CHICAGO (CBS) — A Cook County domestic violence judge, already under fire for the release of a man who later allegedly murdered his wifehas now been removed from domestic violence cases due to threats against him.
Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans said Tuesday evening that Judge Thomas Nowinski “is not currently hearing domestic violence or protective order cases” because of “anonymous threats” against him.
This comes after a call for Judge Nowinski to be transferred following the stabbing that left Lacramioara Beldie, 54, dead. was stabbed to death Tuesday around 2:30 p.m. in the 5600 block of West Leland Avenue A week ago Tuesday, an off-duty Chicago police detective was shot while trying to stop the attack.
The victim’s husband, Constantin Beldie, 57, escaped but was later found dead in a vehicle a block away, having committed suicide.
It turns out that Lacramioara Beldie made numerous attempts to get help before the attack, and failed repeatedly to protect the woman and mother from her accused abuser.
But in October, Constantin was charged with aggravated domestic violence and attempted kidnapping after he allegedly approached her in an alley and beat her up and dragged her to his car, where she screamed until she escaped. According to court records, evidence in that case included a witness and surveillance video.
Prosecutors in that case asked Judge Thomas Nowinski to order Constantin into Cook County Jail while he awaited trial, but Nowinski denied that request and instead released him on electronic monitoring.
“The tragic death of Lacramioara Beldie is one that should not have occurred,” the chief judge’s office said.
Nowinski is the same judge who an emergency protection order denied in another high-profile case.
In March, 11-year-old Jayden Perkins was stabbed to death while trying to protect his mother, just weeks after she tried and failed to get a protective order against her accused abuser, Crosetti Brand, who is charged with Jayden’s murder.
Nowinski denied that protective order, noting that Brand was in jail at the time. However, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board granted Brand parole in February, allowing him to be released from prison a day before the attack. At that time, the board was unaware that Perkins’ mother had requested protection from Brand.
The chief judge’s office said a preliminary review of the Beldie case found Judge Nowinski was given incomplete information and made the best decisions based on the information he knew.
The chief judge’s office said it is working to determine if an employee failed to follow policies and procedures, and will provide additional training to all judges handling cases involving domestic violence and protective orders.
Work is also underway to strengthen protocols and processes for electronic monitoring — which the chief judge’s office said is most effective when victims of domestic violence can participate in the monitoring using software on their phones.
However, the chief judge’s office wrote regarding calls for Judge Nowinski’s reinstatement: “Every day, Cook County judges work to protect the community from violent offenders while respecting the constitutional rights of defendants. This involves making difficult decisions with the Although the superior courts have the authority to review those decisions, judicial transfers and assignments between divisions are never the result of a judge’s independent decision-making.”
