A couple built a seemingly perfect life in a stunning lakeside home, but a year after the wife’s brutal death, the husband has been branded a monster as a battle rages to stop him getting his wife’s assets.
Caitlin Tracey, 36, and her husband Adam Beckerink, 47, owned their picturesque home just a few feet from the shore of Lake Michigan in New Buffalo.
But it was inside that stunning four bedroom property, worth an estimated $846,000, that Beckerink viciously attacked Tracey last January, before fleeing and leading cops on a manhunt.
Nine months later, Tracey disturbingly plummeted to her death in the stairwell of their $500,000 Chicago high rise apartment, losing a foot in a truly horrific incident that left her remains ‘pulverized’.
Beckerink, who was sentenced to 93 days in jail and two years probation on Monday for domestic abuse, remains a suspect in the death of his wife as a police investigation in the Windy City remains ongoing.
The shamed attorney has not been charged in the death of his wife, whose remains were said to be ‘pulverized’ after the deadly fall in October of last year.
Tracey’s parents, Andrew and Monica, are now arguing in court that Beckerink should be prohibited from inheriting any of their daughter’s estate. The home near Lake Michigan was sold in August.
They’re so full of loathing for their former son-in-law that they also want the location of Tracey’s grave kept utterly secret from him, in a bid to grant her a final shred of dignity.
Their petition, filed in probate court and seen by the Chicago Tribune, looks to invoke Michigan’s ‘slayer statue’ which stops people from profiting from a death they played a roll in.
Tracey, seen here, plummeted to her death in the stairwell of their Chicago high rise apartment last October
Tracey owned the stunning four-bedroom home in New Buffalo, Michigan, seen here, where her husband brutally attacked
It also halts anybody convicted of felony abuse of the victim from being able to profit from their death.
Beckerink and Tracey, who worked in HR for a tech company, were in an on-and-off relationship after having married in the spring of 2024.
After his wife’s death went public, Beckerink was terminated from his position as a tax attorney with Duane Morris LLP.
He ended up pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence, contempt of court for violating his bond and a felony for interfering with a 911 call Tracey made.
Tracey’s mother spoke at his sentencing, branding him a ‘controlling coward’ who she said would frequently beat her daughter.
She said: ‘We continue to be re-victimized as we learn more about how Caitlin lived in this inconceivable hell with this monster.
‘It is not just the trauma Caitlin endured but the ongoing nature of the trauma he is inflicting on our family.
‘It isn’t just her death that haunts us; it is the slow-moving destruction of her life.’
After Tracey’s death, Beckerink tried to block his late wife’s parents from taking control over her remains. The Traceys later won custody over their daughter’s body.
Beckerink, seen here in court, was sentenced to 93 days in jail and two years probation for beating up his wife before she died in mysterious circumstances
Tracey fell down 24 flights of their high rise, pictured, severing her foot during the descent
A view of Lake Michigan, just north of where the couple owned their picturesque home, is seen here
Police reports at the time of the incident in January of last year indicated that cops were called to the lakeside home after Tracey made a frenzied 911 call.
Tracey ‘was in a highly emotional state’ and told the dispatcher to ‘please hurry.’ She said that Beckerink was ‘drunk’ and that he had ‘pushed her down.’
‘He’s assaulted me before,’ Tracey said during the phone call, before it became ‘unintelligible’ due to her ’emotional state,’ according to the report.
When two officers arrived at her home, Beckerink had fled to Chicago in a white Range Rover.
Tracey was left covered in injuries, including ‘a mark on her lip, a scar on her right forearm, and several cuts on her body.’
She told them that her husband had tried to stop her from calling police by grabbing her phone and pushing her to the ground.
He was later charged with larceny for allegedly stealing her designer watch, handbag, earrings and cash totaling $45,315, along with credit cards.
The items included a 14-karat diamond tennis bracelet worth $16,500, a $12,000 black-and-gold Chanel leather handbag, a $10,200 Cartier Tank Louis Watch, $6,095 diamond hoop earrings, and $520 in cash.
After Tracey’s death, Beckerink tried to block his late wife’s parents from taking control over her remains, her parents later won custody of her body
After his wife’s death went public, Beckerink was terminated from his position as a tax attorney with Duane Morris LLP
Tracey died from ‘multiple injuries’ after falling approximately 24 floors at the Chicago condo on October 27, 2025, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Chicago cops rushed to the scene and detained Beckerink, who had reported Tracey missing the day before. They released him after 48 hours without filing any charges.
Prior to the incident inside the home near Lake Michigan, Tracey had filed a court order of protection in 2023.
In it she accused him of slapping her, punching her and choking her on two incident in 2023 and throughout their relationship.
According to her parents she had the order vacated after Beckerink threatened to sue her for defamation.
His attorneys have said throughout that Beckerink had nothing to do with his wife’s death and that there was no evidence to support her claims of abuse.
