Body found in hunt for actress's missing nephew

Police searching for Jennifer Hudson’s seven-year-old nephew today said they have found a boy’s body.

Julian King was last seen on Friday, when the Oscar-winning actress’s mother and brother were found shot dead in a “domestic related” incident in their Chicago home, police said.

Hudson offered a $100,000 reward for the safe return of her nephew last night.

The identity of the body, found inside a white SUV vehicle, has not been confirmed.

A spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office confirmed they have sent investigators to the scene.

A Chicago police spokesman refused to comment on the identity of the body.

The bodies of Julian’s grandmother, 57-year-old Darnell Donerson, and his uncle Jason Hudson, 29, were found in the home they shared on the city’s South Side on Friday.

US authorities issued an Amber Alert for Julian, the son of Hudson’s sister Julia, and listed Julia’s estranged husband William Balfour, as a suspect in a “double homicide investigation” at the weekend.

No charges have been brought and Balfour is now in state custody over an unrelated parole violation.

Last night, the Dreamgirls actress’s publicist Lisa Kasteler said: “Jennifer and her family appreciate the enormous amount of love, support and prayers they have received while she and her family try to cope with this tragedy and continue the search for Julian.”

Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond said: “Detectives are working 24 hours on this case.

“There’s a lot of forensic evidence. We have to work the evidence and try and solve this case. Most importantly, we want to find the child.”

Police said they did not have a motive for the killings but called the case “domestic related”.

Ms Bond said Balfour, who had been in police custody since Friday, was transferred to the Illinois Department of Corrections yesterday “based on his active parole violation unrelated to this investigation”.

Records from the Corrections Department showed Balfour was on parole and spent nearly seven years in prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possessing a stolen vehicle.

Corrections spokeswoman Januari Smith said Balfour would probably remain in state custody until the Illinois Prisoner Review Board looked at his case.

She would not say where Balfour was being held.

His mother, Michele Balfour, has denied he was involved in the killings or in Julian’s disappearance.