Balfour's Troubles Go Way Back

Car movements indicate involvement of other drivers

(NEWSER) - If William Balfour killed Jennifer Hudson’s family as police suspect, he probably had help, law-enforcement sources tell the Chicago Tribune. Witnesses place Balfour on the Hudsons’ block at 7am, driving his teal Chrysler. But the car later turned up a mile away at Robeson High School. Security cameras show an unidentified person leaving the car at 12:30. But Balfour was on the West Side at that time, according to his girlfriend and cell phone records. More»

New details surface in murders of singer's family

(NEWSER) - Jennifer Hudson didn't approve of the relationship between her sister Julia and William Balfour, the man accused of killing Hudson's mother, brother, and nephew in 2008, according to newly filed court documents. Hudson grew up near Balfour and the two attended the same elementary school. She told detectives there was tension between her family and Balfour's over the relationship Balfour had with Julia Hudson, and that her family didn't learn of Julia's marriage to Balfour until months after it happened in late 2006. Hudson had advised Julia not to marry Balfour, she told prosecutors. More»

New book dishes on her life behind bars

(NEWSER) - Excerpts from a new book provide a glimpse into Amanda Knox 's life "in limbo"—otherwise known as an Italian prison. The as-yet released book, Take Me With You, chronicles the convicted killer's life behind bars and her hopes for the future. "I miss my family. I have friends who are like brothers and sisters to me," the author, Rocco Girlanda, quotes Knox as saying. "I want to live." More»

Shaniya moved in with mother just last month

(NEWSER) - The mother of a 5-year-old North Carolina girl found dead appeared in court yesterday and was charged with human trafficking and felony abuse. Antoinette Davis, 25, delivered daughter Shaniya to a man "with the intent that she be held in sexual servitude ," according to court documents. Davis was calm during a five-minute court appearance in Fayetteville, requested a court-appointed attorney and did not enter a plea. More»

(NEWSER) - Michael Jackson was "murdered" by a shadowy entourage of handlers who were after his money, says his angry sister La Toya. "I believe Michael was murdered. Not just one person was involved, rather it was a conspiracy of people," she tells the Daily Mail. "Michael was worth more than a billion dollars. When anyone is worth that much money, there are always greedy people around them." She says he died in his personal physician's bedroom, surrounded by oxygen tanks and an intravenous drip stand. More»