As Chicago police continue to investigate the death of a woman found last year in the stairwell of a South Loop high-rise, a judge on Monday ordered her estranged husband to be sent to Michigan, where a bench warrant was issued in connection with pre-existing domestic violence charges he faces there.
On Oct. 27, Caitlin Tracey, 36, of New Buffalo, Michigan, was found dead at the bottom of a stairwell in a luxury building where her husband, Adam Beckerink, lives. The death spawned legal battles between Beckerink and Tracey’s parents, who have said that Beckerink physically and emotionally abused Tracey throughout their relationship.
Though the case remains under investigation, Beckerink, a Chicago attorney, has not been charged in Tracey’s death. Records from the Cook County medical examiner’s office show that as of Monday, investigators had not finalized Tracey’s cause and manner of death.
But during a testy hearing in court Monday, Assistant State’s Attorney Danny Hanichak referred to Beckerink as a “suspect” in his wife’s death, referencing the ongoing investigation. Beckerink was charged last year in Berrien County, Michigan, with battering Tracey, who also previously obtained an order of protection against her husband. The warrant came with a request for no bail.
Beckerink’s attorney, though, contested the validity of the bench warrant, arguing that Beckerink is not a fugitive and has complied with all the conditions set forth in the Michigan case.
“He is the absolute opposite of a fugitive from justice. He was found at home,” his attorney, Jonathan Brayman, argued during the proceedings at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
In response, Hanichak argued that if there was a problem with the warrant, it would need to be addressed in Michigan.
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Judge Antara Nath Rivera found cause for the warrant, and Beckerink agreed to be extradited.
Last year, Tracey’s parents successfully won custody of her remains after arguing in court that Beckerink, who was married to their daughter for six months, had a history of abusing her.
He had filed a motion last year to temporarily prevent Tracey’s parents from proceeding with her funeral. He argued in an affidavit that he would be “irreparably harmed and deprived of the ability to direct the disposition of his wife’s remains for which he is entitled to and has priority under both Illinois and Michigan law.”
According to a police report, Tracey was found dead at the bottom of the stairwell of the building at approximately 7:20 p.m. A resident of the building had found a severed foot near a railing in the east stairwell and reported it to a building manager, the report said. While responding officers searched the area, the manager spotted Tracey’s body at the bottom of the stairwell.