Attorney husband of beautiful wife found 'pulverized' in luxury condo arrested - as her cause of death is revealed
Caitlin Tracey, 36, died from 'multiple injuries' and a 'fall from height,' according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office - though mystery still shrouds the case as the manner of death remains 'undetermined'.
Tracey's body was discovered in the stairwell of her husband's luxury South Loop condominium on October 27, 2024, and the medical examiner's office released it's findings this week after several months of investigations.
Her husband, Illinois attorney Adam Beckerink, was arrested months later on March 7, 2025, on a fugitive warrant out of Michigan.
However, according to Chicago Police and court records, the arrest is not directly related to his wife's tragic death. He was detained on unrelated domestic violence charges.
DailyMail.com previously revealed that Tracey's parents, retired real estate tycoon Andrew Tracey, 69, and college professor Dr. Monica Tracey, 65, accused Beckerink of wreaking a secret 'campaign and abuse of terror' against her in her final months.
Their claims came as they battled against him for custody of their daughter's remains.
Beckerink, a former partner of international law firm Duane Morris who had been married to Tracey for six months, argued that he had the rights to her body as the surviving spouse.
But on November 6, her family filed documents accusing him of wreaking a 'campaign of abuse and terror' against their daughter, including allegedly throwing a glass pickle jar at her head and pouring vodka on her wounds.
According to the Traceys, their daughter had been in a relationship with Beckerink from October 2022 until September 2023, but the couple never lived together or had children.
At some point after September, they got back together, and married in a private ceremony on April 8, 2024, which did not involve any of Tracey's relatives.
Amid the wrangling for control of her body, her parents accused Beckerink of 'manipulating' their daughter, of 'purposefully isolating her from her family' and being responsible for her 'tragic and highly suspicious death'.
To support their argument, the Michigan-based family presented a since-rescinded petition Tracey made to Cook County Court a year before she died in a desperate attempt to obtain a restraining order against her husband.
In her October 4, 2023 filing, Tracey detailed three examples of horrific attacks by the tax attorney.
Tracey said that on July 11, 2023, at around 3 pm, Beckerink stripped her naked and attacked her at her three-story home in New Buffalo on the banks of Lake Michigan, where her parents said she lived to be close to them and away from her partner.
Though they had a fraught relationship, Tracey split her time between Beckerink's flat and her home in New Buffalo, on the banks of Lake Michigan.
Neighbors in the Michigan town opened up about disturbing events which unfolded during her final months, while remembering their beloved friend.
Joyce Lantz and Bunny Coyner lived on Tracey's street, and they recalled how scared she was of Beckerink. 'She said, "I felt like he was going to kill me,"',' Lantz told Fox News.
Lantz also told the Chicago Tribune that Tracey's house, close to the lake, was 'like something that you'd see in a design magazine'.
'As another woman, you just want to cheer her on, because she's on her own, and built this amazing life,' Lantz said.
'It's just amazing to me how one person can come into your life and change the trajectory in such a major way. It's deeply sad, right? That she's not with us anymore.'
Coyner said she met Tracey in the fall of 2023, after Tracey offered to help with DIY around her house. She said Tracey told her, 'I know my way around a drill and some drywall.'
Coyner said Tracey invited her for a tour of her home, and mentioned she had taken a temporary restraining order out against an ex-boyfriend.
She even described his car and asked Coyner to let her know if she saw it on their street.
'She was a beautiful, intelligent young woman and had a wonderful life ahead of her,' Coyner told the Chicago Tribune.
'I think she was looking forward to maybe getting out of this and searching out a new life, and I wished only the best for her, and she just couldn't do it.'
Lantz said that earlier this year, something changed and Tracey seemed to abruptly disappear from their neighborhood.
She said she began sending 'cryptic' texts, and they witnessed police cars pull up to her home while she was inside on August 19.
Tracey fell down 24 flights of stairs in Beckerink's high rise (pictured) on the 1200 block of Prairie Street in South Loop, severing her foot during the descent
This matches with court records seen by DailyMail.com, which outline how Beckerink was charged with two counts of resisting and obstruction, interference with electronic communications and more counts of domestic violence against Tracey on that date.
Lantz and Coyner said when they saw Beckerink being taken away from the home in handcuffs that day, they text Tracey to ask if she wanted her to come over.
'She said yes, which surprised me, honestly, because you know, I felt like she was a pretty independent woman that just handled things on her own,' Lantz told the Chicago Tribune.
'And when I got down there, I walked up the steps to her home, to her front door, I went to hug her … she felt so small and tiny, and honestly, frail. Almost like a shell of what she used to be.'
'We told her she had to get out of it, this was the time to get out of it. You're better than this, you're a wonderful woman, you're beautiful,' Coyner added.
In the following days, Tracey told the women she wanted to 'start her life over again here in Michigan' and 'turn that corner', Lantz said.
'I thought she was getting to a point finally where she was going to get back on track, and that makes me feel incredibly sad,' Lantz added. 'I felt like she was hopeful.'
She also sent them a text days later - on August 29 - saying: 'Bunny and Joyce - Thank you for being fabulous neighbors. Your support (and space) has meant the world to me.
'I've been to court twice since you were last over and yesterday was tough but moving forward and have a great advocate in the prosecutor's office.
'Now it's time for me to rebuild and move forward with a calmer and healthier life and future relationships.'
The women remembered Tracey for her love of travel, dancing, fine wine, fashion, and hosting dinner parties.
Lantz also described her as 'such a shining star' who was fashionable, with an 'intelligence that's (also) a humor'.
Beckerink's lawyer Todd Pugh said he denies the domestic violence claims. 'There was no physical violence that Adam had directed towards CT,' he told the Chicago Tribune.
'There is no corroboration to any of her claims. There was a layer of emotional volatility to the relationship, but CT enjoyed an incredibly close relationship with Adam's parents and Adam.'
Beckerink's disheveled mugshot was unearthed by a DailyMail.com FOIA request in November, following from his arrest the day she was found dead.
Chicago PD officers initially charged the attorney with disorderly conduct and accused him of making a false report of an offense on October 28, but he was released without charge after questioning.
Beckerink appeared with stubble and his hair skewed to one side in the mugshot pictured in his police report.
Since Tracey's autopsy results are pending and the investigation into her death is ongoing, police declined to give any further information.
The report came after Tracey's parents won custody of her body from Beckerink amid an acrimonious court battle.
Beckerink hit back by filing an emergency motion to prevent them from proceeding with her funeral and give him the opportunity to challenge the decision.
However, a Cook County judge denied his motion, according to the Chicago Tribune, which allowed them to proceed with the Catholic burial they had planned for their daughter on November 23.
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