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Background: News footage of the condominium in Chicago, Ill. where Caitlin Tracey was found dead (WFLD). Inset (left): Adam Beckerink (Cook County Sheriff’s Office). Inset (right): Caitlin Tracey (provided by family).
A man whose wife was found dead in their Chicago, Illinois, condo has been arrested on an out-of-state warrant related to domestic violence charges.
Adam Beckerink, 46, was arrested by Cook County police on a warrant from Michigan, where he used to live with his late wife, Caitlin Tracey, 36. Tracey was found in October 2024 dead at the bottom of a stairwell in the building in Chicago where the couple lived at the time, but no cause of death was given. But court records obtained by WBBM, a local CBS affiliate, revealed a long history of domestic violence, allegedly at the hands of Beckerink, while the couple still lived in Michigan.
Beckerink was not charged in the death of his wife after her body was found “pulverized” after sustaining a fall from 24 floors up, according to attorneys representing his wife’s family, and missing a foot, according to police reports obtained by local Fox affiliate, WFLD. The warrant from Michigan, however, is related to Beckerink’s failure to report to court on an aggravated assault charge. WFLD reported that court documents related to that case include police witnessing in January 2024 that “Tracey had cuts on her lips and other red markings.” In the report, Tracey had also claimed that her husband had allegedly “assaulted her and stolen some of her items.”
Police had returned to the couple’s home in August 2024. Beckerink was scheduled to appear in court in Michigan on Oct. 29, 2024, in connection with the assault charge, but days prior to that court date, he was being held in Chicago for questioning related to Tracey’s death. The arrest warrant for failing to appear for the Oct. 29 aggravated assault hearing was dated Oct. 31, 2024.
Beckerink was taken into custody on Friday by Cook County police on a fugitive warrant out of Michigan.
At the time of Tracey’s death, the couple had only been married six months, but court records from their former home county in Michigan revealed a tumultuous history between the two spouses. According to WBBM, Tracey had filed an order of protection against Beckerink in October 2023 after accusing him of four instances of domestic abuse. She ultimately withdrew her request after Beckerink threatened to sue her for defamation and libel.
WFLD reported that Beckerink currently faces a total of six felony charges and two misdemeanors out of Berrien County, Michigan, including domestic violence and resisting arrest. He is expected to be extradited to Michigan to face those charges and remains in custody in Cook County Jail on no bond.
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