A file picture of US actress and singer Jennifer Hudson (right) with her mother Darnell Donnerson. (AP)

Chicago, Oct. 25 (Reuters): The mother and brother of Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson were found shot to death in the mother’s Chicago home today, according to published reports.

The Chicago Tribune website quoted a police source as saying the suspect in the double homicide was in custody, but a 7-year-old boy, possibly Hudson’s nephew, was still missing from the house on Chicago’s South Side, where the victims were found. Police did not confirm the report or the names of the victims.

The Tribune said the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office identified the victims as Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donnerson, 57, and her brother Jason Hudson, 29.

Police said neighbours reported hearing shots in the area during the morning, but the bodies were not found until mid-afternoon.

“A missing child was possibly abducted from the scene... and may be in the company of William Balfour, a suspect in the double homicide investigation,” police said, adding that the man was “considered armed and dangerous”.

The statement listed two vehicles Balfour may be driving. It did not say whether Balfour was related to the family. The Illinois Department of Corrections website lists Balfour, 27, as having been convicted of attempted murder.