Cook County judge gives parents, not husband, custody of remains of woman who died at South Loop high-rise
The custody fight over a woman who died under suspicious circumstances at a South Loop high-rise was all but settled Friday when a Cook County judge gave the body to her parents, and not to the husband with a history of alleged domestic abuse.
The intrigue surrounding Caitlin Tracey's death has grown since her body was found last month with a severed foot at the bottom of stairwell after falling 20 stories from her husband's condominium building the 1200 block of South Prairie Avenue. Chicago police said her husband of six months lied while filing a missing person report for her.
On Friday, Cook County Circuit Judge Eve Reilly lifted a restraining order she issued last week to keep Caitlin Tracey's body at the Cook County medical examiner's office. The judge was awaiting a custody judgment between the parents and husband to play out in a separate case in Michigan.
Reilly said she accepted a ruling Tuesday by the Michigan judge to grant custody to Caitlin Tracey's parents, Andrew and Monica Tracey.
"This is a final order," Reilly said in court.
The judge declined an oral objection from the husband's attorney but said she would answer a written objection if one is filed. The husband's attorney, Telly Stefaneas, said an appeal would be made in the Michigan case when the husband secures a local attorney.
The husband, Adam Beckerink, attended the hearing on Friday by teleconference but did not speak. Stefaneas also appeared via teleconference and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Caitlin Tracey's parents attended the hearing but declined to talk with reporters.
Their lawyer, Andrew Cunniff, read a statement after the hearing.
"Finally, the Tracey family can close this chapter and focus on mourning Caitlin’s loss and celebrating her remarkable life," Cunniff told reporters. "Caitlin was an incredible young woman who was taken far too soon. We hope that her story may shine a light on the often-hidden tragedy of domestic abuse."
Caitlin Tracey's body was discovered about 7:20 p.m. Oct. 27 in a stairwell outside her husband’s high-rise apartment, according to court documents and Chicago police. The 36-year-old resident of New Buffalo, Michigan, had fallen 20 stories, police said.
Autopsy results were pending for ongoing police investigation, a Cook County medical examiner’s office spokeswoman said Friday.
Beckerink, a Chicago-based tax attorney who was fired as partner of Duane Morris LLP after the case became public, has not been charged with a crime in connection to her death.
Officers temporarily detained him after police said he lied on a missing person report he filed for Caitlin Tracey hours before her body was discovered at the bottom of a stairwell along with a severed foot.
Beckerink claimed in the report that he returned to Chicago two days earlier, on Oct. 25, after spending time in Michigan and had not seen Tracey in about a month, However, detectives found building surveillance video showing the two together on Oct. 24, according to a Chicago police report.
Before her death, Caitlin Tracey accused Beckerink of domestic abuse multiple times, according to the parent's petition to gain custody of her body. She requested an order of protection against Beckerink in October 2023, after two years of dating. She dropped the order a month later because he had threatened to sue her for defamation, according to the petition.
Beckerink has two active felony cases pending in Michigan, both domestic violence charges involving his wife, according to the petition.
Contributing: Sophie Sherry