After a man who was accused of attempting to kidnap his estranged wife apparently murdered her and then was found dead himself in Chicago this week, domestic violence survivor advocates are calling for change.
Lacramioara Beldie, a 54-year-old woman, tried for months to get protection from her estranged husband, 57-year-old Constantin Beldie, according to Cook County Domestic Violence Court records obtained by CBS News Chicago Investigators. In January, Lacramioara obtained an emergency order of protection she accused him of harassment, physical abuse, stalking and threatening to kill her.
“You know how easy it is to kill someone?” Lacramioara Beldie recalled her husband asking. Although the order of protection was dropped in March, Constantin was arrested for allegedly choking and attempting to kidnap his wife.
Constantin pleaded not guilty to the charges this Monday, and Judge Thomas E. Nowinski ordered him to stay away from Lacramioara and allowed him to be have GPS monitoring rather than stay in prison. Lacramioara’s struggle for protection ended in tragedy the following day, when Constantin stabbed her to death at around 2:30 p.m. in the Portage Park neighborhood, per the Chicago Sun-Times.
An off-duty detective intervened, suffering a graze wound to the leg from Constantin in the process. Later, authorities found Constantin dead in a car nearby. According to the Sun-Times, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office hadn’t ruled on his cause of death as of Tuesday.
This violent series of events has left people wondering why more wasn’t done. In particular, advocates have criticized Nowinski for not holding Constantin in custody.
Per the Sun-Times report, records from when he was arrested in October did not show that he had been the subject of a protective order. Records indicated he was a “Medium-Low Risk” for committing future domestic violence.
“According to the transcript, Nowinski declined to order him detained after ruling that prosecutors hadn’t met their burden to prove he had a high likelihood of fleeing or offered evidence that he had a history of domestic violence,” said the Sun-Times. “Nowinski also raised concerns about preparation for the hearing as the defense and prosecution sparred over evidence.”
Amanda Pyron, president of the Network Advocating Against Domestic Violence, said that a lack of information going into Nowinski’s decision was lethal for Lacramioara. She urged Cook County officials to review their domestic violence screening process.
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, even pushed for Nowinski to resign, said the Sun-Times. Previously, the judge denied an emergency order of protection for the mother of 11-year-old Jayden Perkins from her accused abuser, Crossetti Brand, who has now been charged in the child’s murder.