An Amber Alert remained in effect Sunday for young Julian King, who disappeared from his South Side neighborhood on Friday, the day the bodies of his grandmother, Darnell Donerson, 57, and 29-year-old uncle Jason Hudson were found in the home they shared. Their deaths were ruled homicides.
The Amber Alert listed William Balfour, the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson's sister, Julia Hudson, as a suspect in a "double homicide investigation." Julia Hudson is the missing boy's mother.
Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond said authorities considered Balfour a "person of interest" in the case but he had not been charged.
Authorities said the search for Julian would be citywide, but on Sunday residents and officers focused their efforts "in the immediate vicinity" of the family's home in the Englewood section, said police spokesman Dan O'Brien.
Police said they did not have a motive for the killings but called the case "domestic related."
"There's a lot of forensic evidence. We have to work the evidence and try and solve this case," Bond said Sunday. "Most importantly, we want to find the child."
Balfour remained in custody Sunday, but Bond said he would be transferred to the Illinois Department of Corrections "based on his active parole violation unrelated to this investigation."
Records from the Illinois Department of Corrections show Balfour, 27, is on parole and spent nearly seven years in prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possessing a stolen vehicle.
It was unclear if Balfour had an attorney to speak for him Sunday, but his mother, Michele Balfour, has denied that he was involved the killings or in Julian's disappearance.
A representative of the Illinois Department of Correction did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.
During a public plea Saturday for the boy's return, Julia Hudson described her son as a smart, sensitive and easygoing child.
"He's not your typical 7-year-old," she told a crowd at the family's Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist Church on Chicago's South Side. She was joined by the boy's father, Greg King.
"He doesn't want to go outside. He doesn't want to play. He'd rather stay at home and read a book or do some school work." Hudson said she last saw her son Thursday night when they went out to dinner to celebrate her 31st birthday.
Afterward, she said, she took Julian to the home she shared with her mother and brother, handed him to his grandmother and everyone went to sleep.
Julian adored his grandmother, Hudson said. "She did everything for him, got him ready for school, got him ready for bed," Hudson said.
Julia Hudson said Saturday that she was confident her son was still alive and that she was praying for his return.
"Momma's looking for you. I'm not going to stop until you come home," she said.
