Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - 7 Disturbing Details from Autopsy in Wife's Luxury Condo Murder

Starting point is 00:00:00 New details are coming to light about the death of Caitlin Tracy and what her husband's defense could be at his murder trial. Adam Beckerink is accused of murdering Caitlin, but his lawyer says he didn't do it. And Caitlin may have caused her own death. We're digging into the claims. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy, and this is crime fix. You know, being online, it's just a part of life. But seeing how much of your personal information is out there on the web can be really scary. That's why I like incogny so much.

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Starting point is 00:01:20 condo in Chicago's South Loop in October 24, her friends and family were absolutely devastated. Caitlin was a beautiful 36-year-old woman who loved to cook, travel, and she loved design. From the beginning, Caitlin's family said that Chicago police detectives told them that Caitlin's husband Adam Beckerink was the prime suspect in their daughter's death. Her body was found, pulverized with her foot missing at the bottom of that stairwell beneath Beckerink's luxury condo. Now more than a year later, Adam Beckerink faces a murder charge in Caitlin's death and he says he didn't do it. Court documents that we've discussed here on crime fix in the past revealed that Tracy had sought a restraining order against Beckerink in the past, citing physical abuse at his hands. Tracy said that

Starting point is 00:02:08 Beckerink had punched and pushed her, pulled her hair, thrown a pickle jar at her head, and poured vodka on her body, which burned her wounds. Then there was this incident from August of 2024, a little more than two months before Caitlin died. She tried to call 911 from her home in New Buffalo, Michigan, but Beckerank interrupted her plan to call 911. Can we just talk right here? Just talk right here. How do you have, wait, wait, hold on. People are. Hold on. Seriously, hold on.

Starting point is 00:02:39 Why do you guys do? Don't, keep walking. Wait, wait, wait. What the fuck you're talking about? My f***ing. What the hell are you talking about? Wait, wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, before you put, wait.

Starting point is 00:02:52 In that car. Seriously. I'm, I'm, listen to me. I can't. I listen to me. Sit up. You place. Stop out of his pocket.

Starting point is 00:03:01 Beckerink recently wrapped up a 93-day jail sentence in Barying County, Michigan for that incident. When he was sentenced, he said that he and Caitlin had a great life. Now he's back in Chicago to answer to a murder charge in Caitlin's death. His attorney asked the judge to release him on bail pending trial. And in doing so, Attorney Todd Pugh released new information about Caitlin Tracy's autopsy results that we hadn't heard previously. In the motion for pretrial release, Attorney Pugh wrote, zero evidence connects Adam Beckerink to the tragic death of his late wife, Caitlin Tracy. Instead, the state offers a handful of domestic disturbances between the couple in 2023 and 2024 as proof that Adam Beckerink through his wife from the 24th floor stairwell landing of their condominium building in Chicago's South Loop neighborhood on October 25, 2024. The problem with the state's position is that it has no evidence that Caitlin's death was a murder.

Starting point is 00:04:01 Additionally, the discovery materials provided demonstrate that the state fails to disclose to the court some unshakable and uncomfortable truths about Caitlin Tracy. Now, I'll get into the evidence that the state says connects Beckerink to Caitlin Tracy's death very shortly. Pew continues, Caitlin Tracy was unfortunately a drug addict and alcohol abuser. The medical examiner's report unambiguously revealed that at the time of her death, Caitlin was a chronic Vicodin slash Norco abuser, had ingested cocaine at levels associated with emergency room admission, had been drinking alcohol, taken a healthy male dose of Cialis, and a near-fatal dose of tramadol. In other words, Caitlin was severely impaired in experiencing acute polysubstance intoxication prior to her death. Now, this is information that the public did not know

Starting point is 00:04:53 previously that Caitlin Tracy had drugs in her system at the time of her death. Pew continues, the state's theory is stark that Adam Beckerank, while recovering from knee surgery, somehow lifted and threw Caitlin over a stairwell railing from the 24th floor of their condominium building and dropped her to her death. Yet there is no physical evidence, no eyewitness testimony, no forensic reconstruction, and no contemporaneous statements supporting that claim. Instead, the state relies almost entirely on prior domestic disputes and hearsay accounts of what Caitlin allegedly told others about her marriage. That is not evidence of murder. In short, the state has no evidence tying Adam Beckerink to Caitlin Tracy's death. What it has instead is a tragic case involving

Starting point is 00:05:38 substance abuse, instability, and unanswered questions, none of which satisfy the state's heavy burden to justify detention. The law requires proof, not conjecture. And this record contains none. The defense motion included a number of photos of Adam Beckerank and Caitlin Tracy appearing very happy, and one, the couple looks to be making pasta. In others, they appear to be on vacation and enjoying a fall day. There is another photo included that shows Caitlin curled up in a hospital bed next to Adam Beckerank. Remember, the defense said that Beckerank was recovering from knee surgery when Caitlin died. All of these photos show the couple in much happier times than that body-worn camera footage that I showed you earlier. Pew continued in his motion. There is no dispute that

Starting point is 00:06:25 Adam and Caitlin's marriage was turbulent, both drank excessively, both used drugs. Their social life was loud, chaotic and unhealthy. Witnesses in the building noticed frequent parties and Adam's own parents acknowledged that they had urged him to seek treatment. Building staff suspected infidelity by both Adam and Caitlin. The photographic evidence captures moments of care, companionship and mutual support, evidence that the state asks this court to disregard in favor of an unsupported and one-dimensional narrative. The Cook County State's attorney has said that Beckerink made inconsistent statements when he reported Caitlin missing in October 24. Chicago police officers documented the conversations they had with Beckerink. The police report states, during a death investigation of Caitlin Tracy,

Starting point is 00:07:11 who was discovered in the stairwell of the condo, A-slash-D learned that Tracy fell from above the 20-story flight of stairs causing fatal injuries. A-slash-D learned Tracy was reported missing by her husband, Becker-Rink. A-slash-D spoke with Adam Becker-ink about his wife, Caitlin Tracy, who he filed the missing persons report under on 27th of October 2024. Becker-Rink related that Tracy went missing on the 25th of October 24. Becker-Rink related that he was out of town the week he learned that Tracy went missing. A-slash-D discovered during the investigation video evidence from 24th of October 2024 uncovered that Beckerink was in the residence the day before Tracy was reported missing. A-slash-D learned that Becker-Rank was with his wife on video

Starting point is 00:08:00 in the residences when he told reporting officers he was out of town when Tracy went missing. Becker-Rank allowed A-S-D to view his and Tracy's phone, which appeared to have deleted messages that he stated was the way they were communicating before they went missing. Becker-Rink could not provide an explanation why messages were deleted from both phones. A-slash-D learned during the investigation that Becker-Rink and Tracy had a history of domestic violence incidents. Prior to Tracy going missing, she appeared to have injuries on the face that was captured on video. A-slash-D placed Becker-Rink in custody for filing a false missing report of his wife, Tracy. When Becker-Rank was placed in custody, he stated, is she alive? And is she okay? Now, Becker-Rink's defense is countering

Starting point is 00:08:47 what the state and police claim, the defense says Beckerink was severely intoxicated when police interviewed him and that he was confused, making rambling and incoherent statements. The defense wrote, what the state fails to disclose is that even during that interview, Mr. Beckerank stated at approximately 1.15 a.m. that Caitlin had left the condominium the night before. He explained that he was in another room when she said she was going for a run and that he heard the door close. He consistently maintained that this was the last. last time he saw her. The defense argued that Beckerink was not a danger to the public and would not flee, but the judge ruled that the state had met its burden and that Beckerink would not be released

Starting point is 00:09:27 pretrial. The message here is if you were involved in a relationship that includes drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and allegations of intimate partner violence, and something happens to that person, you're going to jail and you're going to get charged with murder. We look forward to winning this case a trial. But the prosecution said there was more evidence than the defense was citing, including Caitlin Tracy telling a victim's advocate that she planned to end her marriage to Beckerink and that he had threatened to throw her over the stairs along with DNA evidence. DNA swabs taken from the hallway side of the stairwell door excluded the victim and showed very strong support that the defendant is a contributor of that DNA profile.

Starting point is 00:10:11 So I want to bring in Joseph Scott Morgan. He is the host. host of the body bags podcast and also a retired forensic death investigator, a total pro, though. Joseph, I'm curious about your thoughts on this case. The defense is saying they don't even have evidence to show that this is really a murder. They say that, you know, Caitlin Tracy was addicted to drugs, had a lot of drugs in her system, alcohol, and it sounds like they're suggesting she, this may have been an accident. She may have. harmed herself and fallen, you know, 24 floors to her death. Yeah, wow, what an incredibly layered case, Anjanet.

Starting point is 00:10:55 And here's why. You've got several dynamics that are going on. First off, let's talk about this. You've got a lady that has fallen from a great height. Inside, and most people think, I think that when people might hear the story, they're going to think that this is external to the building. it ain't. This is an internal stairwell. And so most of us that have gone up in a big building or even a car park, you know, if you park your car on, you understand if you take the stairs, you know what that's like.

Starting point is 00:11:26 And she's falling from a great height inside of a structure, which adds a whole other layer. And then you begin to talk about this cocktail that she's got on board. And my understanding is she's dabbled with Vicodin in the past. And if you've ever had muscle pain, or post-surgical pain, these sorts of things, that's to knock it down. It's kind of a depressant. And according to what we're hearing, she's also got Coke on board, not to mention, believe it or not, she's got Cialis on board, which is to help men with erectile dysfunction. And to top it off, she's got booze on board.

Starting point is 00:12:08 So, you know, with all of those combinations, it's really hard. I'm very interested to know how the police, the investigators are landing on this conclusion of that this is definitively a homicide and not just that. Prosecution is saying, we can prove it in court. Well, they're saying that he made inconsistent statements. He had deleted text messages from her phone and his phone. The defense says in response to that, they don't address the deleted text messages, but they say, you know, he was drunk and, you know, he was foggy. type of thing. That's their response to that. And they point to the history of domestic abuse and the DNA. They say his DNA was on the stairwell doorway in the hallway and on the door handle.

Starting point is 00:12:57 So they're saying, look, he reported her missing, you know, she wasn't missing. He knew where she was, that type of thing. But, you know, they have to prove it, of course. They have to prove it. And that's very difficult when you look at, okay, let's just take the piece about his DNA there. Okay. Now, defense can argue, well, he's domiciled in that building. Okay. Yeah, our client likes to take stairwell every now and then. What do you make of that?

Starting point is 00:13:25 Now, it's one thing I'd have to know, I think interestingly here, we'd have to know what type of DNA. And certainly you, with your experience and your background, you know a lot about DNA. and is this just some kind of passive touch DNA or is it something that's robust, you know, like sweat, saliva, is it blood? You know, did he have an injury and he touches something and he leaves his DNA behind? So just in that little nuance, the narrative changes, right, really, really quickly. So that's really hard to pin him down. And you go back to these messages being deleted and the way they communicate with one another. Again, just because you're deleting messages doesn't necessarily make you a homicide perpetrator.

Starting point is 00:14:12 So this is going to be just from that bit alone, it's going to be an uphill battle, I think, for the prosecution in this case. And they say all of these interactions with him are on body camera. So I want to see those when they arrive and what he said and how he said it. Let's go back to the Seattleis. Why would a woman who's taking possibly, you know, she's drinking alcohol, she's taking Vicodin and Norco, taking these substances, plus she's got cocaine in her system, why would she be taking Cialis, which is for erectile dysfunction? I don't understand that.

Starting point is 00:14:50 I've heard of women doing that. I just don't understand it. Why would a woman take Cialis? Well, in a case like this, particularly when you, and I refer to as a cocktail, when you've got all of these other substances on board, the only, and I've had cases like this when working in New Orleans and Atlanta of drug OD related suicides. People, it's kind of amazing, people will grab any and all drugs that are convenient to them, those things that they can readily access and they'll just ingest it in order to take their own life. That would be the only reason I can only think, I would like to know if it was purpose for some of the reason, I can't really, imagine what that might be.

Starting point is 00:15:35 Because, you know, the thing about it is, is that Cialis on anybody that ODs on it, it can lead to cardiac dysfunction. You can actually have, you know, what people would say is a heart attack. It's kind of a rhythm event that throws your heart out of rhythm. You're going to get increased hypertension. It's a really nasty way to go. Plus, you combine it with everything else. It would seem to me, at least, that this would be leathly purposed.

Starting point is 00:16:02 Okay, so you're trying to grab everything that you can, you're ingesting it, not to mention what you commonly have on board. If she has got a history of drug abuse and say they're prescription meds, she's abusing things like Vicodin. She's going to have like if she's using it regularly, she's going to have a standard amount in her system. And then you kind of dump all this other stuff on, you know, because a lot of people that get addicted to prescription meds, One of the little insidious things that come along with this addiction is that the dosage that you may have been prescribed once you become addicted, it's never enough. You have to have more and more and more. So is her mind going this way. Okay, well, I got this on board.

Starting point is 00:16:47 I know this is lethal. I'll drink some booze with it. And, oh, by the way, you know, here's my lover's Cialis. I'm going to grab a handful of this and toss it down. to me it's you know she has she could have weaponized these drugs in order to end her own life wow um there's an interesting component of this you know the defense says basically the only proof that or what's being offered as proof by the state's attorney at that this is a murder is the history of domestic disturbances you know the history of domestic violence you know the history of

Starting point is 00:17:26 domestic violence here. And so they're saying, well, that's their proof. That's what they're saying is proof. But you have a victim's advocate coming forward to the prosecution and saying, she told me that she was going to end the marriage. She was going to go back to work. And she was saying that he had threatened to throw her over the stairs, you know, to kill her. What weight do you give that as a forensic death investigator? Oh, I've got to look under that rock. I mean, most definitely. If you've got somebody that is in proximity to her that has made this threat, and this is very specific.

Starting point is 00:18:06 I mean, Antoinette, just think about it. How many other cases? You and I have been covered cases together for a long time together. How many other cases have we covered where somebody jumped in a stairwell? Okay. It's just not something that happens on a rate. That's very specific data, right? I mean, maybe if it's domestic abuse, he has said this openly.

Starting point is 00:18:25 He is saying, you know, look, I'll throw you down the stairwell. No one will find your body, which, of course, they would because anybody that takes that's going to find the remains there. But it's very specific. So for me, as an investigator, my Lord, that is a jackpot of information that I have to explore with this guy and have to understand, you know, first off, can I validate the statement that he actually did make it? Is this a direct statement that he made?

Starting point is 00:18:54 Is this something that he made to another party? I think you said that it was a victim's advocate. And I'm going to have to test the waters. Had he said this multiple times, how long ago? Was it in the distant past? Was it recently? Is this something that commonly he said to other people? And not just that.

Starting point is 00:19:12 If I'm interviewing people in their circle, I want to know, I want to see if I can validate that statement with other parties. I want to know people that maybe he's expressed frustrations to. did he ever see anything about throwing her down a stairwell? And so you have this kind of third-party confirmation at that point in time, particularly if you can get it from other folks, because, you know, this is very, very specific stuff. It is very specific.

Starting point is 00:19:39 And, you know, it would be nice to have a little more information about that statement, how it was made when it was made, you know, but this is the prosecutor saying this in the hallway after court. So do you, you know, given everything, know right now, you know, I would think that maybe this could be a tough case, like if we're talking reasonable doubt, but one thing we haven't heard about is electronic evidence. I'm really curious to know if there is electronic evidence from, say, an Apple Watch, an iPhone, you know, any type of electronic device that you might be carrying with you, say if you were going out on a run,

Starting point is 00:20:16 or if you're just walking around. You know, you just never know. Yeah. I mean, and certainly Apple watches are, and it can be any kind of connected device like this if you're utilizing it for the purposes of fitness and this sort of thing, or just knocking around, how many steps that I do today. Because if this thing is plugged in relative to monitoring you, is there a specific point in time? This goes back to, you know, kind of my bailiwick here, post-mortem interval, did the thing ever flatline? And I think that that's going to be fascinating there. Did she have a phone with her, you know, with her remains down there? Or was it found adjacent to her, had it crashed down?

Starting point is 00:21:00 That's going to be very interesting and what status would it be in. Also, any kind of internal CCTV, I think it's going to be very important. Also, going back in time, we know, and you had stated this, Ingenet, that there is a history of domestic violence. Well, if that's the case, do we have body cam footage? of local PD showing up and saying, okay, this is the third time we've been out here. What the hell's going on? You know, come on, I'm going to separate you.

Starting point is 00:21:33 It's kind of the standard of fair of separate you, separate you. We're going to get your stories independent of one another. You know, what does that look like? And that's going to be very important. And one more thing going back to this domestic abuse piece that I think is absolutely essential, is this idea that if it is in fact domestic abuse, and of course we can have verbal, we can have this kind of emotional abuse,

Starting point is 00:22:00 but if it is physical abuse, Anjanet, has he been putting his hands on her? Has he struck her? Does he do this? Does he grab her suddenly? And if that's the case, when you get her body, which is just going to be in a real,

Starting point is 00:22:19 really bad state, and I can expand on that. But how do you separate these injuries, which there probably would be a multitude of? How do you separate those from any kind of domestic battery or abuse that was going on in the past or the distant past? With child abuse cases and domestic abuse cases in my field, we age contusions. Okay, so if you've got like an old yellow contusion, green contusion, contusion, that means that's, that is retreating, right? If it's red to maybe a purple, that means it's more recent. So how does that parry up and how are you going to separate those from the myriad of stuff? Because you and I were talking off air, this is not like going to the top of the building and jumping off. And I know I've had colleagues, I've had people that

Starting point is 00:23:19 that have fallen down, for instance, elevator shafts. And one of the things, if you're in a contained space like this, instead of free falling through air, like if you jump off of a really tall building, kind of free fall, and there'll be a central point of impact, okay, like if you hit on the sidewalk below. If you're jumping through a stairwell, you've got tubular bars that are in there, you know, that you hold on to as you make your way up the steps. There's little jagged edges, all kinds of things.

Starting point is 00:23:47 So all it would take is that if you drift in this environment, and there would be a chance to drift if you're talking 29 stories, you could actually pinball off of these surfaces. So it's not going to be like a central point of impact. You might have multiple points of impact. Highly complicated forensics case, the forensic pathologist, if they go to trial with this and make it on the testimony of the forensic pathologist here is going to be fascinating to listen to because this is not a standard gunshot wound case or stabbing case

Starting point is 00:24:23 or a bludging case. This is something that's going to have so many injuries and so many nuances. It's certainly something to keep your eye on. It certainly is. And we will be keeping an eye on it very closely. We'll be following this case closely as we have been. Joseph Scott Morgan, thank you so much. A host of body bags and forensic death investigator. We appreciate your time and your expertise. You're quite welcome, Agent. Thank you for having me. Now, Caitlin Tracy's family released a statement. Our family is deeply thankful to the Cook County State's attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke and her team,

Starting point is 00:24:56 as well as the Chicago Police Department's Violent Crimes Division. The CPD has worked long and hard to investigate this case. Although the defendant's criminal convictions and sentence in Michigan brings some measure of justice for Caitlin, this man must now be held accountable for his actions. In the days and months that led to this moment, the state's charge that he murdered our beautiful daughter. We hope that justice will prevail and we can finally lay our dear Caitlin to rest. Adam Becker-Rank remains in the Cook County Jail. He'll be back in court early next month and we'll continue to follow this case for you. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. Remember,

Starting point is 00:25:31 you can always watch us on YouTube and you can watch and listen to us on Spotify. So check us out there. I'll see you back here next time.

Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - 7 Disturbing Details from Autopsy in Wife's Luxury Condo Murder

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