Idol Tragedy

This news just keeps getting sadder by the minute. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Hudsons.

Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were the two victims of a fatal shooting in Chicago, the actress's publicist says. "We can confirm that there is an ongoing investigation concerning the deaths of Jennifer Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, and her brother, Jason Hudson," rep Lisa Kasteler tells PEOPLE. "No further comment will be made and the family has asked that their privacy be respected at this difficult time." The victims' bodies were found by officers Friday in a South Side home listed in the name of Hudson's mother, and police say the shooting appeared to be related to a domestic disturbance. Hudson's 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, is missing. An Amber Alert has been issued for him. [people, friday]

The singer and Oscar-winning actress appealed earlier in the day for the public's help in finding 7-year-old Julian King, who has been missing since the shooting deaths last week of her mother and brother...An Amber Alert remained in effect Sunday for Julian, who disappeared on Friday, the day the bodies of his grandmother, Darnell Donerson, 57, and 29-year-old uncle Jason Hudson were found in the home they all shared on the city's South Side. The deaths were ruled homicides. The Amber Alert listed William Balfour, the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson's sister, Julia Hudson, as a suspect in a "double homicide investigation." Julia Hudson is the missing boy's mother...Police said they did not have a motive for the killings but called the case "domestic related." Bond said Balfour had not been charged. [ap, today]