It was far from happy families in the Hudson household when William Balfour was around.

Jurors in the Chicago courtroom triple murder trial heard from a family friend of Jennifer Hudson’s how the defendant repeatedly threatened to kill the Hudsons while attending a children’s birthday party a couple months before the murders, reported ChicagoCBSLocal.com.

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Balfour faces three counts of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and home

With a tragic triple murder, an Oscar winner as a witness and allegations of drug-dealing victims and an abusive defendant, the Jennifer Hudson family murder trial has all the ingredients of a John Grisham novel.

Now RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal that the defense may have an extra tough time getting suspect William Balfour released because of the star power sitting in the Chicago courtroom.

The trial of the man accused of murdering Jennifer Hudson’s family took a surprising twist when the defense suggested that the Oscar winner’s brother was a big time drug dealer.

Assistant Public Defender Amy Thompson argued that it was not suspect William Balfour who killed Hudson’s mother, brother and nephew, and even went as far as suggesting an alternative suspect whom she claimed assisted Jason Hudson in his alleged illegal drug business, reported the Chicago Sun Times.

The man suspected of killing Jennifer Hudson’s family appeared in a Chicago court on Thursday to face the potential jurors in his murder trial, and those being considered to decide his fate gasped when they realized that they were involved in the high-profile celebrity murder case.

The presence of William Balfour, who is accused of slaying the Dreamgirls star’s mother, brother and nephew more than three years ago, caused 20 people to stand up and leave the courtroom

The ordeal surrounding her family's horrific murder is far from over for Jennifer Hudson as she may now be called to testify as a witness in court, Star magazine is exclusively reporting.

According to court documents obtained by Star, the 30-year-old Oscar winner could be called to testify against William Balfour, who currently sits behind bars for the horrific October 2008 slayings of Jennifer’s 57-year-old mother, Darnell Donerson, and 29-year-old brother, Jason, in their family home in Chicago. The body of her seven-year-old nephew was found nearby three days later.

Balfour, Hudson's brother-in-law, pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and home invasion and now his defense attorneys hope that shocking new evidence related to fingerprint tests will prove his innocence.