1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,440 Speaker 1: This episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners. 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Please check the show notes for more information. Disgraceland is 3 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:21,000 Speaker 1: a production of Double Elvis. The stories about Jennifer Hudson 4 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: are insane. She grew up on gospel music in Englewood, 5 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: the most dangerous four square miles in Chicago, the same 6 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,400 Speaker 1: four square miles where three members of her family were 7 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:36,239 Speaker 1: murdered in one weekend. The killer was someone Jennifer went 8 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: to elementary school with, someone who once lived under the 9 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: same roof and broke bread with her family. But before 10 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: this triple homicide tragedy, and even long after it, Jennifer 11 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:51,239 Speaker 1: Hudson made great music. Unlike that music I played for 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: you at the top of the show. That wasn't great music. 13 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 1: That was a preset loop from my mellotron called Young, 14 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: Dumb and Baroque one. I played you that loop because 15 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 1: I can't afford the rights to Womanize Her by Britney Spears. 16 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:10,360 Speaker 1: And why would I play you that specific slice of 17 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,240 Speaker 1: Don't Try to Front Cheese? Could I afford it? Because 18 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: that was the number one song in America on October 19 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: twenty fourth, two thousand and eight, and that was the 20 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: day Jennifer Hudson got a call that would change the 21 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: rest of her life and test her faith like never before. 22 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:34,040 Speaker 1: On this episode Gospel Music Family Traders triple homicide in 23 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:39,320 Speaker 1: the undying faith of Jennifer Hudson. I'm Jake Brennan and 24 00:01:39,600 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: this is Disgraceland. The gunshots broke the silence on South 25 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:15,959 Speaker 1: Yale Avenue between eight and nine am. First one round, 26 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 1: then a pause, and then another round a few minutes later. 27 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:22,760 Speaker 1: No one called nine to one one. No one poked 28 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 1: their head outdoors to see what happened. No one prayed. 29 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: This was Englewood, the south side of Chicago, the most 30 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: dangerous for square miles in all of the Windy City. 31 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:38,640 Speaker 1: Gunshots were part of the package. Gunshots punctuated space and time, 32 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 1: like train whistles or clock tower chimes, forgettable background noise 33 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: and everyday occurrence. At seven zero one to nine South 34 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 1: Yelle Avenue, two bodies bled out in silence, One in 35 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: the doorway of the first floor living room, another upstairs 36 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: in bed, still tucked under the sheets, dreams training from 37 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 1: his consciousness, inching towards an eternal slumber. The Hudson household 38 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: went quiet. No music sprang from the radio, no notes 39 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 1: floated from happy lungs, and no child hollering from the 40 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: seat of a tricycle. October twenty fourth, two thousand and eight. 41 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 1: Jennifer Hudson was not home the day her mother and 42 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:24,920 Speaker 1: brother were murdered, the very same day that her nephew 43 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: was kidnapped, but she would be home again soon. Here, 44 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: standing on the streets of Englewood, praying, pleading for her 45 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: nephew Julian to return home safely, the words leapt from 46 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: her lips like a prayer. Julia Kate Hudson stood at 47 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: the kitchen stove, a spatula in one hand and the 48 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: other over her heart as she sang, brushing against the 49 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: fabric of a matronly flannel nightcown. No bodies on the floor, 50 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: no cartridges strewn across the carpet, just the heavenly melodies 51 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 1: brimming from Julia's chest and her odd little granddaughter Jennifer, 52 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 1: listening along. This is how life in the Hudson household 53 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: was supposed to be. Julia sang hymns the right way 54 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 1: from memory and from the bottom of her lungs. She 55 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: was a born gospel singer inside and outside of the church. Choir. 56 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:20,919 Speaker 1: Her vocals shine brighter than a stained glass window on 57 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:26,359 Speaker 1: a Sunday morning. At every service, she commanded riespct. Just 58 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 1: like the Gospel greats who had come before her Aretha 59 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,360 Speaker 1: sam Marvin. She belt it out more than a hundred 60 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 1: solos in her family's church over the course of her life, 61 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:40,880 Speaker 1: not for glory, but for God. For God's glory. Julia 62 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,280 Speaker 1: had no interest in being the next Aretha. Her satisfaction 63 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:48,359 Speaker 1: stemmed from singing for the Lord. Plain and simple. Little 64 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:52,359 Speaker 1: Jennifer took notes. Julia's raw talent instilled a strong faith 65 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:55,000 Speaker 1: in her young granddaughter. There was a saying in the 66 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:59,680 Speaker 1: Hudson household a positive refrain for all happy circumstances, look 67 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,480 Speaker 1: at what God can do, and if God could make 68 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: you sing like this while sign Jennifer up. She joined 69 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:08,920 Speaker 1: the church choir at just seven years old and followed 70 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,839 Speaker 1: her grandmother's musical traditions. Another quote unquote old fashioned girl, 71 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:16,599 Speaker 1: as she liked to say, Jennifer didn't touch modern worship music. 72 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: She went by the books literally and sang straight from 73 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: the hymnals that lined the pews of her church, just 74 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 1: like Julia did. But Jennifer also sensed that maybe God 75 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: had other plans for her, that he wanted her to 76 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 1: sing for other people, not just the people crowded together 77 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 1: in one building on a Sunday, and maybe not just 78 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 1: gospel songs. Maybe she should sing some of the secular music. 79 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: She overheard the neighbors playing Destiny's Child Mariah Carey Patty 80 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: LaBelle that music never played in the Hudson household, though 81 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: at seven zero one nine South Yale Avenue, it was 82 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: all Gospel, all God, all the time. For some preteens 83 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: and teenagers, such as strict musical regimen could potentially create 84 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: a restless little atheists eager against the lifetime of Bible 85 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:04,840 Speaker 1: verses and intersperse a cuss word into the endless chance 86 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 1: of Amen and hallelujah. But for Jennifer, in her siblings 87 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: Jason and Julia, yes, her sister was named Julia too, 88 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,760 Speaker 1: gospel music kept them spiritually fed in full. He had 89 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:18,720 Speaker 1: a feast on these things if you wanted to feel 90 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 1: good living in Englewood, a neighborhood where the statistics were 91 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:28,480 Speaker 1: on nobody's side. Located in Chicago's South Side, Englewood's poverty 92 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: rate is double that of Greater Chicago. The median household 93 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:35,080 Speaker 1: income is half of that in Chicago. Twenty eight percent 94 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:39,080 Speaker 1: of Englewood residents over age sixteen are unemployed. Incidents of 95 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: violent crime are three times as frequent in comparison to 96 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: Greater Chicago. The crime rate in Anglewood is two hundred 97 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:49,839 Speaker 1: and seventy six percent higher than the national average. It's 98 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: not surprising that that the Hudson family clung to their 99 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: faith and to each other. In fact, religion regulated everything 100 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:00,920 Speaker 1: in the Hudson household. Bible study was on Monday nights, 101 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: followed by rehearsals for the adult and youth choirs on 102 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:07,120 Speaker 1: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. That meant double duty for Jennifer, 103 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 1: who sang in bold. Saturdays were devoted to folding and 104 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 1: stapling the Sunday church bulletins, and Sunday itself was a 105 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: day long celebration. First came the morning service and then 106 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: the Hudson families weekly launch out a small splurge at 107 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: either KFC or McDonald's food only, no drinks. Drinks made 108 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:28,960 Speaker 1: the meal too expensive. Then back to church for the 109 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: evening service and Sunday dinner at home. Those Hudson Sunday 110 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 1: dinners covered every inch of the table like a Christmas 111 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: Day spread, pork chops, collar greens, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, 112 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 1: fried chicken biscuits. Jennifer's family was not rich by any means, 113 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: but they did have everything they needed, food for the 114 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: soul and music for the soul as well. But not 115 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 1: everyone was fortunate enough to return to a home glowing 116 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 1: with familiar love. The same light that the Hudson's Baston 117 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,560 Speaker 1: didn't permeate the pall surrounding William Balfour, a classmate of 118 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:07,120 Speaker 1: Jennifer and Julius. When William returned home from school every day, 119 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:11,160 Speaker 1: he waded into darkness, knee deep in the violence passed 120 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:15,400 Speaker 1: from generation to generation in his family. William's grandma did 121 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 1: time for manslaughter and his dad did time for murder, 122 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 1: and William received any leftover aggression in the form of 123 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:25,679 Speaker 1: physical abuse from his own parents. Crime and jail time 124 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: were his only hand me downs. William was born into 125 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:32,320 Speaker 1: a culture of cruelty, and so cruelty is what William 126 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 1: Balfour had to offer the world. As a struggling teenager, 127 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 1: he shuffled between foster homes, not because he had been 128 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:42,720 Speaker 1: taken away from his family by child protective services, although 129 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: that should have been the case, but because his mother 130 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 1: said she couldn't quote unquote handle him anymore, she surrendered 131 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: her parental rights on her own volition. William didn't fare 132 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 1: much better with his various new families. His family's tradition 133 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:59,439 Speaker 1: of trauma loomed behind him like a shadow. In the 134 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,440 Speaker 1: eighth grade, when most kids were taunting each other and 135 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:05,760 Speaker 1: trying on their middle school graduation gowns, William was zipping 136 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:09,520 Speaker 1: up a pint sized orange jumpsuit. At only fourteen years old, 137 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 1: he racked up his first criminal charge, and not for 138 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 1: dumb teenager stuff like shoplifting from a CBS, but for 139 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:22,280 Speaker 1: heroin possession, the big leagues, real adult crime. Next stop Juvy. 140 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: The news spread through the halls of Jennifer's school fast. 141 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:30,640 Speaker 1: William's arrest was the talk of the teens, gossiping between 142 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 1: classes at their lockers. Such a loner, so reserved, of course, 143 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 1: he was scheming. It's always the quiet ones. Jennifer knew 144 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 1: exactly what they meant. She saw how he carried himself 145 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:43,400 Speaker 1: and kept to himself, and he never gave her any 146 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:46,720 Speaker 1: trouble personally, but she didn't trust him. Her gut told 147 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:48,560 Speaker 1: her not to get near that boy, and if fate 148 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:50,280 Speaker 1: brought her near him, it told her to get out 149 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:54,239 Speaker 1: of the way. But William was off to a correctional facility. 150 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 1: Steering clear of him would be easy. Now easy until 151 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:26,960 Speaker 1: the day he moved into her home. Jennifer Hudson tried 152 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:29,520 Speaker 1: not to make a scene. She didn't want her plea 153 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,760 Speaker 1: to be obvious. She stood steady on the bright blue 154 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:37,040 Speaker 1: American Idol stage next to future Idol winner Fantasia Burrino. 155 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 1: They clasped sweaty palms and dug their manicured nails into 156 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,480 Speaker 1: each other's hands. Jennifer didn't close her eyes like people 157 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 1: did in the movies. She looked right at the camera, 158 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:51,000 Speaker 1: and she prayed. She prayed for her destiny to come together. 159 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:56,959 Speaker 1: Two thousand and four Elimination Night. Please God them going tonight, 160 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:02,360 Speaker 1: Jennifer prayed, I want to go home. Ryan Seacrest granted 161 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:06,040 Speaker 1: her wish almost immediately. He announced the elimination without any 162 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: phony reality TV suspense that person is Jennifer Hudson. Jennifer 163 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:17,400 Speaker 1: smiled and took Fantasia into her arms. No tears fell 164 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:20,320 Speaker 1: from her eyes, no jitters made her wobble off stage. 165 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:25,400 Speaker 1: This was right. It seemed wrong. Sure, Jennifer had absolutely 166 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:29,000 Speaker 1: dominated the Barry Manelot theme the night prior, but leaving 167 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:31,920 Speaker 1: was the right move for her. There was no shame 168 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:36,079 Speaker 1: in placing seventh. American Idol was just another talent competition, 169 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: after all, and Jennifer cut her teeth on talent competitions 170 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:42,120 Speaker 1: growing up. She had her share of those tacky crowns 171 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:44,959 Speaker 1: for her teen years. She didn't need another one, even 172 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 1: if it meant losing nextra few weeks on air in 173 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:51,120 Speaker 1: Front of America. When she packed her bags to return 174 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:55,199 Speaker 1: to Chicago, Jennifer was content. Chicago, on the other hand, 175 00:11:55,800 --> 00:12:00,920 Speaker 1: was devastated. When it came to American Eye voting, the 176 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:05,160 Speaker 1: efforts of Jennifer's hometown usually went unmatched. Once Chicago had 177 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: a local woman performing on such a big platform, Churches 178 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:12,920 Speaker 1: across the region followed American Idol religiously. Tuesday nights meant 179 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:16,360 Speaker 1: congregating at churches across the city who watched Jennifer compete. 180 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:19,480 Speaker 1: When the curtain fell on the last contestant. Every week, 181 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:22,920 Speaker 1: the flock dispersed from the pews, rushing home to dial 182 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:25,000 Speaker 1: in their votes for their very own Jenny from the 183 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:29,240 Speaker 1: block just weeks prior. Jennifer received the highest amount of 184 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:34,000 Speaker 1: votes that round, but God does indeed work in mysterious ways. 185 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:38,360 Speaker 1: On the night of Jennifer's final Idol performance, a tornado 186 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: stormed through Chicago, uprooting the power lines and phone lines 187 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:45,160 Speaker 1: as a tour through town. No phone service meant no 188 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:48,200 Speaker 1: phone calls, and no phone calls meant no votes for Jennifer. 189 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:51,800 Speaker 1: Far too few votes at least. The loss was a 190 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:55,400 Speaker 1: blow for Chicago, but not for Jennifer's pride. As she 191 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:58,360 Speaker 1: told MTV, I feel like that storm was a sign 192 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:00,760 Speaker 1: from God that it was time to remove. But when 193 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:02,720 Speaker 1: he got something to say, I ain't got nothing to 194 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,800 Speaker 1: say about it. It gave a whole new meaning to 195 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,800 Speaker 1: the Hudson's look at what God can do catchphrase. But 196 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:13,199 Speaker 1: Reality TV contestant or not, the public still had a 197 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: lot to say about Jennifer Hudson. She wouldn't be another 198 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: Top twelve contestant who faded into a backdrop of has 199 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:22,000 Speaker 1: been Idol contenders, famous for a few weeks and forgotten 200 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:26,240 Speaker 1: the next Her elimination had the opposite effect. The shocks 201 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:30,080 Speaker 1: surrounding America's decision kept all eyes on her, including the 202 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:34,440 Speaker 1: Eyes a director and screenwriter Bill Condon, he could see 203 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:37,319 Speaker 1: that Jennifer was more than just a singer too. Although 204 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:41,040 Speaker 1: her mountainous vocal chops were central to her term, those 205 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:44,200 Speaker 1: kind of vocal cords called for a special kind of role, 206 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 1: a role like e Fie White. In his next picture, 207 00:13:47,559 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: dream Girls, the motown music flick inspired by the story 208 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:54,680 Speaker 1: of the Supremes. Jennifer beat out Fantasia for the role, 209 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 1: along with seven hundred and eighty two other women who 210 00:13:57,160 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 1: tried to do their best to recapture the magic of motown. 211 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 1: She didn't beat Beyonce, she didn't have to. Beyonce was 212 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:08,160 Speaker 1: going to play her group mate Dina Jones, inspired by 213 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:11,280 Speaker 1: Diana Ross. She was going to be co stars with Beyonce, 214 00:14:11,559 --> 00:14:15,000 Speaker 1: Miss Destiny's Child herself. That was a big enough feed 215 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:17,960 Speaker 1: for Jennifer, But on top of that, Jamie Fox would 216 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:21,000 Speaker 1: also be by her side as her love interest, lip 217 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:25,880 Speaker 1: Blocks included. When filming wrapped, Jennifer's hype was so huge 218 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:28,360 Speaker 1: as she lined up a record deal with Arista Records 219 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:33,440 Speaker 1: before Dreamgirls even dropped. Aris defounder Clive Davis literally bought 220 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 1: out her existing deal to make sure her debut album 221 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:38,640 Speaker 1: was released under his label, and that was before she 222 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:42,160 Speaker 1: took home an oscar. That's right, Jennifer Hudson won an 223 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:45,520 Speaker 1: Oscar for her first role in a movie ever, an 224 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 1: accomplishment most Hollywood hopefuls would kill for it, and Jennifer 225 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:54,560 Speaker 1: did it naturally. God's plan was on point. Jennifer knew it. 226 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:57,680 Speaker 1: Chicago knew it too, even though her time was divided 227 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:01,040 Speaker 1: between countries and coasts as she endured rigorous schedule of 228 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:04,360 Speaker 1: international film festivals, press tours, and recording sessions for her 229 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:09,400 Speaker 1: debut album. But no matter where, her newfound fame took her. 230 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 1: Whenever she could, she spent time in Englewood, where her mother, brother, sister, 231 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:17,440 Speaker 1: and nephews still shared her home together. When Jennifer was 232 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:19,920 Speaker 1: in town, they ate the same meals as she did 233 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:23,160 Speaker 1: as a child, recited the same prayers with the same conviction. 234 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 1: But one day, when Jennifer returned home, there was a 235 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:32,480 Speaker 1: new face at the family dinner table, William Balfour. Jennifer 236 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 1: hadn't seen him and at least a decade. He was older, 237 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:39,160 Speaker 1: now more muscular. People called him flex because he was 238 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:42,320 Speaker 1: so cut. He was also more set in his ways. 239 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 1: Jennifer's feelings towards him hadn't changed, when William hadn't changed 240 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:50,800 Speaker 1: much either. After his time in judy, William rejected his 241 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 1: life as a foster kid, the constant motion, the fake 242 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:58,120 Speaker 1: families fucked that he was over and he thought instead 243 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 1: he opted for a life on the street. From there, 244 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:04,560 Speaker 1: William took up with the Gangster Disciples, one of the 245 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:08,480 Speaker 1: largest gangs in Chicago. Only three years after his arrest 246 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:12,080 Speaker 1: for heroin possession, he upgraded his criminal record to include 247 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:17,040 Speaker 1: vehicular hijacking and attempted murder. At seventeen years old, William 248 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:19,360 Speaker 1: not only stole a car, but he tried to toss 249 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:22,200 Speaker 1: the car's owner to his death. While the owner desperately 250 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 1: clung to the roof, William swerved and sped his way 251 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:31,040 Speaker 1: right into another seven years behind bars, and in a 252 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:34,120 Speaker 1: cruel twist of fate, when William emerged from prison in 253 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:37,200 Speaker 1: two thousand and six, he walked straight into the heart 254 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:43,320 Speaker 1: of Jennifer's sister, Julia. Julia was smitten. Jennifer was confused, 255 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:46,680 Speaker 1: to say the least, and appalled. She tried to bargain 256 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:49,320 Speaker 1: with her sister. What does she want? A house of 257 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,760 Speaker 1: her own, a new car, A lavish vacation. Jennifer had money, 258 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:56,160 Speaker 1: now a list, movie money. She would buy Julia anything 259 00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:01,080 Speaker 1: she wanted, anything. She didn't marry William, but Julia was 260 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:05,320 Speaker 1: unmoved by the material bribes. William was good, she insisted, 261 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: and a good stepfather to Julia's seven year old Julian. 262 00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:12,920 Speaker 1: He even wrote proud parent on his MySpace bio. Her 263 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 1: heart insisted upon a wedding, insisted upon William, and the 264 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:18,200 Speaker 1: couple read the room, and then got the hell out 265 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:20,920 Speaker 1: of that room, eloping and late two thousand and six. 266 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 1: William was always welcome at the Hudson's table. Of course, 267 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,680 Speaker 1: embracing an outsider with acceptance intolerance was a Christian way. 268 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:32,640 Speaker 1: But once William moved into the Hudson household, the Hudsons 269 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:35,240 Speaker 1: had a front row seat to his relationship with Julia. 270 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:39,080 Speaker 1: The more they saw, the more their opinion of William's shrank. 271 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:43,600 Speaker 1: William did not love Julia. He thought he did. He 272 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:46,919 Speaker 1: signed marriage papers proclaiming that he did. But what William 273 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:51,040 Speaker 1: felt towards Julia was something far more sinister. His feelings 274 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:55,399 Speaker 1: bordered on ownership. Jealousy coursed through him like second nature. 275 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:58,159 Speaker 1: If Julia was going to love, anybody was going to 276 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,439 Speaker 1: be him, end of discussion. He had his happy family now, 277 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:03,920 Speaker 1: and he wasn't about to lose it over anything or anybody. 278 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: In William's mind, Julia owed him her affection, all of them. 279 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:12,720 Speaker 1: Hugging other people set him off. Kisses made his blood curl. 280 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:15,960 Speaker 1: Didn't matter who Julia was embracing, her mother, her sister, 281 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:18,240 Speaker 1: even her seven year old son that William was supposed 282 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:20,920 Speaker 1: to be a proud parent of. His heart grew green 283 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,359 Speaker 1: and his cheeks flushed red at the sight of any 284 00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:27,080 Speaker 1: affection given to anyone else. If Julia was loving someone 285 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: else and she wasn't loving William, and William couldn't accept 286 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:36,120 Speaker 1: that kind of traitorous behavior. Mind you, this is how 287 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:40,280 Speaker 1: William felt when Julia shared affection with her own family people. 288 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:43,080 Speaker 1: She literally could not cheat on him with. Imagine if 289 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:46,000 Speaker 1: she hugged a friend, a coworker, another man, what would 290 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 1: that push him to do. Julia didn't wait to find 291 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:52,960 Speaker 1: out she couldn't afford to. She disregarded their vows and 292 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:55,639 Speaker 1: tossed William in his wicked tantrums out on the street. 293 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:59,639 Speaker 1: He successfully shot down their whirlwind romance and cold blood, 294 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:04,399 Speaker 1: and their marriage was dead. It should have been a 295 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:07,560 Speaker 1: moment of relief for the Hudsons, should have been, but 296 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:13,879 Speaker 1: William was a possessive man. Worse, he was a determined one. 297 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:16,560 Speaker 1: William moved out, it claimed, to move on to another woman, 298 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:19,200 Speaker 1: but he never strayed far from South Yell Avenue to 299 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:21,919 Speaker 1: check up on what his wife was doing, who she 300 00:19:22,119 --> 00:19:24,520 Speaker 1: was doing. If he couldn't catch a good glimpse from 301 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:28,000 Speaker 1: Julia's bedroom window on the first floor, he'd ask around town, 302 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: was Julia you know? Seeing anybody? His subtles He ended there. 303 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:37,639 Speaker 1: He had plans, dark plans. He was going to kill 304 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:41,400 Speaker 1: the whole Hudson family. If Julia so much as stepped 305 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:45,080 Speaker 1: outside with another man, he'd shoot them all one by one, 306 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:47,960 Speaker 1: and he'd take care of Julia last, so she'd have 307 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 1: to watch him pull the trigger over and over again, 308 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,800 Speaker 1: repainting the walls, one blood silk shot at a time. 309 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:58,119 Speaker 1: He told Julia this to her face. He told the 310 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,280 Speaker 1: neighbors to their faces. His his intentions were the worst 311 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:05,480 Speaker 1: kept secret in Englewood. William's threats drew closer when someone 312 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:08,080 Speaker 1: invaded the Hudson's home in two thousand and eight, and 313 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:11,200 Speaker 1: the burglar left with no money, no jewels or electronics, 314 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:13,440 Speaker 1: just a house key in a forty five belonging to 315 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:17,560 Speaker 1: Jennifer's brother Jason. This had nothing to do with making 316 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:22,760 Speaker 1: a quick buck off a break in. Jennifer couldn't contain 317 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:26,200 Speaker 1: her concern anymore. This was even bigger than Julia. Now, 318 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:30,119 Speaker 1: this man planned a gun down all of them. Jennifer 319 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:32,480 Speaker 1: begged her mother to move. She offered her mother, Darnell, 320 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,359 Speaker 1: a new house right here in Chicago. She didn't have 321 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,000 Speaker 1: to go far. She couldn't stay here. It was a 322 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:43,159 Speaker 1: death wish. Otherwise, her mother, like all brave parents, appeared unbothered. 323 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 1: She said William could touch her family over her dead body. 324 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:53,040 Speaker 1: That's a real quote. So William did. William peaked into 325 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:56,400 Speaker 1: Julia's bedroom window for the final time on October twenty fourth, 326 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:59,680 Speaker 1: two thousand and eight. He spotted Julia before his eyes 327 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,720 Speaker 1: boved to a bundle of birthday balloons occupying the corner 328 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,560 Speaker 1: of her room. Hearts on shiny milar, lots of them. 329 00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:09,600 Speaker 1: William didn't need any additional proof that a new man 330 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:13,200 Speaker 1: was in the picture. He rapped on the window, shouted 331 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 1: at Julia, asked her what the fuck she was up to? 332 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:18,800 Speaker 1: Seeing another man. He harassed her as she walked out 333 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:20,399 Speaker 1: the front door on her way to her shift as 334 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:24,640 Speaker 1: a school bus driver. William's rage energized him. He spouted 335 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:27,920 Speaker 1: off for as long as Julia would humor him. When 336 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:30,359 Speaker 1: she ran out of steam, she left him for a 337 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,520 Speaker 1: second time, abandoned him once again in the front yard. 338 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:37,280 Speaker 1: But William hadn't set his peace, not all of it. 339 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:41,520 Speaker 1: In his mind. Julia had just started some shit and 340 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:48,200 Speaker 1: he was going to finish it. We'll be right back 341 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:56,359 Speaker 1: after this word word word. Julia Hudson noticed the bullet 342 00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:59,679 Speaker 1: hole in the door first. She knew what was waiting 343 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:03,159 Speaker 1: for behind the door before she opened it. She burst 344 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:08,400 Speaker 1: through anyways, her mother, Darnel Donerson, face down on the carpet, 345 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:12,960 Speaker 1: bullets buried in her back, her white nightgown stained, her 346 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:15,520 Speaker 1: body gone cold in a pool of her room blood. 347 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,720 Speaker 1: Once Julia opened her mouth to screen, she couldn't stop, 348 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 1: couldn't control the howls coming from the depths of her lungs, 349 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:26,679 Speaker 1: shooting up from her stomach. Upstairs, in his bedroom, her 350 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:30,680 Speaker 1: brother Jason succumbed to the same faith, shot dead in bed, 351 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:34,119 Speaker 1: murdered while he was sleeping. When he didn't stand a 352 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:39,480 Speaker 1: chance of defending himself. But somehow the worst discovery was 353 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:44,119 Speaker 1: yet to come. In between mourning moans, Julia realized she 354 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:47,359 Speaker 1: was the only person at home. Her son Julian, had 355 00:22:47,359 --> 00:22:49,760 Speaker 1: been here when she left for work that morning. She 356 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:52,320 Speaker 1: was sure of him. She remembered him tumbling around on 357 00:22:52,359 --> 00:22:55,200 Speaker 1: his green tricycle, but she couldn't hear his frantic little 358 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:59,000 Speaker 1: feet pedaling away, nor his giggle or hurried footsteps down 359 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:03,280 Speaker 1: the stairs. The silence of the house shook her. Julian 360 00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:06,960 Speaker 1: wasn't home. Maybe he was still alive. Please let him 361 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:11,040 Speaker 1: be still alive. Jason's white suburban had vanished from the curb, 362 00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:15,600 Speaker 1: too vehicular hijacking that certainly sounded familiar. It could be 363 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 1: a kidnapping. That was better than murder, at least barely. 364 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,119 Speaker 1: Julia dialed nine to one one in a day. She 365 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:26,680 Speaker 1: spoke and panicked fragments, claiming she didn't know what happened, 366 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:30,480 Speaker 1: But deep down inside her, she knew exactly what happened. 367 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 1: She knew who had been there, who had fulfilled his promise. 368 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:41,200 Speaker 1: She used to wear his ring on her finger. Julia's 369 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,400 Speaker 1: tearful next call was to her sister Jennifer, Hudson, who 370 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:48,359 Speaker 1: was sunning herself one thousand miles away in Florida. Jennifer's 371 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:51,760 Speaker 1: then husband, David O'tanga, was holed up in the Sunshine 372 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:55,600 Speaker 1: State for rigorous pro wrestling training. Jennifer tagged along on 373 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:59,000 Speaker 1: a whim to escape the October chill of Chicago. It 374 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:03,879 Speaker 1: was a whim saved her life. Jennifer's blood turned to 375 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 1: ice when Julius struggled to get the words out over 376 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:11,680 Speaker 1: the phone. Mama was dead, Jason dead, and Julian missing. 377 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:14,919 Speaker 1: Jennifer knew if she had been home that day, she 378 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,480 Speaker 1: would be a third body on the ground soaking in 379 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:22,480 Speaker 1: a Crimson puddle. While Jennifer raced out of Florida on 380 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 1: the next available flight, police raced to the main suspect, 381 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:30,680 Speaker 1: William Balfour. Police found William across town on Chicago's West 382 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:33,639 Speaker 1: Side and his new girlfriend's pat They arrested him on 383 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:36,920 Speaker 1: the spot and carted him downtown for more information, locked 384 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,000 Speaker 1: him in an interrogation room. William had been to the 385 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:44,080 Speaker 1: Hudson household earlier that morning. After all cops questioned him 386 00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:46,480 Speaker 1: up and down, and William recited a story with ease. 387 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:49,320 Speaker 1: Sure he had argued with Julia earlier in that day, 388 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:51,840 Speaker 1: but came home after caught the bus in the train 389 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:54,600 Speaker 1: to get across town. He'd been here with his new 390 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 1: boo ever since, and the little boy, Julian, he hadn't 391 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:00,240 Speaker 1: seen him since that morning either. Riding his trace people 392 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:02,720 Speaker 1: around the earth, William said that he hoped the kid 393 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:06,480 Speaker 1: was okay. There were no fewer than three lives in 394 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 1: this statement. According to public transportation data, William hadn't used 395 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:12,720 Speaker 1: his pass for the bus that day, and there was 396 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:15,400 Speaker 1: no footage of him on the train platform that afternoon either. 397 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:18,800 Speaker 1: Data from William's phone provider even demonstrated that William was 398 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 1: in the area of the Hudson household well passed his 399 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,199 Speaker 1: morning argument with Julia. In fact, he was in that 400 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:26,679 Speaker 1: area right around the time those gunshots rang out on 401 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:29,879 Speaker 1: South Yale Avenue. Not a good look for William, but 402 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 1: he wouldn't budge on his alibi. When William stuck to 403 00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:39,480 Speaker 1: his story hours without Julian ticked away. His absence widened 404 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:42,359 Speaker 1: the hole in the hearts of the Hudson family amber. 405 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:45,199 Speaker 1: Alerts ran across the bottom of every TV screen in 406 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:49,240 Speaker 1: Chicago and the nearby New Cavalry Light Pentecostal Church replaced 407 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:52,200 Speaker 1: their lawn signs usual words of wisdom with help find 408 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:56,120 Speaker 1: Julian King in a phone number. Within twenty four hours, 409 00:25:56,359 --> 00:25:58,879 Speaker 1: the FBI joined the Chicago police in the search for 410 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:02,200 Speaker 1: the little boy nickname Juice Box. And there was still 411 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:05,640 Speaker 1: hope Julian was out there somewhere, maybe in the back 412 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:11,480 Speaker 1: of that white suburban, maybe breathing. Jennifer and Julia held 413 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:15,160 Speaker 1: hands and held out hope. But their spirits had been weakened, brittle, 414 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:18,520 Speaker 1: and broken in a matter of hours, and they needed 415 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:22,040 Speaker 1: strength and security. So they went to the place where 416 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:27,640 Speaker 1: they felt safest. They went to church. News anchors set 417 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,560 Speaker 1: their cameras in the pews at Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist 418 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:33,439 Speaker 1: Church on October twenty fifth, one day after the murders 419 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:37,959 Speaker 1: of Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother, Julia, Jennifer Hudson's sisters 420 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:40,639 Speaker 1: stood behind the podium to share her plea with the press. 421 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,920 Speaker 1: She implored viewers for her son, Julian's life, as tears 422 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:47,760 Speaker 1: trickled down her cheeks. I don't care who you are, 423 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:50,880 Speaker 1: just let my baby go. I just want my son back. 424 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:57,000 Speaker 1: He doesn't deserve this. The broadcast ended the search for 425 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:01,200 Speaker 1: Julian went on another twenty four hours crawled bye, And 426 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:03,879 Speaker 1: that's when Jennifer up the stakes and announced one hundred 427 00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:07,920 Speaker 1: thousand dollars reward for her nephew's safe return. Now there 428 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:15,280 Speaker 1: was nothing left to do but pray. Their hands trembled 429 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:19,240 Speaker 1: another Our Father, one more Hail Mary. Just for good measure. 430 00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:24,520 Speaker 1: They let the recitations soothe them, distract them, steady them. 431 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:28,119 Speaker 1: In the background, someone read Song nineteen on repeat, his 432 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:31,720 Speaker 1: eyes never wavering from the Bible in his hand. The 433 00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:34,720 Speaker 1: heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaimed the 434 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:37,880 Speaker 1: work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech. 435 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:43,680 Speaker 1: Night after night they revealed knowledge. White memorial crosses stood 436 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:46,320 Speaker 1: tall in front of the Hudson home, each covered in 437 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:50,399 Speaker 1: morning messages and endless God, bless yous photos of Jennifer, 438 00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:53,720 Speaker 1: Hudson's brother and mother littered the yard. A pile of 439 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:57,199 Speaker 1: soft animals on the lawn grew into a mountain. The 440 00:27:57,280 --> 00:27:59,760 Speaker 1: family and friends encircling the Hudson at home had been 441 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:04,560 Speaker 1: there for days. Their memorial for the husbands was alive, living, breathing, praying. 442 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:08,560 Speaker 1: But right now, at this very moment, they needed strength 443 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:12,280 Speaker 1: from the Lord more than ever before. Police found a 444 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,080 Speaker 1: white suburban that matched the description of the amber alert, 445 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:18,840 Speaker 1: and that was the good news. The bad news was 446 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:22,679 Speaker 1: that they found a little boy inside, dead under a 447 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:27,560 Speaker 1: shower curtain, two bullets in his brain, shot execution style. 448 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:33,360 Speaker 1: Once police made the gruesome discovery inside the van, they 449 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:36,679 Speaker 1: scoured the surrounding area and located agun nestled in a 450 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,600 Speaker 1: grassy vacant lot. Forensics confirmed it was a match for 451 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:45,120 Speaker 1: all three murders. While the crowd at South Yale Avenue 452 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 1: clasped their hands in prayer, Jennifer and Julia drove to 453 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:52,240 Speaker 1: Cook County Medical Center for the second time that week 454 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:56,440 Speaker 1: to identify the body. Jennifer confirmed it. It was the 455 00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,080 Speaker 1: third body she had to id in less than a week. 456 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 1: Her face Only's tragedy was now a triple homicide, triple. 457 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:08,040 Speaker 1: The heartbreak her mother's words echoed in Jennifer Hudson's ears 458 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:34,080 Speaker 1: over my dead body. Jennifer Hudson saw the police tape 459 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:36,200 Speaker 1: on the street before she could even park her car. 460 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:41,160 Speaker 1: Her stomach instantly twisted into a knot. She knew, damn well, 461 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:43,840 Speaker 1: the crowd lining the sidewalk was too big for there 462 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:46,160 Speaker 1: to be any good news waiting from the other side 463 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:49,440 Speaker 1: of that yellow tape. She bolted from the driver's seat, 464 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: without bothering to lock the car behind her. Jennifer elbowed 465 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:55,520 Speaker 1: strangers and neighbors out of the way, forced herself to 466 00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:58,480 Speaker 1: the front of the bystanders. She froze when she reached 467 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:02,280 Speaker 1: the edge of the crime scene. Her daughter, Patty rested 468 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:05,520 Speaker 1: underneath a bloody white sheet. The sheet did not rise 469 00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:08,600 Speaker 1: and fall with her breaths. It lay still, and so 470 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:11,640 Speaker 1: did Patty, just like she would for the rest of eternity. 471 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:15,080 Speaker 1: She was the victim of a few stray bullets. Authorities 472 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 1: told Jennifer, another accidental casually caught between beefing gangs. Jennifer wailed, 473 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:25,720 Speaker 1: not the despairing kind, the irate kind, the blood boiling kind. 474 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:29,280 Speaker 1: Did no one see anything? Did no one have anything 475 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:32,200 Speaker 1: to confess to? She locked eyes with every person in 476 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:34,520 Speaker 1: the crowd as she lashed out. Were they just going 477 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:36,800 Speaker 1: to stand by? As her daughter bled out, were they 478 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:42,800 Speaker 1: just going to stand there? Stupefied? Cut spike Lee's voice 479 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:46,200 Speaker 1: rang out from the director's chair from where spike Lee 480 00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:49,680 Speaker 1: was sitting. Jennifer's acting chops hadn't been eroded by grief 481 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:53,120 Speaker 1: at all. Maybe the heartache had actually emboldened her. The 482 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:55,800 Speaker 1: camera crew captured the gripping scene in a single take, 483 00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:59,160 Speaker 1: one and done. Jennifer earned the Academy Award in her 484 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:05,160 Speaker 1: first role for a reason. At first, Jennifer Hudson couldn't 485 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:07,640 Speaker 1: believe it when Spike Lee approached her for a role 486 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:10,840 Speaker 1: in his twenty fifteen movie sh Iraq, and for a 487 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:14,760 Speaker 1: role that hit so close to home too. She played Irene, 488 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:17,320 Speaker 1: a local mother who we meet as she mourns the 489 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:20,320 Speaker 1: sudden death of her eleven year old daughter, lost to 490 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:24,800 Speaker 1: the gang violence plaguing Chicago. Irene wasn't real, but her 491 00:31:24,840 --> 00:31:28,960 Speaker 1: story basically was. Jennifer's fate in Englewood hadn't played out 492 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:32,160 Speaker 1: all that differently. It pained Jennifer to step into those 493 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:35,080 Speaker 1: shoes again, to feel her blood go cold in an instant, 494 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:38,160 Speaker 1: to see a child senselessly murdered, even if it was 495 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:41,800 Speaker 1: just pretend this time. But if telling Irene's story meant 496 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:44,560 Speaker 1: another person might be saved from a similar fate, it 497 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:49,680 Speaker 1: was worth the re immersion. Jennifer Hudson didn't want revenge. 498 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,880 Speaker 1: She didn't crave a cruel fate for William Balfour. She 499 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:56,560 Speaker 1: just wanted justice for her fallen family members, for the 500 00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:00,360 Speaker 1: senseless bloodshed. She already had secured its some of that 501 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:03,760 Speaker 1: justice when William Balfour was tried just a few years earlier, 502 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:07,480 Speaker 1: in twenty twelve. By the time William appeared in court, 503 00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:10,800 Speaker 1: four years had passed since he murdered half the Hudson family. 504 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:14,719 Speaker 1: Jennifer hadn't forgotten a thing. She remembered the way William 505 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:17,720 Speaker 1: had made her uneasy since elementary school, all the times 506 00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:20,720 Speaker 1: he threw a tantrum over hugs amongst family members, and 507 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:23,560 Speaker 1: perhaps worst of all, she remembered how he had boasted 508 00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:27,400 Speaker 1: about killing half the Hudson family to Julia, to the neighborhood, 509 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:32,520 Speaker 1: and to anyone who would listen. Jennifer requested to testify 510 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:35,440 Speaker 1: first at William's trial to ensure that this information was 511 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:39,600 Speaker 1: front and center. She needed the jury to understand William's character, 512 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:44,360 Speaker 1: his lack of character. Actually, in eighteen hours, the jury 513 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:49,040 Speaker 1: found William guilty of triple homicide, home invasion, aggravated kidnapping, 514 00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:53,520 Speaker 1: residential burglary, and possession of a stolen vehicle. He'd spend 515 00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:57,280 Speaker 1: three lifetimes in prison for his crimes, plus another one 516 00:32:57,360 --> 00:33:01,840 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty years Judge slammed the gavel. He left 517 00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:05,360 Speaker 1: William with the following assessment, you have the heart of 518 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:08,520 Speaker 1: an Arctic knight, and your soul is as barren as 519 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:14,320 Speaker 1: deep space. When William went back to his prison cell, 520 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:17,280 Speaker 1: Jennifer Hudson went back to her family's graves for the 521 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:20,560 Speaker 1: first time since she buried them. She could finally look 522 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:22,640 Speaker 1: them in the eye, so to speak, and tell them 523 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:27,600 Speaker 1: William would wither into old age behind bars, her mother, Jason, 524 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:30,320 Speaker 1: and Julian. She wanted them all to know how she 525 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:32,840 Speaker 1: dug up everything she could remember about William's history with 526 00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:35,840 Speaker 1: her family for that trial, But she remembered some other 527 00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:39,160 Speaker 1: things about William too, The way he was raised, the 528 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:43,520 Speaker 1: violence that stained his family history at least three generations deep, 529 00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:46,880 Speaker 1: passed on to him through a cruel childhood. How lucky 530 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:50,040 Speaker 1: she was to have never experienced such brutality, to have 531 00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:53,280 Speaker 1: a faith and family that surrounded her, that gave her voice, 532 00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:56,320 Speaker 1: a purpose that filled her life with warmth, or her 533 00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:59,560 Speaker 1: heart could never ice over, not even after a murder, 534 00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:05,160 Speaker 1: not even after three murders. Jennifer Hudson publicly forgave William 535 00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:08,400 Speaker 1: Balfour he never had a chance, she said, never had 536 00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:10,760 Speaker 1: a chance to live anything but a life of violence. 537 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:13,359 Speaker 1: So we saw too it. Three other people would never 538 00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:16,560 Speaker 1: have the chance to live long, happy lives themselves. So 539 00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:22,319 Speaker 1: many people never had a chance. Jennifer Hudson walked back 540 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:25,080 Speaker 1: on the set. It was time to film the aftermath 541 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:28,120 Speaker 1: of her one take crime scene. She knelt down with 542 00:34:28,160 --> 00:34:31,080 Speaker 1: a bucket of soapy water. She dumped some SuDS onto 543 00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:34,680 Speaker 1: the ground where her fictional daughter was slain. Pain pricked 544 00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:38,000 Speaker 1: her fingertips as she started scrubbing at the bloodstained pavement. 545 00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:43,800 Speaker 1: Old wounds reopened, the water deep inedto a morbid shaded red, 546 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:46,520 Speaker 1: and the stain was starting to come off the pavement. 547 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:50,600 Speaker 1: Her work here was nearly done. So many people never 548 00:34:50,640 --> 00:34:53,799 Speaker 1: had a chance. She remembered. She needed to make it 549 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:56,080 Speaker 1: through this scene so someone else could have a chance. 550 00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:59,120 Speaker 1: Look at what she could do, Look at what God 551 00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:03,000 Speaker 1: can help her do. Jennifer leaned back on her knees, 552 00:35:03,760 --> 00:35:07,880 Speaker 1: She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and she prayed, 553 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:34,160 Speaker 1: I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgraceland. Disgraceland was created 554 00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:36,800 Speaker 1: by Yours Truly and is produced in partnership with double 555 00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:39,640 Speaker 1: Elvis credits for this episode can be found on the 556 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:43,560 Speaker 1: show notes page at disgracelampod dot com. If you're listening 557 00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:46,640 Speaker 1: as a Disgraceland All Access member, thank you for supporting 558 00:35:46,719 --> 00:35:49,400 Speaker 1: the show. 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