CURRENT EVENTS: Jennifer Hudson Family Murder Trial Begins

Jennifer Hudson took the stand for nearly an hour this afternoon as the first witness in the Chicago trial of the man charged with killing her mother, brother and nephew. 

Jennifer Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, was the first person killed when William Balfour allegedly entered her home on Oct. 24, 2008.

Jennifer Hudson's nephew, Julian King, was just 7 years old when he was killed allegedly by his estranged stepfather William Balfour.
King, nicknamed Juicebox, was found in the back of his uncle's SUV. He had been shot in the back of his head.

"None of us wanted her to marry him," Hudson said of her sister's marriage to defendant William Balfour, her voice cracking with emotion. "We did not like how he treated her... I tried to keep my distance from William."

Crying on the stand at one point, Hudson, who has vowed to attend every day of the trial, paused for a few seconds to compose herself. 

The award-winning actress and singer choked up when asked about her relationship with her mother, saying, "I slept with my mom until I was 16 years old." 

Hudson also testified she would sign blank checks and leave them for her mother, so that she could pay the household bills. 

Balfour, 30, is facing three counts of first-degree murder for killing three members of Jennifer Hudson's family including her mother Darnell Donerson, 57, her brother Jason Hudson, 29, and 7-year-old nephew Julian King, who was also Balfour's stepson. Balfour was estranged from Jennifer's sister, Julia Hudson at the time of the killings.

Hudson, 30, described the last time she saw her mother, a few days before the killings in the family home. She said she remembered it vividly because it was one of the few times that the entire family came over to share a meal. "Thank God I got that," she testified. 

Hudson's voice cracked with emotion almost every time she spoke about her mother. At one point a deputy brought her a box of tissues and a cup of water. 

Hudson testified that she knew something was wrong on the day of the killings in 2008 because her mother didn't text her that morning as she usually did by 9 a.m.[READ MORE]