Woman killed in Jefferson Park by knife-wielding husband; off-duty CPD officer recovering

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The woman killed in a stabbing attack on Chicago's Northwest Side Tuesday afternoon and the suspect in the case have been identified.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office identified the woman killed in Jefferson Park as Lacramioara Beldie, 54, of Chicago.

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The medical examiner's office said she suffered multiple sharp force injuries. Her death is considered a homicide.

The suspect who was found dead was identified as Constantin Beldie, 57, also of Chicago.

Court documents detail a tragic story of a woman fearing for her life, trying to remove herself from what she described as a dangerous relationship with her husband.

Her accused attacker was in court just on Monday for charges of strangling and beating her, before he allegedly took her life a day later.

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Neighbors said surveillance video shows a man appeared to have waited for her, as she walked by on the sidewalk, and that's when he attacked.

What some are calling a resounding failure of the justice system came to a deadly conclusion Tuesday on a residential block in the Jefferson Park neighborhood. An off-duty Chicago police officer tried to save the life of Lacramioara Beldie, as she was allegedly attacked by her knife-wielding husband.

"Initially, I heard screams, a woman scream, that followed with gunshots," witness Thomas Desenfants said. "Immediately, your heart sinks. You know something terrible has happened."

The incident took place in the 5600-block of West Leland Avenue, just after 2:20 p.m.

The officer was grazed by a bullet in the process, according to CPD, but was unable to save Lacramioara Beldie's life.

"I saw the suspect drive away. The off-duty officer kind of collapsed with his leg injury, and didn't notice the woman on the sidewalk until after the police had showed up," Desenfants said.

Court documents tell the story of a woman who for months was working to keep her husband away from her, seeking not one but two orders of protection against Constantin Beldie just this year. The latest was last month, after he was charged with beating her, strangling her and holding her against her will.

Prosecutors told the court Constantin Beldie was a flight risk and a real and present threat to the community, and should be held. Instead, he was released on electronic monitoring.

"I think it goes back to being a broken justice system to allow this suspect to be out, and, if everything worked as it should, there would be two additional people alive today," Desenfants said.

Constantin Beldie was found dead in a vehicle a block away from where his wife was killed.

The off-duty detective is recovering.

The Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability responded to the incident, and the Investigative Response Team was also on the scene investigating.

The officer involved will be placed on routine administrative duties for a minimum period of 30 days.

Anyone with information is asked to call COPA at 312-746-7608 or visit www.chicagocopa.org.

You can contact the Illinois domestic violence hotline at 1-877-863-6338 click here for more information.