William Balfour convicted of murder

Fiancé David Otunga, Jennifer Hudson and sister Julia Hudson © Tom Gianni/AP

William Balfour, Jennifer Hudson's former brother-in-law, was convicted on Friday after about 18 hours of deliberations, the Chicago jury delivered its verdict and found him guilty of three counts of murder. Balfour's victims were Jennifer's mother Darnell Donerson, her brother Jason Hudson and her 7-year old nephew Julian King. Balfour, 31, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Jennifer, 30, was present at the trial and was the first witness. She told the jury that she had warned her sister Julia off from marrying William Balfour. " None of us, myself, my mother, or my brother, we did not like how he treated her, and I didn't like how he treated my nephew," she said.

Julia was estranged from Balfour at the time of the 2008 killings. Prosecutors alleged that Balfour thought that Julia had another man in her life and acted out of jealousy. Balfour pleaded not guilty and his lawyer challenged the forensic evidence in a case that lacked DNA evidence or fingerprints.

Jennifer and Julia released a statement, that says, "It is our prayer that the Lord will forgive Mr. Balfour of these heinous acts and bring his heart into repentance someday."