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Judge rules for parents of murdered Michigan woman; Husband faces charges

Harry November 16, 2024

A Cook County judge ruled Friday that the parents of a Michigan woman can seize her body after she fell 20 stories in a downtown Chicago stairwell last month.

The parents of 36-year-old Caitlin Tracey had been fighting for their daughter’s remains with her husband of six months. According to her parents’ petition for custody of her body, Tracey had accused her husband, Adam Beckerink, of domestic abuse multiple times before her death.

Cook County Judge Eve Reilly lifted the temporary restraining order on the remains Friday. Andrew and Monica Tracey will now be able to collect their daughter’s remains from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office and arrange funeral and burial services, according to the parents’ public relations firm.

A judge in Michigan ruled in favor of the parents on Tuesday. Because Tracey resided in New Buffalo in Berrien County at the time of her death, the Michigan court has jurisdiction.

The husband’s attorney, Telly Stefaneas, told the Chicago court that the Michigan case could be appealed if Beckerick could find a local attorney, the Chicago Sun Times reported.

“Today’s hearing was an important step for Caitlin’s family, and we are grateful to the courts in both Michigan and Chicago for their firm and swift decisions,” said Tracey family attorney Andrew Cunniff. “Finally, Tracey family, Close this chapter and focus on mourning the loss of Caitlin and celebrating her extraordinary life.”

Tracey grew up in Farmington Hills, according to the parents’ public relations firm. He graduated from Michigan State University as well as Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Grammar School and Mercy High School, both in Farmington Hills.

In her petition, her family claimed that Tracey’s body was found “just below” Beckerink’s South Loop apartment after Tracey reported her missing with Chicago police the day before. Chicago police said Beckerink lied when they filed a missing persons report for him. Chicago Sun Times.

According to the police report, his body was found at the bottom of the stairwell around 7:20 pm on October 27. A resident of the building found a severed foot near the railing in the east stairwell and reported it to the building manager. While Chicago police were investigating the area, the manager spotted Tracey’s body at the bottom of the stairwell.

The cause and manner of her death remain undetermined as the Chicago Police Department continues to investigate, according to the parents’ public relations firm.

Tracey’s parents say Beckerink “manipulated Caitlin and deliberately isolated her from her family so he could continue his campaign of harassment and terror undetected,” and that Tracey told them in September 2023 that Beckerink had held her hostage, according to a court filing. he said and physically brutalized her to the point that she required medical attention.

Tracey filed an emergency protective order against Beckerink in Cook County in October 2023, citing multiple instances of alleged harassment, according to the family’s public relations firm. His parents later annulled this decision, claiming in court filings that this was because Beckerink had threatened to sue him for “libel and slander”.

“Caitlin was an incredible young woman who was taken too soon,” Cunniff said. “We hope her story will shed light on the tragedy of domestic violence that is too often hidden.”

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