Daywatch: Husband tries to stop funeral of wife found dead in South Loop stairwell

Good morning, Chicago.

The family of a woman who was found dead in a South Loop stairwell last month will be allowed to proceed with her funeral on Saturday after a Cook County judge denied an emergency motion by the woman’s husband to stop the burial.

Caitlin Tracey, 36, of New Buffalo, Michigan, was found dead on Oct. 27 at the bottom of a stairwell in a luxury high-rise building where her husband, Adam Beckerink, lives. Earlier this month, her parents successfully won custody of her remains after arguing in court that  Beckerink, who was married to their daughter for six months, had a history of abusing her.

Beckerink, who faces two pending charges of domestic violence against Tracey in Michigan, had filed a motion Monday to temporarily prevent Tracey’s parents from proceeding with her funeral. He argued in an affidavit he would be “irreparably harmed and deprived of the ability to direct the disposition of his wife’s remains for which he is entitled to and has priority under both Illinois and Michigan law.”

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