Fate of man accused of killing Jennifer Hudson's relatives in jury's hands

Written by Sara2012 on May 10, 2012

Fate of man accused of killing Jennifer Hudson's relatives in jury's hands

Chicago (CNN) -- Jurors will resume deliberations at 10 a.m. ET Thursday in the trial of a man accused of killing the mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew of entertainer Jennifer Hudson.    dr dre headphone 

William Balfour, Hudson's former brother-in-law, faces charges of first-degree murder, home invasion, residential burglary and possession of a stolen vehicle. He has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer has argued there is no forensic evidence linking him to the killings.

Heated closing arguments Wednesday set a tense tone in the courtroom before the judge sent the 12 jurors into deliberations.

The singer-actress kept her head down during much of Cook County Prosecutor Jennifer Bagby's closing argument.

After showing autopsy photos of the victims, Bagby pointed toward Balfour.

"It's time to hold him responsible," she said.  cheap beats by dre headphones

"They have failed to prove their case," Balfour's attorney Amy Thompson said Wednesday during her closing argument, her voice rising. "He is on trial for his life."

Thompson argued that police homed in on Balfour rather than conducting a full investigation.

"In their mind, this wasn't a whodunnit," she said.

No DNA evidence points to Balfour, said Thompson, who also questioned police work in the case, describing a set of keys that she said surfaced on an evidence list a month after the slayings.

"Those keys show how desperate the state was. They resorted to this. ... My client is an innocent man," she said.  monster beats outlet

But prosecutors argued that physical and circumstantial evidence links Balfour to the killings and described as "absurd" defense claims that police may have planted evidence or been part of a conspiracy to frame Balfour.

Prosecutor Jim McKay told jurors that there was a "tsunami of circumstantial evidence."

"The circumstantial facts of this case are drowning this guy in guilt," he said.

Bagby said in her closing argument that Balfour had threatened to kill the family of Julia Hudson, Jennifer Hudson's sister. monster cable headphone