Jennifer Hudson's family tragedy

Really sad.

CPD really needs to do more to contain violent crime in Chicago; it's out of control in this city, especially this year.

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About 100 people had assembled this evening for a candlelight vigil outside the Englewood neighborhood family home of Academy Award-winning singer and actress Jennifer Hudson, where her mother and brother were found slain Friday.

The group included both friends and strangers that came to support the family with song and prayer.

Also killed was Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, and her brother, Jason Hudson. Police were questioning the estranged husband of Hudson's sister Julia, the mother of Julian King.

The memorial outside the home in the 7000 block of South Yale Avenue had grown substantially Monday with photos of the victims, stuffed animals, balloons and posters for people to sign.

Around 6 p.m., the crowd sang Jennifer Hudson's song "Spotlight."

News of the death of the actress' 7-year-old nephew Julian King was on everyone's mind.

Latrice Wells, 31, from the neighborhood, was at the vigil and said she knew the family. Wells recalled seeing Julian riding a four-wheeler down the block. "He loved being outside playing and talking to everyone. He was a joyful little boy," she said.

Wells found out about Julian's death on television and said she cried. She arrived at the memorial site with a stuffed animal. "I feel what they're going through," Wells said.

Some people who didn't know the Hudson family said they showed up to provide support. Shelia Smith, a nurse at nearby hospital, brought a yellow rose. "It really hit home because it's like losing one of your own," she said.

Hudson, who gained stardom after appearing on "American Idol" and then won an Academy Award for the movie "Dreamgirls," spent the days since the murders out of the public eye but high in public consciousness. And Monday, her family and supporters feared the worst -- that the body found early Monday on the West Side in a white Chevrolet Suburban was Julian.

The SUV belonged to Jason Hudson.

A parade of cars moved slowly past her family's home Monday morning, squeezing past news vans and a gathering crowd of reporters. Neighbors came by to drop items on the memorial or simply came to stand quietly and reflect on the violence that is too often a part of the neighborhood.

"Everybody is sick of going through stuff like this," said Artisha West, who did not know the Hudson family but used to live in the area. "We all have to stick together. All these young children are dying, and for what?"

Soon after Julian's body was found, neighbors and well-wishers from the Englewood neighborhood flocked to the Hudson home, dropping off teddy bears and flowers at an ever-growing memorial on the sidewalk.

No one knew each other or planned it ahead of time. All said they gathered in a common grief.

"To hear of this tragedy, the only thing I could do was come by and pray," Rev. Luther McDade, a pastor at the First Missionary Baptist Church on East 75th Street, said as more than a dozen people from the gathering crowd encircled the memorial in prayer.

"Everybody is touched by this," said Kevin Smith, who brought his 5-year-old son, little Kevin. "You just wish there was more that you could do. You can't do nothing but come by here and pay your respects and pray that your own family is taken care of."

Lynetta Clark rushed to the home moments after learning a third body had been found.

"It's just crazy," she said. "You need to hold onto your baby as tight as you can. I feel so sorry for the family."

In front of the Hudson's home, men in heavy jackets and hooded sweatshirts came to kiss the twin white crosses marked for Darnell Donerson and Jason Hudson.

"They were a very close family, I just can't believe this," said neighbor Jemia Laye, who said she was friends with Jennifer's sister Julia growing up. Laye dropped off a pink monkey stuffed animal onto the pile.

"She loved that boy," Laye said of Julia. Of the woman's son, Julian: "He was always happy and saying hi to everybody."

As pieces began coming together in the police investigation, the Hudson family also had spent the weekend praying, holding out hope until reports said a boy's body was found in Jason Hudson's SUV.

"All we can do is pray," said Rev. Krista Alston of Pleasant Gift Baptist Church, who is Hudson's cousin. "We're a family of deep faith."