Chicago ( CNN ) -- Jurors deliberated a full day without reaching a verdict Thursday in the trial of a man accused of killing the mother , brother and 7-year-old nephew of entertainer Jennifer Hudson . William Balfour , Hudson 's former brother-in-law , faces charges of first-degree murder , home invasion , residential burglary and possession of a stolen vehicle . He has pleaded not guilty , and his lawyer has argued that there is no forensic evidence linking him to the killings . Heated closing arguments Wednesday set a tense tone in the courtroom before the judge sent the 12 jurors into deliberations . The singer-actress kept her head down during much of Cook County Prosecutor Jennifer Bagby 's closing argument . After showing autopsy photos of the victims , Bagby pointed toward Balfour . `` It 's time to hold him responsible , '' she said . `` They have failed to prove their case , '' Balfour 's attorney Amy Thompson said Wednesday during her closing argument , her voice rising . `` He is on trial for his life . '' Thompson argued that police homed in on Balfour rather than conducting a full investigation . `` In their mind , this was n't a whodunnit , '' she said . No DNA evidence points to Balfour , said Thompson , who also questioned police work in the case , describing a set of keys that she said surfaced on an evidence list a month after the slayings . `` Those keys show how desperate the state was . They resorted to this . ... My client is an innocent man , '' she said . But prosecutors argued that physical and circumstantial evidence links Balfour to the killings and described as `` absurd '' defense claims that police may have planted evidence or been part of a conspiracy to frame Balfour . Prosecutor Jim McKay told jurors that there was a `` tsunami of circumstantial evidence . '' `` The circumstantial facts of this case are drowning this guy in guilt , '' he said . Bagby said in her closing argument that Balfour had threatened to kill the family of Julia Hudson , Jennifer Hudson 's sister . `` If you leave me , I 'll kill you . I 'll kill your family first . You 'll be the last to die , '' he had said , according to Bagby . `` He went in that house for one reason , and one reason only , to carry out that threat , '' Bagby told jurors . Balfour is accused of fatally shooting Hudson 's mother , Darnell Donerson , 57 , and the singer 's brother , Jason Hudson , 29 , in their Chicago home in October 2008 . The body of Hudson 's 7-year-old nephew , Julian King , was found three days later in an abandoned vehicle . Prosecutors have portrayed Balfour as a jealous man who murdered the three people in a rage at the thought that his wife had a boyfriend . In her closing argument , Bagby said Balfour shot Hudson 's mother as she tried to defend herself with a broom . `` He fired that gun at her over and over and over , '' Bagby said . McKay called Balfour `` a true coward . '' `` He shoots a 57-year-old grandmother in the back . He shoots a 29-year-old man in his sleep . He shoots a 7-year-old twice in the head , '' McKay told jurors . `` The family , the community , the city , the country demand justice . '' There have been 83 witnesses and 11 days of testimony in the trial . Hudson , who was on hand through the trial , was called as the prosecution 's first witness . She broke down in tears several times on the stand as she recalled her family . `` None of us wanted her to marry him , '' Hudson said of her sister 's decision to marry Balfour . `` We did not like how he treated her . `` Where he was , I tried not to be , '' she said . The deaths took place a year after Hudson , who rose to fame as a contestant on `` American Idol , '' won an Oscar for her role in the movie `` Dreamgirls . '' In a recent interview with CNN 's Piers Morgan , Hudson reflected on the life of her mother . `` My mother was a very wise and strong person . I feel like she raised us well , and she prepared me well , and so that 's what I live by , '' she said . Her career has continued to blossom and remains varied since her relatives ' deaths . Recent milestones include penning a memoir detailing her struggles with her weight ; being cast as Nelson Mandela 's ex-wife , Winnie , in an upcoming movie ; releasing a new album ; and singing a well-received tribute to Whitney Houston at the Grammy Awards in February . CNN 's Katherine Wojtecki contributed to this report .
NEW : No verdict after a full day of trial . A prosecutor says a ` ` amount of circumstantial evidence '' shows defendant 's guilt . A defense attorney says that the ` ` failed to prove their case ''