Update

Lawyer: William Balfour Innocent of Jennifer Hudson Family Murders

By Jeff Truesdell and Mike Fleeman

UPDATED 12/02/2008 at 05:20 PM EST • Originally published 12/02/2008 at 02:45 PM EST

Jennifer Hudson's estranged brother-in-law William Balfour, who was arrested this week in the October murders of her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew, "did not commit these crimes," the man's lawyer tells PEOPLE.

"The delay between the crimes and his actual arrest show weaknesses in the case," attorney Joshua Kutnick says. "This case is not a strong case against William. He is a convenient suspect."

Balfour was formally charged Tuesday with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of home invasion, says Cook County Attorney's Office spokesman Andy Conklin. Balfour is scheduled to appear Wednesday at a bond hearing.

He was transferred Monday from an Illinois state prison – where he has been held on suspicion of a parole violation – back into Chicago police custody.

Balfour, 27, who is separated from Hudson's sister, Julia, was arrested in the first-degree murders of Hudson's mother Darnell Donerson, 57, brother Jason Hudson, 29, and his own stepson, Julian King, 7.