Chicago ( CNN ) -- Actress and singer Jennifer Hudson testified Monday in the trial of a man accused of killing her mother , brother and 7-year-old nephew . She broke down in tears several times on the stand as she remembered her family . Hudson was the prosecution 's first witness . She identified the defendant , William Balfour , the estranged husband of her sister , Julia . `` None of us wanted her to marry him , '' she said . `` We did not like how he treated her . '' Hudson , dressed in black , also testified about her relationship with her mother , saying she spoke with her mom every day and slept in the same bed with her until she was 16 . Read a full transcript of Jennifer Hudson 's testimony . Through tears , she talked about the last time she saw her family together and the day she found out about the murders . `` I did everything in my power to get home , '' Hudson said . She testified that she identified her relatives ' bodies for authorities . During cross-examination , the singer-actress returned to the subject of Balfour . `` Where he was , I tried not to be , '' Hudson said . In the afternoon , her sister , Julia Hudson , took the stand . She said Balfour threatened to kill her family after she told him she did n't want to be with him. `` 'If you leave me , you 'll be the last to die . I 'll kill your family first , ' `` she quoted him as saying . She also said Balfour was jealous of her son . Julia Hudson recounted arriving home the day of the slayings , finding a bullet hole in the door and running inside . `` I 'm saying , 'Mama , mama , mama , ' `` she said . `` She did n't answer . '' She testified that she ran screaming from the home after finding her mother lying in blood on the floor . When police asked her who could have done it , Julia Hudson said , she told them `` William . '' Eighteen people have been selected to serve on the jury in the murder trial : 10 women and eight men . The group includes six alternates . The trial comes more than three years after Hudson 's relatives were killed . Balfour is accused of fatally shooting Hudson 's mother and brother inside their Chicago home in October 2008 . The body of Hudson 's nephew , Julian King , was found three days later inside an abandoned vehicle . Balfour , Julian 's stepfather , has also been charged with one count of home invasion . Julia Hudson testified that her main goal after the slayings was finding her son . When she learned that he had been found dead , `` I hollered , and I screamed , '' she recounted Monday . The judge has said he expects the trial to last three to four weeks . Balfour was detained for questioning the day after the victims were found at the Chicago home . Authorities at the time said that they were holding Balfour for an unspecified parole violation , but he was indicted for murder two months later . He has pleaded not guilty to the charges , and his lawyer has said in court that there is no forensic evidence linking him to the killings . Prosecutors have portrayed Balfour as a jealous man who murdered three people in a rage at the thought that his wife had a boyfriend . 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 , Darnell Donerson . `` 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 remain varied since her relatives ' deaths . Her recent milestones include penning a memoir detailing her struggles with her weight , being cast to play 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 most recent Grammy Awards show in February . CNN 's Ted Rowlands and Katherine Wojtecki in Chicago and Alan Duke in Los Angeles contributed to this report .
Hudson 's sister , Chicago , testifies defendant threatened to kill her family . `` Where he was , I tried not to be , '' William Balfour says of Hudson . Balfour is accused of fatally shooting Jennifer Hudson 's mother , brother and nephew . Hudson , the estranged husband of Hudson 's sister , has denied the charges .