A prominent Chicago tax attorney whose wife's dead body was found at the bottom of a stairwell has been arrested on several charges related to past domestic abuse allegations.
In October 2024, Caitlin Tracey's dead body was found at the bottom of a stairwell. The Cook County medical examiner has not given a cause of death but noted the body was "pulverized," and a foot had been severed, Fox 32 reported.
The body was found in the highrise building where Tracey and her husband, Adam Beckerink, had a condo. No charges have been filed in Tracey's death, but on Friday Beckerink was arrested at the condo on a warrant from New Buffalo, Michigan, Fox 32 reported. The couple also had a home in New Buffalo.
The Michigan warrant includes six felony charges and two misdemeanors, including domestic violence, assaulting two police officers, resisting arrest, obstruction, larceny, and interfering with electronic communication, Fox 32 reported. The charges are from incidents that happened in New Buffalo on Jan. 13, 2024, and on Aug. 19, 2024.
Also, Tracey had obtained an order of protection against Beckerink in Cook County in November 2023, but dropped it in December, Fox 32 reported. According to the station, Tracey's parents asserted in court filings that Beckerink had threatened to sue Tracey for defamation.
Beckerink was a law partner at Duane Morris, a position he was ousted from following the discovery of Tracey's body, the ABA Journal reported.
"This is a shocking and tragic case, and we send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Caitlin Tracey. Our firm was not aware of the domestic violence and other allegations against Adam Beckerink asserted in various legal proceedings until recent media accounts of her death. Once we confirmed key facts, the partners board swiftly removed Adam as a partner of Duane Morris LLP. He is no longer associated with our firm," a statement from the law firm to ABA Journal states.
Beckerink also became entangled in a dispute with Tracey's parents over her remains. A judge eventually ruled in favor of the parents, who held a funeral for her on Nov.23, ABC-7 reported.
Beckerink's attorney, Todd Pugh, told the Chicago Tribune that there was "no link" between his client and Tracey's death.
"Caitlin was the love of Adam's life; they've been married since April; her family has not had any contact with her in the several months since she married Adam," Pugh told the Tribune, referring to the dispute over her remains. "He wanted to include them in honoring her memory and wanted to do this at the funeral home that her family selected, but based on the filing that we just received, that wasn't sufficient."
