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 Wednesday 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.”
During Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Eve M. Reilly questioned Beckerink’s attorney Telly Stefaneas regarding his client’s end goal with the recent filing, with a representative from the Cook County medical examiner’s office noting that their office could not take back Tracey’s remains.
“Is that what you’re asking me to do, give (the remains) back?” Reilly asked Stefaneas.
Stefaneas replied that the intention of his client — who was not in court — was to have the remains “preserved” until a judgment was made on Beckerink’s appeal of the Michigan decision, which had not yet been submitted as of the time of the hearing.
In his motion, Beckerink argued that he planned to appeal the decision of the Michigan probate court giving Tracey’s parents the right to her remains, and therefore it should not be enforced in Cook County. He believes that the Berrien County court does not have jurisdiction over the matter, according to the filing.
Andrew Cunniff, an attorney representing Tracey’s parents, Andrew and Monica Tracey, noted that the appeal process could take months or years.
Cunniff said Wednesday that Tracey “is where she belongs” and should be put to rest in a funeral organized by her family. Her parents have already completed last rites in accordance with Tracey’s Catholic faith, while extended family members from across the country have booked flights for the funeral, Cunniff said.
He and Reilly also both questioned why Beckerink was requesting a stay when no enforcement action was still pending in the courts.
“No one should have to bury a child,” Cunniff said, noting that Tracey’s parents now also had to “wage a legal battle in order to do it.”
Tracey’s parents, who were in attendance, declined to comment to reporters after the hearing. But their attorney released a statement following the ruling.
“Caitlin’s family is grateful for today’s result in their continued battle for their daughter,” Cunniff said in the statement. “Thankfully, the right side prevailed, and Caitlin will remain with her family where she belongs. She can finally receive the dignified memorial she deserves. The family is grateful for the continued efforts of the detectives investigating Caitlin’s case. We are hopeful that there will be justice for Caitlin soon.”
In her decision denying Beckerink’s motion to reconsider, Reilly noted that it had already been three weeks since Tracey had died “under horrible circumstances,” nearing the 30-day mark for which her body could have been held by the medical examiner’s office.
“If it is possible for Caitlin’s body to be stored elsewhere for the duration of an appeal, that has not even been filed, no one has informed the Court of that fact,” Reilly wrote in the decision. “Certainly, it does not seem just or equitable to do so.”
The Tribune was the first to report the battle for legal control over Tracey’s remains and her parents’ allegations of abusive behavior by Beckerink in court filings. Shortly after, he was terminated from his position as a partner at law firm Duane Morris, a spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.
“Our firm was not aware of the domestic violence and other allegations against Adam Beckerink asserted in various legal proceedings until recent media accounts of (Tracey’s) death,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to the Tribune. “Once we confirmed key facts, the Partners Board swiftly removed Adam as a partner of Duane Morris LLP. He is no longer associated with our firm.”
According to court records, Tracey filed an emergency protective order in Cook County against Beckerink in October 2023, detailing multiple alleged incidents of physical and verbal abuse in the accompanying affidavit.
Though Beckerink is presumed to have the legal right to control her remains as Tracey’s husband, under Michigan law, that right can be revoked if the surviving spouse of the deceased is shown to be “incompetent or unsuitable,” according to Tracey’s parents’ Cook County filing.
In their petition in Berrien County, Tracey’s parents argued that “based on the circumstances surrounding the death along with the abusive history,” their family would “not be psychologically or emotionally capable in participating in any services that are handled and arranged by” Beckerink.
Judge Brian S. Berger ruled on Nov. 12 in Berrien County Probate Court to grant Tracey’s parents “exclusive control” over her remains and the funeral arrangements, stating that the jurisdiction was “proper” given that Tracey was a legal resident of New Buffalo on the date of her death.
On Nov. 15, Reilly issued an order recognizing the Berrien County judgment as an “enforceable order in Illinois” pursuant to Illinois law and denying Beckerink’s oral request for a stay, though she allowed him to submit a written motion.
Beckerink argued in his filing that he was only given one business day to find a lawyer in Michigan after he was served with a notice of the Berrien County proceedings. In court on Wednesday, Stefaneas said that Beckerink needed to have been given a fair chance to present his arguments, given the “delicate” and “emotionally charged” nature of the case.
According to the parents’ Nov. 6 filing in Michigan, Tracey was found dead with a severed foot in a stairwell “directly below” Beckerink’s condominium and “law enforcement has advised the family that the (Beckerink) is the primary suspect.”
The Cook County medical examiner’s office has still not released the cause and manner of death for Tracey, pending a Chicago Police Department investigation.
While leaving court on Wednesday, Cunniff said that he and Tracey’s parents were “not sure what (Beckerink) is trying to accomplish with these filings.”
“We can’t imagine why he would want to keep Caitlin away from her family even now,” Cunniff said. “In the meantime, we will continue to fight until Caitlin is laid to rest surrounded by family who love and support her.”
