A Chicago man who was accused of killing his wife by throwing her down the stairway of their South Loop high-rise condominium building was ordered to remain in jail on Friday.
Adam Beckerink, 47, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the October 2024 death of 36-year-old Caitlin Tracy. Her body was found by police at the bottom of a stairway. Her foot had been severed by the fall.
In court Friday, prosecutors argued that Beckerink had a history of reported domestic violence incidents against Tracey, but that she had rarely pressed charges.
After an incident in August of 2024, prosecutors said Michigan police responding to a 911 hangup call from the couple’s home in New Buffalo found Tracey yelling and screaming for help. According to a proffer read in open court, Beckerink was on top of her and refused to comply with police instructions to get on the floor as he resisted arrest.
He was sentenced to 93 days in jail as part of a plea deal.
Tracey, prosecutors said, told a victim’s advocate appointed by the county that Beckerink had previously threatened to “throw her over the stairs.”
Prosecutors said Beckerink did just that in October 2024. The evidence, they said, was recovered from the stairway: bloodstains on floors 11 through 14 and Nike gym shoes found on the 11th and 12th floors.
Authorities were also able to recover DNA swabs from the hallway side of the stairway door handle on the 24th floor, where the couple owned a condo. According to prosecutors, Illinois State Police found that those swabs “excluded the victim and showed very strong support that the defendant is a contributor of that DNA profile.”
“The defendant’s DNA profile is approximately 9.2 septillion times more likely if it originated from the defendant than if it originated from another unknown, unrelated individual,” Assistant State’s Attorney Anne McCord said.
But defense attorney Todd Pugh said the evidence against his client doesn’t add up.
He said that at the time of her death, Tracey’s body showed high concentrations of cocaine and tramadol. They argued that the cause of her death was self-inflicted.
Pugh said the Beckerink and Tracey’s relationship was ruined by their use of drugs and alcohol.
“The message here is that if you are involved in a relationship that involves drug use, alcohol abuse and allegations of intimate partner violence…and something happens to that person…you are going to jail, and you are going to get charged with murder,” he said.
Caitlin Tracy’s family attended Friday’s hearing. They were too upset to make any comments.
But on Tuesday, when the detention hearing was delayed, an attorney spoke for them.
John Galarnyk thanked Chicago police and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work.
“We hope that justice will prevail and we can finally lay our dear Caitlin to rest,” he said.
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