Cook Co. chief judge working to change how domestic violence cases handled after deadly NW Side case

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The Cook County judge who released a suspect from custody who later allegedly killed his wife is not currently hearing cases involving domestic violence or orders of protection, according to a statement from the chief judge's office Tuesday.

In October, Judge Thomas Nowinski allowed Constantin Beldie to be released on electronic monitoring, despite a request from prosecutors that he remain in prison because they deemed him a risk to the community.

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Last Tuesday, Lacramioara Beldie was stabbed to death.

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 for charges of strangling and beating her, before he allegedly took her life a day later.

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.

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

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

An off-duty Chicago police detective was also wounded in the fatal stabbing attack in Jefferson Park.

Some want the judge to step down.

In a statement Tuesday, Chief Judge Timothy Evans said, "Lacramioara Beldie's tragic death is one that should not have occurred. Early findings in our preliminary examination of this case indicate the court was provided incomplete information about the case, and made the best decisions it could with the information provided to the court at that time. This unfortunate situation has revealed gaps in policies and procedures that the Office of the Chief Judge is addressing to assure no other victim of domestic violence meets this fate."

Evans said his office is investigating whether any employee failed to follow policies and procedures in the case, and additional training will be provided to all judges who hear domestic violence cases and petitions for orders of protection.

He said his staff is also working to strengthen the electronic monitoring processes and protocols.

"Every day, Cook County judges work to protect the community from violent offenders while also respecting the constitutional rights of the accused. This involves making difficult decisions with the best information they have. While the higher courts have authority to review those decisions, interdivisional judicial transfers and assignments are never a result of a judge's independent decision-making," the statement said.

Nowinski has received anonymous threats since the incident, Evans said.

Thousands of residents come through Cook County's domestic violence court each year, seeking protection from abusers.