MICHAEL TARM
Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) - Jurors have started deliberating in the trial of a man accused of killing Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.

The jury took William Balfour's case Wednesday afternoon after a day filled with closing arguments. Balfour has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in the October 2008 slayings.

His defense attorneys told jurors prosecutors failed to make their case. Prosecutors countered that they had "a tsunami of evidence" linking him to the crime.

If convicted on all counts, Balfour faces a mandatory life prison term.

Actress and singer Jennifer Hudson has sat through much of the trial, closing her eyes or hanging her head during particularly grim testimony. She took the stand last month as prosecutors' first witness.

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Associated Press