.
If that were the case there is still the unanswered question, as to Julia Hudson. She stated that she was at work. But, there was no school that day and she is or was a school bus driver. also, How would a person from outside the family know where the brother kept his gun and car keys. I can’t see that little angel Julian going off with a stranger after such a horrific site he had to have witnessed or heard.
Also, if Julia states she was at work, her boss could prove or disprove that RIGHT away. If he disproved it, then the police know she was involved for sure. If she knows that this murder was due to drugs and gangs and is the reason she is not talking, sooner or later, she will be more than a person of interest.
If I knew this was drug related, I would go into witness protection, or beg Jennifer to take me back to LA or New York, then keep a very low profile for the rest of my life. I am sure Jennifer would hire her as a “house-sitter”. If you are THAT scared to talk….get out of Chicago with a quickness. But…..if you had something to do with it…Lord have mercy on you. You will have to live with this the rest of your life.
Hey Guys! Check out this link. We aren’t the only ones that have opinions on this case.
http://dip.pnn.com/articles/show/29334-julia-hudson-sega-a-woman-scorn
Any new information on this case? Are Jennifer and Julia still at Trump’s place? Did Julia gain any insurance money? What has Julia been posting lately on her MySpace page?
Well, I see where her son gets it from. He obviously wasn’t raised right. I can’t believe she had the audacity to get upset because her son is a loser. I can’tn stand parents who act like their child isn’t capable of such a horrific act. All of us are capable! I see why some people are like they are. They were conceived by ignorant folk who shldn’t be procreating in the first place.
CNN reported a few minutes ago that William Balfour has been served with an arrest warrant for the murder.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/01/hudson.arrest/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
My condolences to the Hudson family. Unfortunately, Jennifer Hudson, having come from “the hood” did want better for her family by offering to take her mom out of there. Her mom chose to remain in the community she had become accustomed to. According to neighbors, the Hudson family was real, and loved and welcomed everyone to their home. Jennifer could only make the offer. She could not make her mom move. Also, quite a few of us-if the truth be told-have relatives, whose behaviors and activities we are not necessarily proud of-not just Jennifer Hudson. And, again, we can only do what we can for ourselves, and make suggestions to them. Once people are grown, they get to make their own choices. If a wealthy superstar could not coerce her mom from getting out of the hood; then “the hood” is where her mom wanted to be. We all have an appointment with death-whether it happens in the hood, or elsewhere. If now was the time for the Hudson family to go, it would also have occurred in a mansion-if the family was going to remain connected to people of their past (the William Balfour’s of the world) who refuse to stay away, or who we continue to allow into our arena for whatever the reason. Some people live by habit. Disconnection and growth means “change”. Change is a difficult thing for many people to do.
Amen to that!!!!
Are the police still investigating the possibility that Balfour may have had accomplices. BET put up the following report on its website:
“Posted Nov. 21, 2008 – The only person who police have publicly connected with the Jennifer Hudson family murder case reportedly sought a temporary hideout the day of the killings.
Mississippi college student Rashia Whitlock tells investigators that William Balfour, Hudson’s estranged brother-in-law, called Oct. 24 at 4 a.m. Balfour said he and his “boys” were “getting ready for something real big that’s going to go down tomorrow,” Whitlock tells The Chicago Sun-Times. Balfour asked Whitlock if he could visit Whitlock in Mississippi, but she says she refused.
Whitlock also said Balfour, who she met on MySpace, asked her whether she knew Jennifer Hudson and, more ominously, if Whitlock could be “loyal,” according to TMZ.com
Several hours after the reported phone call, Hudson ’s mom and brother were found shot to death at their Chicago home. A week later, the singer’s nephew was also found murdered in an SUV.
Balfour has been in state custody on suspicion of having violated probation since the week of the shootings. He has denied any involvement in the crimes.”
This “mama” is clueless at best. The suspect violated parole for attempted murder and car jacking. The girlfriend said he admitted to being involved and said she saw the gun. Dude refuses to take a lie detector even thought he denies involvement. Why not clear your name and take the test? Odd…..
Dude has guilty written all over him and his mama says he couldn’t do such a thing, he was getting his life together. WOW mom, get a clue. You are as big a loser as your child murdering sone.
Prosecutors revealed more details about their case against Balfour during his bail hearing today. Bail was denied. In October Balfour had come to Julia’s job, argued with her about her boyfriend and threatened to harm her family if she continued to see. Later that same day he showed up at her home and made the same threats. On the day of the murders, he came to her home to threaten her again about her boyfriend. They left the house. She drove away in her car and he drove away in his car. He obviously doubled back and killed her family. The article says that the prosecutors believe that he moved his car from the high school. Read the Chicago Tribune article below:
” No bail in Jennifer Hudson family murder case
December 3, 2008 at 2:12 PM | Comments (0)
Despite his attorney’s assertion that the case against his client was circumstantial and based on unreliable witnesses, bail was denied today for the estranged brother-in-law of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson who has been charged with killing three members of her family.
William Balfour, 27, was charged Tuesday with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of home invasion.
Joshua Kutnick, Balfour’s defense attorney, also told Judge Raymond Myles today that there were no witnesses to the slayings and no connection between Balfour and the weapon that was believed to have been used in the shootings.
“Thus far it is my impression and William’s impression that he has been painted as guilty in this case,” Kutnick said. “And that is untrue and unfortunate. We implore the public to keep an open mind.”
At the hearing, prosecutors outlined a case that is in large measure circumstantial, including the previously undisclosed fact that gunshot residue was found on the steering wheel of Balfour’s car, which, authorities said, he had driven that morning to the Hudson home and later moved after the murders.
In addition, prosecutors refuted a number of statements that Balfour made to police, among them:
–Balfour told detectives that he was home at the time of the shootings, but cell phone records showed he was in the vicinity of the Hudson family home.
–Balfour told police that after he had earlier been to the Hudson home to talk with his estranged wife, he had taken a CTA “L” train to his West Side home. But CTA card records show that Balfour had last used the card two days before. Also, Balfour had claimed to have used a particular “L” station, but surveillance cameras showed he had not been there.
–Balfour denied having a gun, but multiple witnesses said they saw him with one or heard him say he had one. The gun used in the slayings had belonged to Jason Hudson and Balfour had taken it without permission from Hudson’s bedroom over the summer, prosecutors said.
New Cook County State’s Atty. Anita Alvarez said prosecutors “approved charges on this case because we believe that we have enough evidence to support our burden.”
Alvarez, who was sworn into office Tuesday, said authorities would continue to look for more evidence in the case.
Balfour had been the prime suspect in the case since the bodies of Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, and brother, Jason Hudson, 29, were discovered in their Englewood home Oct. 24. Hudson’s nephew, 7-year-old Julian King, was found days later, shot to death in an SUV.
Prosecutors said Balfour had come to the workplace of his estranged wife — Julia Hudson, the actress’ sister — in early October to complain about her dating another man and threatened her family with harm if she continued to see him. He went to the house the day of the slayings to again warn her about the relationship, prosecutors said.
He and Julia Hudson left the house together, prosecutors said. She got into her car and drove off. He was walking toward his car when he was last seen by Julia Hudson, they said.
Balfour has denied being involved, but witnesses saw him in Jason Hudson’s SUV and placed him at the family’s home the day of the slayings, a source said. Balfour’s girlfriend has told police he confessed and that she saw him with a gun that resembled the murder weapon, sources said.
Balfour’s mother said he was not responsible for the slayings and his girlfriend made a deal with authorities. Chicago Police Supt. Weis on Tuesday emphatically denied police had made a deal.
– Matthew Walberg
”
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/balfour-jennifer-hudson-bond-hearing-a-matter.html
It is still confusing why Balfour shot through the door and then how Jason got upstairs. Also, what about the shell casings found in Julia’s son’s room. I definitely believe Balfour pulled the trigger, but someone else is also involved. If Jason was shot in the leg, how could he make it to his upstairs bedroom (supposedly he weighed at least 400 lbs. and used a cane). It would be hard enough to walk with a cane with that weight, but after being shot too…..something just doesn’t add up. And if William shot through the door, I sure as heck wouldn’t open it for the shooter. Wonder if Julia doubled back, discovered her brother shot, helped him upstairs, saw her mom dead on the floor, and discovered her son missing. She then would know William did it, but didn’t finger him until she knew her son was safe. Once her son was discovered dead, she just let the chips fall where they may.
First of all my heartfelt prayers to both the Hudson and Balfour families. I know all to well how this can upset the daily lives of both sides.
Now, I do have a problem with the fact that Julia seem to think that she was the cause from the beginning. Since she stated in her plea for help in finding Julian King, her son, that whoever had “BEAF” with her can take it out on her but not her son. Anyone with a background from the streets knows all too well what that means. I’m not blaming her at all. But sometimes our life styles can cause a chain reaction of events that we aren’t prepared to deal with in our life time.
Some readers keep saying that 3 innocent people are dead. Anyone from the hood knows that innocent people don’t just die from gunshot wounds. Otherwise, Jennifer would have never gone back there because of fear for her own safety. If someone comes into your home to kill you with a gun and they aren’t trying to rob you, then it’s not a violent murderer against an innocent person.
For those of you that think that Jennifer left her family behind. Think again, most people like living in their old neighborhoods and regardless to how much money or fame you achieve. You can’t make them move out of their homes. Her brother wouldn’t have been able to hang out with his homeys and her mother wouldn’t have been living close to all her friends from the neighborhood and church members.
The one thing that I don’t understand is if the mother was shot first downstairs more than one gun shot. Then why was the brother still laying down in the bed asleep. No matter how rough and tough your neighborhood. When you hear gunshots, you get down on the floor and then check on the people in your house to make sure that they are ok. Or if you believe that they are being shot downstairs you call for help or do something. If he was a drug dealer like the reports claim. Then the brother would have had another weapon by now and used it. Believe me I know first hand. So either this was cold calculated execution that just went wrong or maybe even a kidnapping that apparently went wrong. This story just doesn’t make sense the way the police is portraying it.
I don’t think that William “Flex” Balfour meant anything by saying that Jennifer was his sister in law. I just think he wanted the attention from her fans but he was letting you know up front that he was related but not to ask questions. From what I read he seemed like a guy that was honest about who and what he wanted. All the neighbors said that he had his faults but that he loved his step son and spent much time with him.
Lots of people from the hood don’t get divorced and start lives over with other people. Some people even stay married to their unfaithful spouses eventhough they have a baby on the way. Just think that Julia could have been pregnant just as well as the other young lady from another man. A man living the life that he lived isn’t considered a loser just because he has more than one girlfriend. In the hood that’s common. That’s why his mother didn’t see anything wrong with telling it like it was in his life. She was being honest about her son. Where is the rest of the honesty? I listened to the Nancy Show clips, and frankly I don’t care for her(Nancy) at all. Just because she got married to a man that was convicted of murder and her sons had their fair share of run in’s with the law doesn’t make her a bad parent. The court allowed her to keep her daughter and even gave her son back to her when the time came for him to return home.
As a black/negro/afro/african-american Mother, if we don’t discipline our children then society feels like we didn’t do enough. If we do discipline our children then it’s abusive. I will tell all of you what I tell my children every time it’s necessary. Never will anyone be able to say that I didn’t do my best to raise you, provide and take care of you. If they consider it abuse that I hit you with a belt or my fist when you stand taller than me. Then at that time they need to take you and raise you themselves, because I want what’s best for mine and if you feel that you can give them a better life than what I’m giving them then by all means come and take them. I love my children just that much to give them up for a better life if someone feels that it’s possible because I try my hardest to provide as I know that most mothers do.
NO CHILD COMES WITH INSTRUCTIONS, and what punishment do you give to a child that steals cars eventhough you didn’t raise them to go out and take anything that doesn’t belong to them. The first thing I read about William at the age of 14 was that he spoke so softly that they could barely hear or understand him. That to me, just meant that he was shy and sneaky as all outdoors. That’s why he was creeping with the girls. If he had a baby on the way of his own and was living with two other girls on the regular why on earth would he decide to go and kill this family that was giving him so much grief when now he was finally free of them. By looking at him, he was a small frame guy living in the home of a wife that was at least twice his size with her mother and brother that were also larger than him. He would have been plain stupid to just repeatedly fight with their family and not move on with his life.
Also with all of the gang relations on both sides. Who knows if the gangs aren’t part of the reason why these individuals are dead. I really dislike high profile cases because I feel as though the police look for an escape goat not the individual(s) that are responsible. I really feel bad for both sides of this tragedy. But most of all for little Julian King. He is the real victim in all of this.
Children do come with instructions (as well as adults). You can find them in the Bible. Try reading the Book of Proverbs.