Former Chicago attorney charged with murder after estranged wife plunged 24 stories to her death

COOK COUNTY, Ill. (TCN) -- A man has been charged with first-degree murder a year after his estranged wife plummeted 24 stories to her death in his high-rise apartment building’s stairwell.

Police were called to the Chicago condominium of Adam Beckerink, 47, on Oct. 27, 2024, after a resident found a severed foot near a stairway railing. Officers then discovered the body of Caitlin Tracey, 36, at the bottom of the stairwell. 

An autopsy confirmed her injuries were consistent with a fall from that height. Authorities allege that Beckerink killed Tracey on Oct. 25, 2024, by “throwing her over the railing of the 24th floor” of the building. 

Beckerink, a former tax attorney and partner at Duane Morris LLP, was fired following Tracey’s death. According the Daily Mail’s reporting, he might have struggled with substance abuse during the couple’s relationship.

Beckerink and Tracey began dating in October 2022. Tracey’s family described Beckerink as an abusive and controlling “monster” and told the Chicago Sun-Times that their daughter lived in “constant fear.”

Tracey obtained an order of protection in November 2023 after multiple alleged domestic battery incidents. When Beckerink reportedly threatened to sue for defamation, she dropped the order, CBS News reports.

The couple reunited and got married on April 8, 2024. None of her relatives attended the wedding, according to the Daily Mail. Months later, Tracey reportedly tried to leave Beckerink by moving to New Buffalo, Michigan, to be closer to her parents.

On Oct. 25, 2024 —the day before Tracey’s body was found in the stairwell — Beckerink filed a missing person report, claiming he had not seen her in a month, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Surveillance footage later revealed that they had been together just days before she died, the outlet also reported.

Beckerink also attempted to block Tracey’s family from holding her funeral, claiming legal priority over her remains, according to CBS.

According to CBS News, Beckerink was sentenced to 93 days in jail in Michigan on Oct. 20 after pleading no contest to domestic violence charges stemming from two incidents at Tracey’s Michigan residence and one count of contempt for violating his bond.

He remains in custody at Berrien County Jail in Michigan and is being held on a $2 million bond for the out-of-state arrest warrant on the murder charge, WLS reports.

He has not yet entered a plea in the murder case. 

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