Life sentence in Jennifer Hudson family slayings

Prosecutors said Balfour then drove off in Jason Hudson’s SUV with Julian, Julia’s son, and shot the boy several times in the head as he lay behind a front seat. His body was found in the abandoned vehicle miles away after a three-day search.

“Three days under a tarp,” Burns said of the time the boy’s body lay in the backseat of the SUV. “Just as if you threw out the trash and left it to rot.”

Although the sentence means Balfour will likely die in prison, the judge made a point of telling Balfour the sentences would run one after another, followed by an additional 120 years for his other convictions, including home invasion, aggravated kidnapping and possession of a stolen vehicle.

The only family member to speak was Julian’s father, Gregory King, who told of the three days of hoping that his son might be alive only to find out he was dead. He also spoke about what had been taken from him by his son’s death, of the everyday moments that make up a relationship between a father and a son.

“I miss picking Julian up from the school bus,” King said. “I miss going on field trips with him. … I even miss his bugging me about Sponge Bob Square Pants, a cartoon character he was kind of afraid of.”

Jennifer Hudson chose not to make a statement. During the trial, the Academy Award-winning actress for her role in the 2007 film “Dreamgirls” testified that she had known Balfour since the eighth grade and always disliked him.

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