William Balfour, 27, estranged brother-in-law of Jennifer Hudson has been arrested on a warrant from Stateville Correctional Centre, where he was being held for a suspected parole violation. According to Monique Bond, Chicago police spokeswoman, he has been accused of murdering the Oscar winning actress's mother, brother and young nephew.

Till Monday, Balfour was only a 'person of interest' in the ongoing investigations, however, it was Monday night that a formal murder charge was laid against him. Joshua Kutnick, Balfour's attorney talking to reporters after Balfour's arrest, said his client is innocent and vehemently denies any involvement in the murders. And, any evidence pointing the finger of blame at Balfour, is very thin, weak evidence, as pointed out by his mother - Michelle Davis-Balfour, who says the police have nothing to pin the murder on her son.

On 24th October, the bodies of Darnell Hudson Donerson, and Jason Hudson, Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were discovered at the family's South Side of Chicago home. Three days later, the body of her nephew, 7-year-old Julian King was found three in a sport utility vehicle on the West Side. All three had been shot dead.

Balfour was taken into police custody the same day the bodies of Donerson and Hudson were discovered. Forty-eight hours later, the longest police can detain anyone without charging him, Illinois Department of Corrections took him in for suspected parole violation. Balfour, estranged husband of Jennifer's older sister Julia Hudson and stepfather of Julian King, had served seven years for a 1999 attempted murder and vehicular hijacking conviction. Balfour declined a lie-detector test and even stopped co-operating with detectives.

A .45-calibre gun found in a vacant lot in the West Side neighborhood, close to where King's body was found a few days earlier, is confirmed to be identical to the one used in the killings.

Jennifer Hudson, an 2004 season 'American Idol' finalist, won an Oscar in 2007 for her film debut in a supporting role as Effie White in the 2006 film version of stage musical 'Dreamgirls'. Since, she has also appeared in the film version of TV drama 'Sex and the City' and 'The Secret Life of Bees'.

However, since killings, Hudson preferring to stay close to her family, has kept out of the spotlight.