http://celebrity.myspace.comUPDATE: On Sunday night, Jennifer Hudson and her family released a statement offering a $100,000 reward for the safe return of her missing 7-year-old nephew, Julian King.
"Jennifer and her family appreciate the enormous amount of love, support and prayers they have received while she and her family try to cope with this tragedy and continue the search for Julian," said the statement released by her publicist. The family asked that inquiries be directed to the Chicago Police Department, Area 1 Detective Division.
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The heartbreaking news coming out of Chicago continues as the Cook County medical examiner's office confirmed today to E! News that it was Jennifer Hudson who identified the bodies of her mother and brother, who died of multiple gunshot wounds on Friday.
Hudson herself has spoken out for the first time since the double homicide. On behalf of her family, the Oscar winner took to her MySpace blog to ask the public for help in finding her missing 7-year-old nephew, Julian King.
"Thank you all for your prayers and your calls. Please keep praying for our family and that we get Julian King back home safely. If anyone has any information about his whereabouts, please contact the authorities immediately. Here is a picture of Julian and what he was last seen wearing. Once again, thank you all for being there for us through this tough time."
Hudson, the onetime American Idol hopeful, also heard from Paula Abdul. The AI judge's spokesman, Jeff Ballard, told E! News, "Paula has reached out, personally, to Jennifer Hudson, to extend her condolences."
(Originally published Oct. 26, 2008, at 8:30 a.m. PT.)