Background: News footage of Adam Beckerink in court in June (WLS). Inset: Caitlin Tracey (Michalik Funeral Home).

Adam Beckerink, aged 47, entered a no-contest plea to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge in Michigan’s Berrien County, resulting in a sentence of 93 days in jail and two years of probation. This legal outcome emerged nearly a year after the tragic death of Beckerink’s wife, Caitlin Tracey, who was 36 at the time. She was found dead at the base of a 24-story stairwell in their high-rise Chicago condo.

New developments unfolded on Monday, as court documents revealed Beckerink is now charged with first-degree murder in connection to Tracey’s death. The charge was filed in Cook County, marking a significant turn in the case.

According to local ABC affiliate WLS, a criminal complaint and arrest warrant for first-degree murder were officially filed and endorsed by a judge in Cook County. Authorities now assert that Beckerink was involved in Tracey’s death in October 2024. At the time of her discovery, Tracey’s body was described as “pulverized,” with her foot severed. Despite an established history of domestic violence between the couple, Beckerink had not been charged with her death until now, although he had been a suspect.

Local ABC affiliate WLS reported on Monday that a criminal complaint and an arrest warrant against Beckerink on a charge of first-degree murder were filed in a Cook County court and signed by a judge. Police now allege that Beckerink was responsible for Tracey’s death in October 2024, when her body was found “pulverized” and her foot severed. Despite a documented history of domestic violence between Beckerink and Tracey, he had not been charged with her death and had previously only been identified as a suspect.

WLS reported that Tracey’s mother called Beckerink a “monster” during his sentencing hearing last week. Dr. Monica Tracey told the judge in that case, “No matter how much we tried to save her, she was caught in a cycle of control,” adding, “It isn’t just her death that haunts us. It’s the slow-moving destruction of her life.”

The Tracey family released a statement following the filing of the murder charge in Cook County that read in part, “We dearly miss Caitlin as do her friends. Our family hopes that during the murder case against Adam Beckerink, that the truth about the last months of Caitlin’s life and the events leading to her tragic death are revealed, so our wonderful daughter can finally be laid to rest.”

Beckerink is currently in jail, serving his sentence for domestic violence in Michigan’s Berrien County.