Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Husband Arrested After Wife Found Dead in Luxury Condo

Episode Date: March 11, 2025

Caitlyn Tracey's body was found last October in the stairwell of her husband's condo building in Chicago with her foot severed. Tracey's husband, Adam Beckerink, was detained and questioned but later released. Now he's been taken into custody on a warrant out of Michigan related to a domestic violence case involving Caitlyn. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy goes through new details in the case in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Download the FREE Upside App at https://upside.app.link/crimefix to get an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas.Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guest: Tom Smith https://www.youtube.com/@GOLDSHIELDS CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this law and crimes series ad free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. A woman found dead in the stairwell of her husband's condo, her foot severed, and now her husband is behind bars. I'll tell you why as I look at the latest into the investigation into the death of Caitlin Tracy. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. It's been more than four months since Caitlin Tracy's body was found in a stairwell in the condo owned by her husband, Adam Beckerink, in Chicago. And we're learning new details about what else happened that day. So stay tuned for that.

Caitlin Tracy was 36 years old, and her parents say she was being physically abused by Beckerink. Caitlin's body was found at the condo building on October 27th. And all of these months later, the medical examiner in Cook County has still not released her cause of death or her manner of death. But her husband, Adam Beckerink, has been taken into custody in Chicago on a warrant out of New Buffalo, Michigan, where Caitlin's parents say she was living at the time that she died. Beckerink faces charges in two cases related to incidents at Caitlin's home. That's about an hour and 10 minute drive from Chicago. Those incidents happened in January and August of last year. Beckerink was charged with domestic violence,

assaulting two police officers, resisting arrest, obstruction, larceny, and interfering with electronic communication. Beckerink's trial was supposed to begin on those charges last October, but that trial date was reset, according to the clerk of courts. But Beckerink was arrested last Friday on a warrant related to those cases. The warrant for Beckerink's arrest was actually issued last Halloween, October 31st, 2024. The warrant states on September 23rd, a month earlier, Beckerink was seen leaving New Buffalo with Caitlin Taylor Beckerink, possibly for court, as he was in a suit. This information came from a neighbor.

It was also reported to New Buffalo officers from Chicago police that Caitlin was found dead at Beckerink's apartment complex, where it is believed they were both living. Now, this warrant for Beckerink's arrest was issued four days after Caitlin's body was found in the stairwell. And it was issued because the police officer said Beckerink violated the terms of his bail by having contact with Caitlin. The details of how Caitlin's body was found are startling. Chicago Police report states a resident found observed what appeared to be a severed foot in the east stairwell on lower level 2. The person discovering further related that he was unsure if the foot was real and relocated with reporting officers to lower level 2 east stairwell. Reporting officers arrived at said location and did observe what appeared to be a severed foot next to the railing. Reporting officers also observed various bloodstains on

the walls, floor, and railings in the immediate vicinity. While reporting officers were continuing their investigation of the scene, Person Discovering informed reporting officers that he believes he sees an individual laying at the bottom of the stairwell. Reporting officers then went to his location and observed what appeared to be a female body laying face down on the bottom of the East stairwell on lower level five, covered in blood while missing a foot. I want to tell you about a free app I've tried. It's called Upside, and it will give you actual cash back on things you use each day,

like gas, groceries, and takeout. Upside gives you real money that you can transfer straight into your bank account. Whenever I pump gas or go to Dunkin' Donuts for a drink, I use Upside. I've even used it when ordering pizza on the app. Here's how it works. Download Upside, claim an offer for whatever you're buying, and pay as usual using a debit or credit card. Follow the steps and get paid. To find out how much you could earn, click the link in the description to download Upside or scan that QR code that you see right there on your screen and use our promo code CRIMEFIX to get an extra 25 cents back on every gallon on your first tank of gas. That's promo code CRIMEFIX for extra cash back. So that warrant for Adam Beckerink's arrest out of Michigan was just served last Friday

and he was taken to the Cook County Jail. Why was it served just now, all of these months later? We don't know, but a judge has ordered Beckerink extradited to Michigan. After Caitlin died, her parents went to court asking a judge to give them custody of her remains. An affidavit from the case revealed more details about the exact location where Caitlin's body was found. Decedent's remains were discovered directly below location where Caitlin's body was found. Decedent's remains were discovered directly below the respondent's condominium. Law enforcement has advised the family that based on the condition of the remains, decedent's body fell approximately 24 floors before landing at the bottom of a stairwell. Based on the height of the fall, the decedent's body was pulverized and her foot was severed from her body. Law enforcement has advised the family that the

respondent is the primary suspect and he was immediately taken into custody by the Chicago Police Department Violent Crimes Unit. Law enforcement has advised family that the respondent was detained for 48 hours and then was released without being charged. And now we're learning new details about what police said happened the day Caitlyn Tracy's body was found. A police report states Beckerink related that Tracy went missing on October 25th, 2024. Beckerink 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 October 24th, 2024, uncovered that Beckerink was in the residence the day before Tracy was reported missing.

A slash D learned that Beckerink was with his wife on video in the residence when he told reporting officers he was out of town when Tracy went missing. Beckerink allowed A-D to view his and Tracy's phones, which appeared to have deleted messages that he stated was the way they were communicating before they went missing. Beckerink could not provide an explanation why messages were deleted from both phones. A-D learned during the investigation that Beckerink 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 Beckerink

in custody for filing a false missing report for his wife, Tracy. When Beckerink was placed in custody, he stated, is she alive and is she okay? Beckerink was transported to Area 3 for further investigation. Beckerink was cited for filing a false report. Court documents filed by Caitlin Tracy's parents say she was living in Michigan at the time that she died, and Adam Beckerink was living in the condo in Chicago, where he worked as a lawyer. The documents continue. Caitlin obtained a restraining order against Beckerink in Cook County, Illinois, in October 2023, before they were married. She described Beckerink calling her a cheater and a liar, among other things. The document states,

the respondent physically abused me by dragging me by my ankle, strangling me, suffocating me, slamming my head against a cabinet, slapping me, punching me, putting my head on a headlock and dragging me away from the front door to prevent me from leaving. The respondent took my keys, wallet, iPad and phone from me to prevent me from seeking help. I was able to flee on foot. I went to the police station and filed a police report for aggravated domestic battery. It's not clear what happened to that charge, but the documents filed by Caitlin Tracy's parents to support their effort to claim her remains say she later withdrew the request for the restraining order after Beckerink threatened to sue her for defamation. The request for a restraining order also includes other details about an alleged incident in July 2023 in Michigan. Caitlin Tracy wrote, the respondent physically abused me by throwing a pickle jar, which struck me on my head, punching me, pushing me, pulling my hair,

dragging me by my clothes and stripping me out of my clothes. The respondent also poured vodka on my body, which burned my wounds and would motion as if he was going to hit me with the alcohol bottle. The next day, Tracy wrote, the respondent took me to the hospital to seek medical attention for my open head wound. An attorney representing Caitlin Tracy's parents said in an affidavit that he asked Beckerink's lawyers about releasing her remains to her parents and got pushback. But later, a judge ordered that her remains be released to her parents so they could give her a proper Catholic burial. Adam Becker wanted her remains to be cremated. I want to bring in Tom Smith. He is a retired NYPD detective,

also the co-host of the Gold Shields podcast on YouTube. Tom, talk to me a little bit about what you think is going on in this investigation right now, at least with the part about Caitlin Tracy's death. The medical examiner still has not released her cause of death and manner of death. And from what her parents have said in court documents, her body, you know, it's so graphic. They said basically her body, you know, it's so graphic. They said basically her body was pulverized. Yeah. You know, these type of investigations can be slow because the detectives and investigators and even the DAs want to get everything right. You know, they want everything to be lined up and on board with going forward with a prosecution. So sometimes it is

taking a little bit more time than a lot of us want. And the other part of it is they don't want to release any information that may be a detriment to the investigation and letting too much information out there to maybe hamper an interview or something along those lines. So I understand the kind of methodical way they're doing it with releasing some information and not. Are you surprised that they haven't redacted the police reports? I mean, we've been able to get a good amount of information from some of these police incident reports about how Caitlin's body was found in the in the stairwell. It's incredibly graphic. And then again, also

about the police believing that he falsely reported her missing. I mean, they're saying that he reported her missing on the day her body was found, yet they had video evidence that contradicted that. And then also they said that he there were text messages deleted from both of their phones. Yeah, you know what? When it comes to criminals, especially when you deal with domestic deaths and domestic investigations that are around the death of a spouse, criminals who aren't normal criminals, and this is what I mean by that, they have a set mind of what they're going to do. But then the aftermath gets really murky about how to cover stuff up and how to cover your tracks. And they're not good at

it. And that's what detectives and investigators rely on because then the panic sets in about what they actually just did. So they rely on mistakes that are being made by people. And the biggest mistake of all, and spouses don't learn from this, the whole missing person thing never works. Scott Peterson tried it. A lot of others tried it. It doesn't work because it's very easily followed up, digital footprints and text messages and videos and all that. So once detectives get that, you kind of work backwards from that with getting video surveillances and telephones and text messages that is going to easily negate those claims of a missing person report. So do you think the determination about the cause and manner of death here? I mean, obviously we know that toxicology can sometimes take a very long time. I mean, you always need that for a complete autopsy report.

I mean, depending on the state, I mean, it can take four or five months. I mean, just depending on the backlog. So that could be a piece of this puzzle. what statements, if any, Adam Beckerink made when he was questioned by police regarding his wife's death and disappearance. You know, it's a grisly scene. She fell, they think, 20 feet at least down a stairwell. So, I mean, you have to determine whether, A, this was a homicide, B, whether it was an accident, C, we know it's not natural. I guess it could be undetermined or potentially maybe a suicide. I mean, so there are several options here. Yeah, you know, the autopsy is key because not determining the cause of death is very

important in this because you can't make the determination that the fall killed her. She could have been dead already, you know, and a disposing of a body to make it look like a suicide. You know, there's things like that that happen. So the determination by the medical examiner of what the exact cause of death is going to be is going to be very, very important in this. And not to get graphic, as you said, but the condition of the body, it may take longer to determine that because of what the condition was of the body to really piece together a cause of death. But that's going to be a very, very key part of this,

of what it actually was. Was it the fall or was it something before that happened? From what we know, and I'm asking you to speculate a little bit here, from what we know about this, I mean, there's talk about blood, of course. I mean, it's really disturbing. Her foot was severed. Do you think there's a possibility here that this was a possibility and has been done before. So that, you know, has to be in play when it comes to the investigation and what theories come about when it comes to the detectives' mindsets of going forward and looking at this case.

So, Tom, what is curious to me about this case is the fact that Caitlin Tracy, if we look at the timeline here, her body was found in the stairwell on October 27th. Her husband reports her missing that day. The cops go back and they say, okay, we found evidence that he was with her despite him saying he hadn't seen her for a week, that he was with her on the 25th. We found this video evidence. You know, they think he's lying. They charged him with filing a false report. Then four days later on Halloween, four days after her body is found, the police in New Buffalo, Michigan, where she, her parents say she was living at the time, they file for a bench warrant. They say he violated the terms of his bail in those Michigan domestic violence cases in which he had been charged with hurting her very badly and he was going to be

going to trial. They file this bench warrant for his arrest, yet that warrant is not served on him until last Friday. So what on earth took so long? I mean, is that a common thing that it would take that long to serve a bench warrant on somebody who lives basically an hour and 15 minutes away in Chicago? Yeah. The only determination I can come up with was, see, like in my case, there were numerous times that we would be investigating something and have a main subject or main suspect. You start running a background and see he might have a warrant somewhere. So you're going to act on that warrant. And why? Because then you have him. If an arrest warrant is made or a bench warrant in this case, you have him and you know where he is

if you lock him up. So the determination of maybe flight fleeing the scene and a flight risk is out of the question. So you start running backgrounds on him and see if anything pops anywhere in the country. And this time it did, you know, of a crime that happened in Michigan. And the issuance of the bench warrant is just kind of enhancing that they have a hold on their main sub suspect in this. So it does happen quite often. And I think they played it pretty well doing, you know, a check on him and having that tool in their toolbox of, of getting him locked in somewhere. But don't you think that they would have known that already? Um, I would assume that the authorities in Michigan had been in touch with the Chicago Police Department and vice versa, only because, I mean, this has been pretty high profile.

It's been in the news. Caitlin Tracy's parents, they went to court to get custody of her remains, which they were granted. Do you think that maybe they've been kind of working together on this and something came up that where they said, you know what, maybe we need to take this guy into custody? Yeah, that could have been, you know, they could have understood that that that complaint was filed in Michigan, but not acted on it until maybe they gathered more evidence or more not evident, more information on on things pointing at him and then acted on it. That could have been too. And, you know, I mentioned that police department reaching out to New Buffalo, but it might have been the opposite of the way around. Also of them contacting Chicago saying, hey, we have this, you know,

to keep on hold until we need it. And maybe they just found at that point they needed to lock him in somewhere. Maybe there was a flight risk involved or hurting himself or something like that. So that's maybe why they pulled the trigger on that. So he's now been ordered back to Michigan. You know, the judge in Cook County says, OK, you're going back to Michigan as you await trial, which the trial is supposed to be next month on these domestic violence cases. And there's a whole laundry list of charges, felonies and misdemeanor charges.

So he'll be held there pending trial. Where do you see the Chicago case going? I mean, obviously, we know that digital downloads, this forensic downloads can take a long time. You know, I'm sure they had to get a search warrant. This is a lawyer. He's a lawyer. And he has very high powered lawyers in Chicago. He's very good lawyers.

So I'm sure that they had the cops had to go get a warrant for his phone, for Caitlin's phone. Maybe they've even had trouble unlocking the phones. I don't know. We do know that they saw deleted text messages, so maybe they got in there right away. We're just not 100% sure of how deep they got into the phones. But some of that stuff can take a lot of time. Oh, yeah, it does. But here's the thing. If he is locked up and he's going to be locked up until pending trial, now you eliminate

him from being on him all the time, a surveillance team and watching him and all that. So you know where he is. So you can kind of focus a lot on the evidentiary part of this. And here's the thing with this. A lot of things can point at him, suspicions and all that. You still have to prove it. You still have to get enough evidence that it's there to lock him up. And that's what they are doing right now. You could have all the thought in the world and a lot of the circumstantial evidence pointing

at someone, but they still have to prove it and get the probable cause to lock him in on that. And that could take some time, especially when you have high-powered defense attorneys who are going to be in your face at every move you make. So you have to do it right. You have to be methodical about it and get it done the right way. Well, and, you know, we have to keep in mind, too. I mean, he's not been charged with his wife's murder at all.

I mean, we need to be very clear about that. You know, he's been questioned about her death, and there's not been a determination yet, at least publicly. There's been no statement that this was indeed a homicide. So I do want to be clear about that. Her parents have said they were told by Chicago police, just so the viewers know, her parents say they've been told by Chicago PD that he's the prime suspect. So there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered here. So I think we'll be keeping a really close eye on this as the case moves forward. Tom, any final thoughts?

No, you know, we're going to keep an eye on it because it's an intriguing case. Because like I said, the cause of death in my mind is going to be very interesting to see and that determination because that's going to set I think the investigation off on a different track or just more of an aggressive track depending on what those findings are yeah well it's incredibly sad um very very sad um Caitlin Tracy you know her family is grieving um and they deserve answers no matter what the cause and manner of death was. Tom Smith, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. I reached out to Adam Beckerink's attorney for a comment on his arrest. At the time of this

recording, I had not yet heard back, and Caitlin Tracy's parents, I am told, are not commenting on Beckerink's arrest. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ian Janette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.