Jennifer Hudson Testifies In Case Of Slain Family

Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls), 30, appeared in court on Monday to give testimony in the case against William Balfour, who is accused of shooting and killing Hudson's mother, Darnell Donnerson, brother, Jason Hudson, and seven-year-old nephew, Julian King, in October of 2008.

Hudson explained to the Chicago court that her family members had never liked Balfour, who had been married to Hudson's older sister, Julia, before the two later became estranged. "We didn't like the way he treated her, and I didn't like the way he treated my nephew," Hudson testified, according to The Boston Herald.

Balfour's attorneys maintain that there is no DNA, fingerprints, or physical evidence linking Balfour to the crimes, and that he was arrested hastily due to the media coverage that Hudson's fame brought to the case. They offered up the late Jason Hudson's history with drug possession as an alternative explanation for the crime. "This really had nothing to do with [Jennifer Hudson]," said public defender Amy Thompson in the courtroom. "It was what Jason was doing to make money for their family … as he worked as a drug dealer in Englewood."

Hudson was reportedly soft-spoken and occasionally emotional during the testimony, speaking so softly that the judge had to ask her to talk louder on more than one occasion, and breaking into tears when she had to identify a photograph of her mother.