Case at a Glance
| Person | Caitlin Tracey, 36 |
|---|---|
| Discovery date | October 27, 2024 |
| Location | South Loop high-rise, 1200 block of South Prairie Avenue, Chicago, Illinois |
| Case status | Adam Beckerink has pleaded not guilty; the murder case remains pending. |
| Latest reported development | A dispute over proposed DNA testing was reported September 30, 2026; Beckerink was due back in court in November 2026. |
Caitlin Tracey, a 36-year-old woman from New Buffalo, Michigan, was found dead on the evening of October 27, 2024, at the bottom of a stairwell in her husband's South Loop high-rise. Her husband, Chicago tax attorney Adam Beckerink, now faces murder charges in Cook County. He has pleaded not guilty. The case remains pending, with no trial date or verdict reported in the news coverage cited below. Everything below about the alleged killing is an accusation, not a finding of guilt.
What happened to Caitlin Tracey in the South Loop
Tracey's body was discovered at about 7:20 p.m. on October 27, 2024, in a stairwell outside her husband's apartment in the 1200 block of South Prairie Avenue, according to court documents and Chicago police cited in early reporting. Another resident had first found what they believed was a severed foot in the stairwell. While officers searched the area, a building manager found her body at the bottom of the stairs.
The cause and manner of death took time to establish. In November 2024 the Cook County medical examiner's autopsy was still listed as pending. By 2025, reporting said the medical examiner had found she died from multiple injuries due to a fall from height but had not determined whether the death was a homicide. A separate report from the Michigan proceedings said the manner of death remained undetermined, and that no charges had yet been filed over her death.
Reports differ on how far she fell. Early Chicago police information, as relayed in news coverage, said 20 stories. The felony complaint describes the 24th floor of the east stairwell. One broadcast report says police described a 29-story stairwell. None of the reports reconciles these descriptions, so the exact height remains a detail to confirm against court records as the case proceeds.
Timeline from discovery to the murder charge
The sequence below draws on police reports and court records as relayed by news outlets. Items marked "alleged" or "reported" are claims in those documents, not proven facts.
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| October 24, 2024 | Detectives reportedly found building video showing Beckerink and Tracey together; she appeared to have facial injuries. |
| October 25, 2024 | Prosecutors later alleged this was the date Beckerink caused her death. |
| October 27, 2024 | Beckerink reported Tracey missing hours before her body was found at about 7:20 p.m. He was detained for questioning and released without charges in connection with her death. |
| October 31, 2024 | A Michigan aggravated-assault charge against Beckerink was filed in Berrien County; he was arrested at his South Prairie Avenue home. |
| November 12 and 15, 2024 | A Michigan judge, then a Cook County judge, ruled in favor of Tracey's parents over her remains. |
| March 2025 | Chicago police took Beckerink into custody as a fugitive from justice, and he was ordered back to Michigan. |
| Mid-October 2025 | A Michigan judge sentenced him to 93 days in jail and two years of probation on domestic-violence-related charges. |
| October 27, 2025 | A Cook County murder warrant and first-degree murder charge were announced, one year after her body was found. |
| January 2026 | Beckerink was extradited from Michigan and made his first Chicago court appearance; his detention hearing was set for the following Friday. |
| September 30, 2026 | A dispute over proposed DNA testing was reported; Beckerink was due back in court in November 2026. |
What prosecutors allege, and what the charges mean
A copy of the felony complaint obtained by a Chicago television station alleges Beckerink threw Tracey over the railing of the 24th floor of the building's east stairwell. Prosecutors allege the act occurred on October 25, 2024, according to court documents reported at the time of the charge.
When Beckerink first appeared in court in January 2026, he was facing two counts: first-degree murder and a second murder count described as strong probability of death. Prosecutors argued in a pretrial detention filing that he poses a real and present threat. The same report says he was brought back to Illinois on a governor's warrant after serving his Michigan sentence.
By September 2026, he had pleaded not guilty to 11 counts, including the murder of his wife and concealment of her body. His attorneys have declined to comment on the pending evidence dispute. Earlier, a defense attorney in a separate Michigan matter said his client had "nothing to do" with Tracey's death, a statement reported after a March 2025 hearing.
A charge is a formal accusation. Beckerink is presumed innocent unless and until a court finds otherwise.
Reported history of domestic violence and the Michigan cases
Two sets of proceedings must be kept apart: the Chicago murder case and the Michigan domestic-violence cases. The Michigan outcomes are not findings about how Tracey died.
Allegations in Chicago filings. Tracey sought an order of protection against Beckerink in late 2023. In her petition she said they had been in a dating relationship from October 2022 to around September 2023. According to police reports cited in reporting on the custody dispute, she reported two incidents to Chicago police in 2023. One was at a hotel on September 20, the other at his South Loop home on August 21. Both involved allegations of strangulation. Her petition also described a July 2023 incident at her New Buffalo home. Beckerink did not face charges in either Chicago incident. Tracey later dropped the protective-order request; her parents' petition says he had threatened to sue her for defamation and libel if she proceeded. These are her allegations as recorded in filings, not adjudicated facts.
Michigan proceedings. Beckerink was charged in Berrien County, Michigan, over incidents at Tracey's New Buffalo home in January and August 2024. At a 2025 hearing, a judge ruled that 911 calls and police body-camera footage could be used at a future trial in that case, allowing Tracey's statements to reach a jury. That ruling concerned the Michigan case only. Weeks before her death, Beckerink missed a pretrial hearing, which led to a bond violation.
In October 2025, a Berrien County judge sentenced him to 93 days in jail followed by two years of probation. He pleaded no contest to domestic violence and interference charges and guilty to contempt of court for violating his bond. A resisting-arrest charge was dropped as part of the plea deal. He was expected to finish the jail term on January 3, 2026. The sentencing did not address Tracey's death. Her mother, in a victim impact statement, said he pleaded no contest to avoid describing what he did to her daughter.
The investigation and the evidence still being contested
The missing-person report and initial release
Hours before Tracey's body was found, Beckerink reported her missing. According to the police report summarized in news coverage, he said he had returned to Chicago two days earlier and had not seen her in about a month. Detectives then allegedly found building video showing the two together on October 24. Police held him for filing a false missing-person report, and he was released without charges. Chicago police continued to classify the matter as a death investigation for months, and the murder warrant came a year later.
His employer, Duane Morris LLP, said it removed him as a partner after learning of the domestic-violence allegations from media accounts.
The DNA dispute
By September 2026, the dispute had moved to forensic testing. Prosecutors asked to test items recovered from the condo building: a baseball bat, fingernail clippings, white gym shoes and other swabs, for touch DNA. They warned the defense that testing might consume all available samples. The bat was new to the public record in that filing.
The defense objected. In a motion, Beckerink's attorneys wrote, "The State's request is constitutionally and procedurally deficient on its face." ABC7's chief legal analyst Gil Soffer told the station the defense wants part of each sample preserved for its own expert, and suggested a possible middle ground: allow the state to sample where necessary while a defense observer watches. He added that DNA is "very persuasive to juries" in a case without eyewitness testimony. The reporting does not say what any testing would show, and an item's inclusion on a testing list does not establish its role in the alleged crime. Soffer said of the bat that it is not yet clear what theory it might support.
Court status and what remains ahead
| Chicago murder case (Cook County) | Michigan domestic-violence case (Berrien County) | |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Alleged killing of Caitlin Tracey | Alleged abuse at her New Buffalo home in 2024 |
| Charges | First-degree murder and related counts; 11 counts reported in total | Domestic violence and interference; contempt for bond violation |
| Status | Not-guilty plea; pretrial evidence disputes; due back in court November 2026 | Resolved by plea; 93 days in jail and two years of probation |
| Trial date or verdict | None reported | Not applicable (plea) |
After the January 2026 extradition, defense attorney Todd Pugh was given several days to respond to the state's petition to detain Beckerink, which ran about 260 pages. He was held at Cook County Jail in the meantime. The outcome of the detention hearing is not covered in the news reports cited here. The most recent report says Beckerink is due back in court in November 2026, and no trial date has been reported.
The family's efforts to honor Tracey
Within days of her death, Tracey's parents, Andrew and Monica Tracey, went to court in Illinois and Michigan to block her husband from controlling her remains. Their petition cited his alleged history of abuse and called her death "highly suspicious." On November 12, 2024, a Berrien County judge gave them exclusive control of her remains and sole responsibility for funeral arrangements. A Cook County judge reached the same result on November 15. A family attorney said the family could "close this chapter and focus on mourning Caitlin's loss and on celebrating her remarkable life."
The family has since said, in statements after the murder charge and the first Chicago hearing, that they are grateful to Chicago police and the Cook County State's Attorney's office. They hope the murder case will reveal the truth about the last months of Tracey's life so she can finally be laid to rest. At the Michigan sentencing, her mother described her as hardworking, smart and loved, and said the family now lives with ongoing grief.
Separately, in October 2025 the estate filed a petition in Michigan probate court asking a judge to bar Beckerink from inheriting under that state's slayer statute and to keep her burial site private. That is a civil matter and does not determine criminal guilt.
Strengths and limits of the public record
What is well established
- The date, place and basic circumstances of the discovery are consistent across reports.
- The medical examiner's reported finding of multiple injuries from a fall from height.
- Beckerink's Michigan plea and sentence.
- The filing of murder charges and his not-guilty plea.
Where the record is limited
- The manner-of-death finding was reported as undetermined as of 2025, and later reports do not update it.
- Descriptions of the stairwell and fall height conflict.
- The evidence prosecutors rely on has been described only in part; no trial has tested it.
- The Chicago domestic-violence incidents were reported but never charged or adjudicated.
Key facts and unresolved questions
Established or reported on the record: Tracey was found dead on October 27, 2024, in a stairwell of 1201 South Prairie Avenue. The medical examiner reported death by multiple injuries from a fall. Prosecutors allege Beckerink threw her over a stairwell railing on October 25. He has pleaded not guilty. He separately served a Michigan sentence for domestic violence.
Unresolved: whether the medical examiner has since classified the manner of death; what the contested DNA testing will show; how the court will resolve the preservation dispute; and when, or whether, the case will go to trial, since no trial date has been reported. These open questions are not evidence of anything.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Caitlin Tracey?
She was a 36-year-old resident of New Buffalo, Michigan. Her family describes her as hardworking and smart, and she stood 4'11" according to her mother's statement in court.
Has anyone been convicted of killing her?
No. Beckerink is charged with murder and has pleaded not guilty. His separate Michigan case involved domestic violence, interference with his wife's attempt to call 911, and contempt of court.
Was Beckerink arrested right after her death?
Not for her death. Police held him briefly for allegedly filing a false missing-person report and released him without charges. He was later arrested on a Michigan warrant, taken into custody again in March 2025 as a fugitive from justice, and charged with murder in October 2025.
What is the next court date?
The latest report says he is due back in court in November 2026. No trial date has been reported.
Where can someone get help with domestic violence?
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233, and you can text START to 88788. Illinois residents can also call 1-877-863-6338.
References
- Michigan judge grants parents of woman found dead in South Loop custody of her remains — Chicago Sun-Times
- Caitlin Tracey's husband charged with murder 1 year after her death in Chicago — FOX 32 Chicago
- Caitlin Tracey: Estranged husband Adam Beckerink charged with murder — wgntv.com
- Adam Beckerink, Chicago attorney charged with murdering wife Caitlin Tracey in South Loop high-rise, is threat to community: pros. — ABC7 Chicago
- Caitlin Tracey death: Battle over DNA samples continues in Adam Beckerink case, Chicago tax attorney charged with wife's murder — ABC7 Chicago
- Caitlin Tracey case: Judge says 911 calls, body camera footage can be used at husband's trial — FOX 32 Chicago
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