A detention hearing for a man accused of killing his wife and throwing her down more than 20 flights of stairs has been delayed until Friday.
Adam Beckerink wore the same blue hoodie sweatshirt and blue jeans he wore in his booking photo as attorney Todd Pugh argued that he needed more time to go through the state’s voluminous case against his client.
The 47-year-old Chicago-based tax attorney was arrested in January while in custody in St. Joseph, Michigan.
He now stands charged with two felony murder counts in Cook County in connection with the 2024 death of his estranged wife Caitlin Tracey.
On Oct. 27, 2024, Tracey’s body was found at the bottom of a South Loop stairwell with a severed foot. According to a police report, Tracey fell down the flight of stairs, an initial police report said. According to the report, Beckerink, who had a history of alleged domestic abuse, was detained and questioned at the time, but he was later released.
Exactly one year later, he was charged in her murder.
An attorney representing the family said Tuesday that it was their hope justice will prevail, and Tracey can finally be laid to rest.
Judge Susana Ortiz agreed to push Beckerink’s detention hearing back until Friday.
Prior to today, he has been held for the past three months in the Berrien County Jail in Michigan for abusing his estranged wife. He was extradited back to Illinois Monday.
Family attorney John Galarnyk said even though Beckerink’s criminal convictions and sentence in Michigan had brought some measure of justice for Tracey, he “must now be held accountable” for his actions.
Cook County States Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke, who has made combatting domestic violence a top priority, issued a statement saying, “With these charges, we are sending a strong message: violent crimes rooted in domestic abuse will be aggressively prosecuted as we work to bring justice to families and protect survivors.”
Until Friday’s hearing, Beckerink will held at the Cook County Jail. His detention hearing is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. in Branch 66. A spokesperson for Tracey’s family said that it is their hope that he remain in custody pending his trial.
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