More than two dozen people filled a Chicago courtroom Tuesday, listening to testimony in the case of the murdered relatives of Grammy-winning singer Jennifer Hudson.

Hudson was seated beside her fiance as witnesses recalled the harrowing events of a rainy day in October 2008, when the singer's mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, and her brother Jason Hudson, 29, were shot dead. The body of Hudson's 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, was found three days later in an abandoned vehicle.

Her former brother-in-law, William Balfour, is charged with their murders. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Sgt. Richard Dowling, the first police officer to arrive at the murder scene, said he found Hudson's mother lying face down with a gunshot wound to her back. Dowling next found her brother on a bed, he testified, though he recalled that he had difficulty identifying the man because he had been wrapped in blankets.

Police searched the home for Julian, issuing an Amber Alert when their initial sweep failed.

Police officer Jennifer Bryk testified that she was next to Hudson's sister, Julia, who at the time was separated from Balfour, when he called her after the attack.

Bryk instructed the woman "to act normal" in her conversation to help authorities locate Balfour.

Later Tuesday, an acquaintance of Balfour's, Abdullah Smith, 37, testified that the defendant had confided in him, telling him that he was having marital problems.

Balfour showed him a text message from Julia Hudson, he said, that told him she didn't love him anymore.

Smith also recalled how Balfour once told him that he wished he could beat up Jason Hudson but never heard of him threatening his wife, Donerson or Julian.

Several gruesome crime scene photos were entered into evidence on Tuesday, the second day of testimony. They showed the bodies of Hudson's mother and brother.

Court is expected to resume at 10:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. ET) on Wednesday.

On Monday, Hudson -- the prosecution's first witness -- broke down in tears several times on the stand as she recalled her relatives' murders.

"None of us wanted her to marry him," she said of her sister's decision to marry Balfour. "We did not like how he treated her."

Through tears, she talked about the last time she saw her family together and the day she found out about the deaths.

"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, who was dressed in black, 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 didn't want to be with him.