{"id":141830,"date":"2026-01-14T14:01:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T22:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/01\/14\/former-biglaw-partner-officially-charged-with-murder-in-wifes-death\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T14:01:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T22:01:05","slug":"former-biglaw-partner-officially-charged-with-murder-in-wifes-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/01\/14\/former-biglaw-partner-officially-charged-with-murder-in-wifes-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Biglaw Partner Officially Charged With Murder In Wife\u2019s Death"},"content":{"rendered":"

On October 27, 2024, Caitlin Tracey, 36, the wife of former Duane Morris tax partner Adam P. Beckerink, was found dead in the stairwell of Beckerink\u2019s apartment building in Chicago\u2019s South Loop. Her severed foot was found nearby. One year later, he was arrested<\/a>, with prosecutors accusing him of throwing his wife over the stairwell railing, where she fell 24 floors to her death. Beckerink was later removed from the Biglaw firm\u2019s partnership<\/a>, and in the interim, he\u2019s spent time behind bars in Michigan on domestic violence-related charges that he abused Tracey. Earlier this week, Beckerink was extradited from Michigan to Chicago, Illinois, where he was formally charged with first-degree murder in his wife\u2019s death. <\/p>\n

The ex-Biglaw partner is in custody at the Cook County Jail as he awaits a detention hearing. The state argues that Beckerink poses a threat<\/a> to the community. Cook County State\u2019s Attorney Eileen O\u2019Neill Burke offered the following statement<\/a> on the charges against Beckerink:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cDomestic violence has reached a crisis point in our communities, with domestic violence-related homicides spiking to levels that shock the conscience. With these charges, we are sending a strong message: violent crimes rooted in domestic abuse will be aggressively prosecuted as we work to bring justice to families and protect survivors. This office will treat domestic violence cases with the urgency, seriousness and resolve they demand.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Antoinette Ursitti, the Chicago Police Department\u2019s Chief of Detectives, echoed Burke\u2019s statement, saying, \u201cFor more than a year, our Area 3 detectives fought to bring justice in this case for Caitlin Tracey and her loved ones. The determination of our detectives to secure charges in this case underscores our commitment to all victims\u00a0and families who have experienced domestic violence. We will always work to hold the offenders accountable in partnership with the Cook County State\u2019s Attorney\u2019s Office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beckerink\u2019s next court date is set for Friday, January 16.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a victim of familial or domestic violence, reach out if you need help. If you are in immediate danger, please call the\u00a0National Domestic Violence Hotline<\/a>\u00a0at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Assistance is available in English and Spanish.<\/p>\n

Cook County State\u2019s Attorney Eileen O\u2019Neill Burke Announces Murder Charge Against Chicago Attorney in 2024 South Loop Condo Homicide<\/a> [Cook County State\u2019s Attorney]<\/p>\n

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Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to\u00a0email<\/a>\u00a0her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedI<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/a>n<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Former Biglaw Partner Officially Charged With Murder In Wife\u2019s Death<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Image via iStock)\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On October 27, 2024, Caitlin Tracey, 36, the wife of former Duane Morris tax partner Adam P. Beckerink, was found dead in the stairwell of Beckerink\u2019s apartment building in Chicago\u2019s South Loop. Her severed foot was found nearby. One year later, he was arrested<\/a>, with prosecutors accusing him of throwing his wife over the stairwell railing, where she fell 24 floors to her death. Beckerink was later removed from the Biglaw firm\u2019s partnership<\/a>, and in the interim, he\u2019s spent time behind bars in Michigan on domestic violence-related charges that he abused Tracey. Earlier this week, Beckerink was extradited from Michigan to Chicago, Illinois, where he was formally charged with first-degree murder in his wife\u2019s death. <\/p>\n

The ex-Biglaw partner is in custody at the Cook County Jail as he awaits a detention hearing. The state argues that Beckerink poses a threat<\/a> to the community. Cook County State\u2019s Attorney Eileen O\u2019Neill Burke offered the following statement<\/a> on the charges against Beckerink:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cDomestic violence has reached a crisis point in our communities, with domestic violence-related homicides spiking to levels that shock the conscience. With these charges, we are sending a strong message: violent crimes rooted in domestic abuse will be aggressively prosecuted as we work to bring justice to families and protect survivors. This office will treat domestic violence cases with the urgency, seriousness and resolve they demand.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Antoinette Ursitti, the Chicago Police Department\u2019s Chief of Detectives, echoed Burke\u2019s statement, saying, \u201cFor more than a year, our Area 3 detectives fought to bring justice in this case for Caitlin Tracey and her loved ones. The determination of our detectives to secure charges in this case underscores our commitment to all victims\u00a0and families who have experienced domestic violence. We will always work to hold the offenders accountable in partnership with the Cook County State\u2019s Attorney\u2019s Office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beckerink\u2019s next court date is set for Friday, January 16.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a victim of familial or domestic violence, reach out if you need help. If you are in immediate danger, please call the\u00a0National Domestic Violence Hotline<\/a>\u00a0at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Assistance is available in English and Spanish.<\/p>\n

Cook County State\u2019s Attorney Eileen O\u2019Neill Burke Announces Murder Charge Against Chicago Attorney in 2024 South Loop Condo Homicide<\/a> [Cook County State\u2019s Attorney]<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to\u00a0email<\/a>\u00a0her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedI<\/a><\/em><\/strong>n<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On October 27, 2024, Caitlin Tracey, 36, the wife of former Duane Morris tax partner Adam P. Beckerink, was found dead in the stairwell of Beckerink\u2019s apartment building in Chicago\u2019s South Loop. Her severed foot was found nearby. One year later, he was arrested, with prosecutors accusing him of throwing his wife over the stairwell […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":141778,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Staci-Zaretsky-5kPMfn.jpg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}