Cook County prosecutors add new charges against Chicago lawyer in wife’s alleged murder

CHICAGO (WLS) — Telling new charges have been added to the case against a Chicago tax attorney accused of murdering his wife. Adam Beckerink, 47, is accused of killing 36-year-old Caitlin Tracey in October of 2024 by throwing her down a 29-story stairwell in the couple’s high-rise condo building in the South Loop. ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch The I-Team analyzed the court filings that show a clearer picture of where the prosecution may be heading, including plans to seek a natural life sentence. Along with six murder charges, Cook County prosecutors have added multiple concealment of a homicidal death and false reporting charges against Beckerink, who has been denied bond since his extradition to Illinois following a domestic violence sentence in Berrien County, Michigan. The new allegations state that Beckerink intentionally lied to police as they began their investigation, telling CPD his wife could have been in New Buffalo, Michigan, “knowing that he forced Caitlin Tracey down a stairwell shaft and killed Caitlin Tracey,” according to the filings. The state successfully argued Beckerink is a threat to the public, as prosecutors contend he had an ongoing history of domestic abuse against the victim, some observed by law enforcement, saying Beckerink would strangle Tracey and that he “continues to date women” and that “1 called police due to his aggression,” according to court documents. The I-Team also learning Beckerink claimed the investigation was a setup, telling a concierge in his building that he found videos of someone in his clothes going through Tracey’s car and clothes. Prosecutors say surveillance video recovered at Beckerink’s high-rise condo building shows Beckerink himself going to the garage and coming back with items on a luggage cart. And as laid out in the new filings, there is more about a central part of the defense argument: that Tracey was intoxicated at the time of her death. “Toxicology noted high levels of cocaine and Tramadol. The combination . could cause seizure or incapacitation,” documents said. However, “There was no evidence of an overdose,” according to newly filed documents. According to the filings, Beckerink’s DNA, not Tracey’s, was found on the stairwell door outside of their condo. She was found dead days later at the bottom of that very stairwell. Beckerink could enter a plea as soon as next week in the murder case against him.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/cook-county-prosecutors-add-concealment-homicidal-death-false-reporting-charges-adam-beckerink-wifes/18598031/