Cook County judge removed from domestic violence cases due to threats against him
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Cook County domestic violence judge, already under fire for releasing a man who later allegedly killed his wife, has now been removed from cases involving domestic violence due to threats directed at him.
The Office of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans said Tuesday evening that Judge Thomas Nowinski "is not currently hearing cases involving domestic violence or orders of protection" due to "anonymous threats" against him.
This comes after a call for Judge Nowinski to be reassigned after the stabbing that killed Lacramioara Beldie, 54. Beldie was stabbed to death around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 5600 block of West Leland Avenue a week ago Tuesday, and 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 inside a vehicle a block away, after taking his own life.
It turns out there were numerous attempts by Lacramioara Beldie to get help before the attack, and repeated failures to protect the wife and mother from her accused abuser.
But in October, Constantin was charged with aggravated domestic battery and attempted kidnapping, after he allegedly approached her in alleyway and beat 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 held in Cook County Jail while he awaited trial, but Nowinski denied that motion, and instead released him on electronic monitoring.
"Lacramioara Beldie's tragic death is one that should not have occurred," the Chief Judge's office said.
Nowinski is the same judge who denied an emergency protective order in another high-profile case.
Back in March, 11-year-old Jayden Perkins was stabbed to death trying to protect his mom, just weeks after she tried and failed to get an order of protection against her accused abuser, Crosetti Brand, who is charged in Jayden's murder.
Nowinski denied that protection order, noting Brand was in prison 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 the time, the board was not aware that Perkins' mother had been seeking an order of protection against Brand.
The Chief Judge's office said a preliminary examination of the Beldie case indicated that Judge Nowinski was given incomplete information—and made the best decisions with the information he knew.
The Chief Judge's office said it is working to determine whether any employee failed to follow policies and procedures, and will provide additional training to all judges who hear cases on domestic violence and orders of protection.
Work is also under way to strengthen the protocols and processes for electronic monitoring—which the Chief Judge's office said is most effective when domestic violence victims can take part in the monitoring with software on their phones.
However, the Chief Judge's office wrote with regard to calls for a reassignment for Judge Nowinski: "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."
