Neighbor: Hudson's Family Had "Domestic Issues," Other Victim Was Actress' Brother

Neighbor of Jennifer Hudson's mother tells E! News that actress' sister was having marital troubles

UPDATE: Jennifer Hudson's publicist, Lisa Kasteler, has issued this statement:

"We can confirm that there is an ongoing investigation concerning the deaths of Jennifer Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, and her brother, Jason Hudson. No further comment will be made and the family has asked that their privacy be respected at this difficult time."
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Hours after Jennifer Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, and an as-yet unidentified male were found shot to death in Donerson's Chicago home and a 7-year-old boy went missing, a next-door neighbor tells E! News that she heard gunshots Friday morning and believes that the killings are related to an ongoing domestic dispute.

Angela Russell, who lives next door to Donerson on Yale Avenue in the South Side neighborhood of Englewood, says that she thinks that Hudson's sister Julia was having domestic troubles with her husband, whom she had talked about divorcing.

Russell also says that Donerson's son stays with her, "and that is the other person that they found."

Hudson's older brother Jason has been identified in some reports as the male victim, but neither the police nor the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office has confirmed the victims' identifies.

"It has been pretty rough for a while," says Russell. "We do know that Ms. Hudson's oldest daughter was having trouble with her husband. We do know that there were some domestic issues going on and we believe that is what this all about. "

Chicago Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said the deaths appeared to be the result of domestic abuse, but she declined to elaborate.

Russell says that Donerson, who she referred to as Ms. Hudson, babysat everyday for Julia's son Julian King, who has been reported missing.

"She babysat for him everyday when her daughter was at work," says Russell. "[Julia] was here daily."

Russell says that Donerson never expressed any interest in leaving the neighborhood. And contrary to crime statistics, Russell says the community is relatively safe. In fact, Hudson lived with her mother in this house up until recently, she says.

"She has lived her for about 15 years," Russell tells E! "She has a big house and knows everyone in the neighborhood and nothing like this has ever happened on this block. We have gotten pretty comfortable here. Considering the neighborhood, this is a pretty decent block."

While Hudson moved out, her mom decided to stay in the area she called home.

"Jennifer moved out, but her mom chose to stay here," Russell says. "Jennifer would always come and visit when she was in town. She wasn't a stranger to us. "

Russell says that Donerson was a very nice person who was well-liked by everyone in the neighborhood.

"Even though her daughter was a superstar she never let it get to her," she says. "She was still very friendly with everyone in the neighborhood. The neighborhood kids used to visit her often just to help her out around the house.  A lot of the kids used to go over there just to play with Jennifer, Julia and Jason—that is something that they still do on a regular basis. It wasn't unusual for the kids to go over and play with the baby everyday."

Russell says her nieces and nephews saw Donerson recently and she seemed fine, but she had mentioned that there were personal things going on. 

Russell says that she is now trapped in the house because of the police outside and the neighbors are waiting for Hudson or her sister Julia to tell them about the funeral arrangements.

"We know the Amber Alert is out and the police just held a police conference," Russell says. "We are still waiting for Jennifer to get here. We know that Julia is still with the police at the station."

(Originally published Oct. 24, 2008 at 5:59 p.m. PT)