Police confirm body is Hudson's nephew

CHICAGO, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Police confirmed Monday the body of a child found in a vehicle in Chicago is that of 7-year-old Julian King, the nephew of actress-singer Jennifer Hudson.

The Chicago Tribune quoted police Superintendent Jody Weis as saying the child's identity was confirmed by the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Hudson and three other relatives went to the office and identified Julian's remains, which were discovered in the back seat of a parked Chevrolet Suburban by a passerby on Chicago's West Side early Monday.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

The boy hadn't been seen since before his grandmother Darnell Donerson and uncle Jason Hudson were shot to death last Friday in the Hudson family home on the South Side of Chicago. The sports utility vehicle in which Julian was found was registered to Jason Hudson.

Law enforcement sources told the Tribune the boy was shot multiple times in the back of the vehicle. The SUV was found just blocks from where police picked up William Balfour, 27, the estranged husband of Jennifer and Jason Hudson's sister, Julia.

While Balfour has not been charged in the killings, he was being held by police on a parole violation.

The Tribune quoted an unnamed family friend as saying Balfour had threatened to take Julian away from his mother.

Hudson, the Oscar-winning star of "Dreamgirls," Sunday offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the return of her nephew. Donerson was her mother and Jason her brother.