Estate of murder defendant Anthony Prate sued by daughter of girlfriend who was killed
The daughter of a woman stabbed to death in her Schaumburg apartment has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the estate of Anthony Prate, who was accused of the stabbing but who died of COVID-19 while awaiting trial.
Dominika Daniel, 28, of Itasca is named as the independent administrator of the estate of Malgorzata "Margaret" Daniel, 48. Authorities say Prate fatally stabbed Daniel nearly 30 times after a dinner party on Nov. 23, 2019.
The lawsuit, filed late last month, seeks damages "in excess of $75,000," Teresa A. Minnich, an attorney from Robbins DiMonte, wrote in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that "Prate intentionally stabbed (Daniel) with intent to injure or kill, and/or with knowledge that stabbing was likely to kill (Daniel)."
Prate, 57, of Algonquin, was charged with first-degree murder in Cook County. He was out of jail on a $300,000 cash bail, living with his mother on an ankle monitor in Tinley Park, when he contracted COVID-19.
Prate, who worked as an eye doctor in Lake Zurich and Barrington, died Dec. 17 at Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital.
Daniel's killing in 2019 reignited an interest in the 2011 death of Prate's wife, Bridget Prate, who was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital after a car crash in Lake in the Hills. Anthony Prate, who was driving the vehicle, emerged from the crash with minor injuries.
After conflicting autopsies and a lengthy investigation, no one was charged in connection with Bridget Prate's death.
In the lawsuit, set for a hearing April 7 in the Daley Center in Chicago, Daniel and her sister Patrycja "Tricia" Daniel, 29, are listed as their mother's only heirs who have suffered "personal and pecuniary loss."
They suffered "loss of money, benefits, goods, services, companionship, society, and emotional support ... grief, sorrow, and mental anguish" as a result of their mother's death, the lawsuit says.
Retired attorney Henry Sugden of Woodstock, who is not connected to the case, said this is a standard wrongful death lawsuit requiring proof Prate is responsible for Daniel's death and then determining "what is that life worth."
Attorneys could add another count of pain and suffering for any pain Daniel may have felt, he said.
At a hearing last week in Rolling Meadows, where Prate would have been tried for Daniel's murder, Judge Samuel Betar III was informed Daniel's daughter filed a wrongful-death lawsuit. He also acknowledged receiving a copy of a motion requesting he not release the $300,000 in bail money to Prate's family.
A date for March 16 was set so the judge could ensure the "appropriate procedure" was being followed.