Geraldo Rivera reports…. Seeing the terrible pain and raw human emotion ripping apart people who’ve lost a loved one in a brutal murder always leaves a scar on my soul. But some crimes — like when the family of Jennifer Hudson was murdered — are so horrific they repeatedly haunt my dreams. I can still hear the tortured 911 call made by Jennifer’s older sister, Julia, who walked into a slaughterhouse when she returned home from work in Chicago and found her mother, Darnell Donerson, lying in a puddle of blood: “Somebody killed my momma! Help me! Please!” Her desperate, heaving sobs give me the chills — as do sketches of Jennifer in the courtroom facing down the cold-blooded monster who destroyed her family. Read on for details of Geraldo’s investigation, and click here for more true-crime news….
1 of 7
She’s always been a tough kid and I’ve always had a soft spot for the girl who sang her way to stardom after growing up on
Chicago’s meanest streets.
Photo credit: Getty Images
2 of 7
I was as angry as anyone in America back in 2004 when she came in seventh during the third season of “American Idol” — and like everyone else I couldn’t understand this amazing talent’s early departure from the show. But Jennifer took it in stride and would not be denied.
Photo credit: Getty Images
3 of 7
Less than two years later she beat out hundreds of other actresses to land the role of Effie in the film version of the Broadway musical “Dreamgirls” (alongside
Anika Noni Rose and
Beyoncé).
She stole the show and, just as she did on “American Idol,” she stole our hearts, too.
Photo credit: Getty Images
4 of 7
Before we knew it, she was on top of the entertainment world, accepting an Oscar for her performance and proving, once and for all, she was a talented and deserving winner. But fate wasn’t done kicking the plucky songbird in the teeth.
Photo credit: Getty Images
5 of 7
Just two years after accepting her Academy Award, her mother, brother and seven-year-old nephew were massacred by a member of their own family, Jennifer’s twisted brother-in-law,
William Balfour (inset). It was the ultimate betrayal.
Photo credit: Getty Images
6 of 7
Now, I’m telling the full inside story of the horror. You won’t want to miss it. In our show you’ll meet the prosecutor who got justice for the Hudson family. See Jennifer’s determination as she attended every day of Balfour’s trial and was one of the first to testify.
Photo credit: Getty Images
7 of 7
The killer’s lack of remorse was appalling — and the stuff of nightmares. But wait until you hear what the judge told him
upon sentencing!
See the full story unfold on “Geraldo Rivera’s Murder in the Family: Jennifer Hudson,” premiering Saturday, November 3, at 9ET/PT on REELZ. To find REELZ on your entertainment system visit REELZ.com.Photo credit: Getty Images
She’s always been a tough kid and I’ve always had a soft spot for the girl who sang her way to stardom after growing up on
Chicago’s meanest streets.
Photo credit: Getty Images
I was as angry as anyone in America back in 2004 when she came in seventh during the third season of “American Idol” — and like everyone else I couldn’t understand this amazing talent’s early departure from the show. But Jennifer took it in stride and would not be denied.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Less than two years later she beat out hundreds of other actresses to land the role of Effie in the film version of the Broadway musical “Dreamgirls” (alongside
Anika Noni Rose and
Beyoncé).
She stole the show and, just as she did on “American Idol,” she stole our hearts, too.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Before we knew it, she was on top of the entertainment world, accepting an Oscar for her performance and proving, once and for all, she was a talented and deserving winner. But fate wasn’t done kicking the plucky songbird in the teeth.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Just two years after accepting her Academy Award, her mother, brother and seven-year-old nephew were massacred by a member of their own family, Jennifer’s twisted brother-in-law,
William Balfour (inset). It was the ultimate betrayal.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Now, I’m telling the full inside story of the horror. You won’t want to miss it. In our show you’ll meet the prosecutor who got justice for the Hudson family. See Jennifer’s determination as she attended every day of Balfour’s trial and was one of the first to testify.
Photo credit: Getty Images
The killer’s lack of remorse was appalling — and the stuff of nightmares. But wait until you hear what the judge told him
upon sentencing!
See the full story unfold on “Geraldo Rivera’s Murder in the Family: Jennifer Hudson,” premiering Saturday, November 3, at 9ET/PT on REELZ. To find REELZ on your entertainment system visit REELZ.com.Photo credit: Getty Images
