Jennifer Hudson finds happiness a year after nightmare

In the year since three members of her family were brutally killed in Chicago, Grammy and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson has found ways to heal and start a new life. And it appears the 28-year-old is happy again. The actress and singer has gushed over her role as a new mother. And she has poured herself into her work, from a gospel-tinged rendition of the national anthem at the Super Bowl months after the slayings to last month's "VH1 Divas" concert in New York. Now she is set to return to Chicago in a few weeks to film an ABC prime-time special in which she'll share memories of her childhood Christmases in her old neighborhood and the church where she started singing.It will be a bittersweet journey as she films "Jennifer Hudson: I'll Be Home for Christmas," which is scheduled to air in December.A year ago, just as her career was really taking off with roles in movies like "Sex and the City" and "The Secret Life of Bees," Hudson had to return home for the worst reason possible.On Oct. 24, 2008, the bodies of her mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, 57, and brother Jason Hudson, 29, were found in the family's home on the city's South Side. The body of her 7-year-old nephew Julian King was found days later in a sport-utility vehicle on the city's West Side, slightly more than 10 miles away. All three had been shot. Hudson has repeatedly declined to talk publicly about the killings. She and her publicist declined AP interview requests."She's heartbroken," said Bob Israel, 40, who was friends with Jason Hudson and lives near the Hudsons' Chicago home. "They were a close-knit family." William Balfour, the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson's sister Julia, was charged with first-degree murder in the killings. Prosecutors alleged Balfour killed them in a jealous rage because he was upset that Julia Hudson was dating another man. Balfour pleaded not guilty and remains jailed. The following days were tumultuous for Jennifer Hudson, including a trip to the Cook County medical examiner's office to identify Julian King's body. A picture of the cherub-faced boy, nicknamed "Juice Box," was posted on Hudson's MySpace page after the killings and remains there. SOURCE: SUNTIMES.COM