Academy Award winning actress Jennifer Hudson and her sister Julia were joined in mourning by close friends and family as they paid their last respects to their mother, brother and Julia’s son yesterday (November 3).
The private service came one day after a public memorial was held in Chicago for 57-year-old Darnell Donnerson, her 29-year-old son Jason Hudson and 7-year-old grandson Julian King.
Among those present were Reverend Jesse Jackson and Chicago mayor Richard Daley, who eulogized the singer’s slain relatives.
Multi-platinum singer Fantasia Barrino concluded the services with Gospel classic “Your Grace and Mercy,” singing directly to Jennifer at one point, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The most touching point of the ceremony came when Jennifer Hudson approached the caskets and kissed her mother, who the Secret Lives of Bees star credited as her biggest supporter that encouraged her to pursue American Idol.
On Sunday, South Side Chicago’s Missionary Baptist Church was the site of the public memorial, which neither of the sisters attended, Jennifer’s publicist said.
Authorities discovered the bodies of the mother and son on October 24 ago at the home they shared with Julia.
Her son’s body was discovered three days later, in Jason Hudson’s abandoned Chevrolet Suburban.
The Suburban was the SUV described in the Amber Alert that was issued for the child moments after he was reported missing and hours after the gruesome murders of his mother and uncle.
Late Friday night (October 31), the Chicago Police Department confirmed the .45 caliber Sig Sauer handgun discovered a block away from where Julian King was found was the murder weapon used to kill all three.
The gun was identified by unfired bullets, which matched the shell casings found at the scene of the crime.
