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CHICAGO (CBS) ― Chicago Police have located Wednesday afternoon what they believe was the gun used in the murders of Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and nephew, reports CBS station WBBM-TV in Chicago.

Police discovered the weapon in an abandoned West Side lot not far from where the body of Julian King was discovered in a white SUV on Monday. Investigators were seen placing the weapon into a cardboard box and taking it into a waiting vehicle.

Police say it appears that more than one person killed actress Jennifer Hudson's nephew, mother and brother, and damaging information continues to emerge about William Balfour, the man at the center of the investigation into the crimes.

As WBBM reports, Balfour, 27, has not been charged in the murders. He is being held in a state correctional facility for violating the terms of his parole.

Police say they are looking for another person of interest in the case, and they know who they are seeking.

Meanwhile, records indicate that Balfour could have been imprisoned for a parole violation after an arrest in June, but he wasn't.

Jennifer Hudson's brother, Jason Hudson, 29; her mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, were found shot to death in the family home in the 7000 block of South Yale Avenue on Friday. The body of Hudson's nephew, Julian King, 7, was found in a sport-utility vehicle parked near 13th Street and Kolin Avenue on Monday, and an autopsy determined that he died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Citing internal records, The Associated Press reported that Balfour told his parole officer by telephone that he was babysitting last Friday, and the officer heard a child's voice in the background.

By midnight that night, investigators involved in a frantic search for Julian had contacted parole officials and requested emergency addresses, visitor lists, telephone numbers and "anything further" connected to William Balfour, according to documents obtained Tuesday by The AP.

The arrest that could have sent Balfour back to prison came on June 19. A police report indicates that after hearing gunshots about 11:09 p.m. that night, officers saw Balfour's car moving at a high rate of speed, pulled it over, and found a rock of cocaine in plain view on the driver's seat. It had a street value of about $100.

Corrections Department spokesman Derek Schnapp said officials who reviewed the cocaine-possession case against Balfour determined "the evidence that was presented during that time wouldn't have necessarily warranted a violation."

A judge dismissed the charge for lack of probable cause in July, but under the strict rules of the state's parole program, Balfour could have gone back to prison just for the arrest.

Balfour's parole was from a seven-year sentence for a 1999 attempted murder and vehicular hijacking conviction. Former WBBM interviewed the victim of that carjacking, Charles Gardner, in 1998.

Police said Gardner caught Balfour trying to steal his Chevrolet Suburban. The circuit court file on the case describes Charles Gardner "hanging on top" of the truck while the driver was running through fences, driving down sidewalks - even heading out onto the Dan Ryan expressway.

"It was going up and down the alleys on the speed bumps trying to jump, you know, make the truck jump up to pop me off of the truck," Gardner told Hines.

Balfour was released from prison on that conviction in May 2006.

Neighbors said after being paroled from prison, Balfour had ongoing disputes with his estranged wife, Julia Hudson, who was Jennifer Hudson's sister and Julian's mother.

In Balfour's case, the parole violation stemming from his arrest in June could have sent him back behind bars for a period as long as the remainder of his parole -- until May 2009 -- minus a day off for each day of good behavior. That would have meant a release date in mid-December at the earliest.

Balfour's parole history also shows that a woman at Balfour's home refused to open the door during an agent's visit on Aug. 27. The woman told the agent during the 8:30 a.m. visit that Balfour was at work but Balfour's boss told the agent he wasn't due until noon.

Parolees must agree to allow agents to visit their homes and consent to searches. There's no warrant mentioned in following days on the report, which does note, however, that Balfour passed a drug test.

Schnapp said the evidence again wasn't sufficient to warrant revoking parole.

Peters said Corrections officials could have used the second incident to bolster the case for revoking parole, but Balfour had a fairly clean record before that and apparently still had a job, factors that Corrections would consider. Overcrowding in the Cook County Jail and the state's prisons often determine whether parole is revoked, Peters said.

Being named a person of interest in a criminal case does not violate parole either, officials said.

"Being a person of interest is not violation of parole, we would not determine that to be a reason to actually bring someone back and violate his parole," said parole board chairman Jorge Montes.

Montes emphasized that whether a parole violation has been committed is at the discretion of the parole board.

"People should be hesitant to draw conclusions until the board makes any determination that he is guilty of a parole violation," Montes said. "That in no way means he's guilty of the crime he's suspected of."

On her MySpace page, Julia Hudson wrote: "Because I chose to do what is natural to me and love someone, it cost me my beautiful family, my wonderful beautiful mother Darnell, my baby brother Jason, and my only son Julian."

On Tuesday night, Julian's father came to the house, but declined to comment. While neighbors lit candles and sang mournful songs, members of the Hudson family came to the house and retrieved their belongings. They had a police escort and did not comment.

A hearing on Balfour's parole violation case is scheduled for Nov. 10.

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