Jennifer Hudson took the witness stand on Monday at the trial of William Balgour in the killings of her mother, brother and nephew in 2008.

The Grammy and Academy Award winning singer and actress reportedly cried as she spoke about her family and recounted how she had warned her sister, Julia, about Balfour.

"None of us wanted her to marry William," Hudson said of her sister's marriage to the defendant."We did not like how he treated her," the singer testified, according to ABC News.

Hudson began to cry softly as she spoke about her family, especially her nephew Julian,7, the Chicago Tribune reports.

But celebrities' site TMZ.com reports that Hudson broke down when prosecutor Veryl Gambino asked her about the last time she saw her family and when he handed her a photo of her mom.

Balfour who married Hudson's sister Julia, is accused of the killings of Darnell Donerson, brother Jason Hudson and nephew Julian King in October 24, 2008.

Balfour killed them out of anger that Julia was dating another man, according to Gambino.

The trial started today and is expected to last a month.

Tags: Jennifer Hudson