Coming off winning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2007, 2008 was supposed to follow with more accolades as Jennifer Hudson made her long awaited return to music.

Instead, the singer/actress, who garnered a healthy buzz for her debut album with the lead single “Spotlight,”  found herself on the receiving end of a major personal tragedy with the shooting deaths of her 57-year-old mother Darnell Donerson and 29-year-old brother Jason Hudson.

The pair was found dead in their South Side Chicago home on Oct. 24. That same day, Hudson’s seven-year-old nephew, Julian King, turned up missing as authorities placed William Balfour, the estranged husband of the entertainer’s sister Julia, into custody.

At the time, Balfour was not charged in the slayings, but remained in custody as a “person of interest.” As police continued investigating the crime, the murders triggered immediate reaction from the public as gifts and well wishes were left on the fence at the home where the Jason Hudson and Roberson were killed.

Jennifer Hudson spoke out for the first time since the tragedy via a posting on her MySpace blog on Oct. 26. The singer/actress thanked her fans as she urged them to help authorities find Julian.

Jennifer Hudson’s statement came one day after Julia Hudson, Julian’s mother, issued an emotional plea for her son’s safe return.

Julia’s worst fear came became reality on Oct. 27 as police confirmed that they found Julian’s body, which was discovered inside a white Chevy Suburban owned by Jason Hudson. Despite untrue rumors of Julian’s hand being severed, the seven-year-old died after he was shot in the head.

Balfour, who maintained a tense relationship with detectives by refusing to take a lie detector test and cooperate with the investigation, was arrested and formally charged with three counts of murder in the slayings earlier this month.

In November, police verified that the Sig Sauer .45 caliber they recovered by police was indeed the weapon was used to murder Donerson, Jason Hudson and King. Jennifer Hudson paid her final respects to the slain family members at a private funeral service on Nov. 3.

Since the tragedy, the entertainer has kept a low profile. Hudson, who recently nabbed four Grammy nominations, recently came out of seclusion to begin filming the video for “If It Isn’t Love,” the second single from her self-titled debut album, which was released in September.