Authorities have arrested Jennifer Hudson’s estranged brother-in-law in connection with the shooting deaths of three of her relatives.
Chicago police announced Monday that William Balfour would be charged with three counts of murder for the October slayings of the Oscar-winning actress’ mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, brother, Jason Hudson, 29, and 7-year-old nephew, Julian King.
According to Associated Press reports, Balfour, after being arrested at Stateville Correctional Center — where he was being held for a suspected parole violation — was released to detectives to await formal charges.
Previously, the 27-year-old suspect had been identified only as a “person of interest” in the case, Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond said.
Balfour — Julian’s stepfather and the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson’s older sister, Julia — is no stranger to the criminal justice system, having served seven years for a 1999 attempted murder and vehicular hijacking conviction.
Police did confirm that the weapon used in the killings, a .45-caliber gun, was discovered
Oct. 29 in a lot on Chicago’s West Side, where King’s body was found a few days earlier.
Bond would not elaborate about evidence on Monday. But after a hearing at the prison, the chairman of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board said authorities were told a gun used in the slayings was “identical” to the recovered gun.
Blake takes the blame
In a sensational interview, Amy Winehouse’s husband admits that he is responsible for her descent into drug addiction — and he’s willing to divorce her for her own good.
“I introduced her to heroin, crack cocaine and self-harming,” Blake Fielder-Civil confesses to the U.K.’s News of the World. “I feel more than guilty.”
“I have to let her go to save her life,” Blake asserts. “But I am not abandoning her. I am doing this out of love.”
He also denies reports that their split was caused by an affair, insisting the German model in question “just seems to want to get her face in the papers.” But he says Amy did cheat on him while he was in prison — her judgment clouded by drugs, natch.
As for his rep as a gold-digger, “I’m not interested in her money,” Blake insists. “If Amy wants a divorce I’m not going to fight her for anything.”
And he hasn’t given up hope for the love of his life: “My fantasy is that one day fate might bring us back together when Amy is clean,” Blake muses.
Wow. Whatever rehab program he’s in seems to have effected a miraculous transformation. Maybe if someone could get Amy in there, Blake’s dream of a normal married life might come true.
Britney: “Bad Time”
Britney Spears says she’s matured a lot in the past couple of years. The comeback-in-progress opened up about her recent breakdown in a revealing MTV documentary.
Though she doesn’t go into great detail about her ordeal (the umbrella attack, the psychiatric hold … need we go on?), the drama earlier this year was “a really bad time in my life,” the “Womanizer” singer admits. “I’m not gonna sugarcoat it and say I was OK.”
She comes off as determined to bounce back: “I choose to be a happy person. If I have a bad day, I get angry with myself.”
Girlfriend clearly has a way to go … but she’s getting there.
Tina’s Trauma
The mystery of the scar on Tina Fey’s face has finally been revealed. Her husband explains to Vanity Fair that the “30 Rock” star was randomly slashed by a stranger as a 5-year-old.
“It was in, like, the front yard of her house, and somebody who just came up, and she just thought somebody marked her with a pen,” reveals Jeff Richmond.
So that’s what made her the tough-as-nails New Yorker she is today? If anyone could turn a traumatic childhood incident into a badge of pride, it’s our Tina.
