A number of celebrities are expected to attend a private memorial service today for Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and nephew who were all slain last week.
Celebrities such as Missy Elliott, Oprah Winfrey, Clive Davis, Queen Latifah, Usher and Patti LaBelle will be in attendance at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago.
A public service was held yesterday but the Hudson family did not attend.
Chicago police last week found the murder weapon used in the three killings in a vacant lot. The gun was registered to Hudson’s brother Jason Hudson who reported it stolen from his mother’s home two months ago.
Hudson had the gun for protection after being shot in the leg during a home invasion earlier this year. Hudson later refused medical treatment and used a cane to assist with mobility.
Meanwhile, Hudson is reportedly unable to return to the large 3-story home where she grew up in the rough Englewood section of Chicago.
According to her mentor Andre Leon Talley, Hudson went back to the home but couldn’t bring herself to go inside. Talley, Vogue’s editor-at-large, tells the New York Daily News, “I believe she went back just once, to the gate, but didn’t go inside.”
He adds, “We’ve talked constantly. I’ve sent her many e-mails; I’ve sent her my support and so has Anna Wintour (U.S. Vogue editor-in-chief). And she just says thank you, thank you, thank you.
“She wants everyone, all her fans, to know how much their support has meant to her. And she’s going to be all right. Jennifer has faith in God. They’re just praying, every day, every minute, for the strength to get through this. And she will – she’s a very strong girl.”
Hudson and family members have been ensconced at the Trump Towers hotel in downtown Chicago since word of the killings.
Friends and family are hoping the Chicago police haven’t botched this case. The prime suspect William Balfour has been held as a “person of interest” since the day of the killings. He still has not been charged with any crime and his family members say he has not seen a lawyer.
