Judge denies bid by former Duane Morris partner to stop his wife's funeral
A Chicago judge has denied a former Duane Morris partner’s emergency motion to stop his deceased wife’s parents from holding her funeral, so that he can obtain her remains. (Image from Shutterstock)
A Chicago judge on Wednesday denied a former Duane Morris partner’s emergency motion to stop his deceased wife’s parents from holding her funeral, so that he can obtain her remains.
Judge Eve M. Reilly of Cook County, Illinois, denied lawyer Adam P. Beckerink’s request to preserve the remains of his wife, 36-year-old Caitlin Tracey, pending appeal.
Tracey was found dead at the bottom of a stairwell in Beckerink’s South Loop residential building on Oct. 27. Her foot had been severed.
The Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times and Fox 32 Chicago have coverage of Reilly’s Nov. 20 order.
Beckerink was ousted as a partner at Duane Morris after Tracey’s parents sought her remains in court filings alleging that he had physically abused their daughter. A judge in Berrien County, Michigan, granted the parents’ request Nov. 12, saying he had jurisdiction because Tracey was a resident of New Buffalo, Michigan, at the time of her death.
The parents then sought to enforce the judgment in Cook County because the Medical Examiner’s office had the remains.
Two domestic violence charges are pending against Beckerink in Berrien County, Michigan, according to past coverage by the Chicago Tribune. He has not been charged with any crime related to his wife’s death.
The couple had been married six months when Tracey died. A lawyer for Beckerink, Todd Pugh, has previously said Tracey “was the love of Adam’s life.”
In an affidavit supporting a bid for an order of protection that was granted in October 2023, Tracey said Beckerink physically abused her at a Ritz-Carlton hotel, at Beckerink’s South Loop residential building and at her Michigan home.
In one instance, she alleged, Beckerink struck her in the head with a pickle jar and poured vodka on her body, burning her wounds. The protection order was dismissed in November 2023 when Tracey moved to vacate it.
Another lawyer for Beckerink, Telly Stefaneas, told Reilly in a hearing Wednesday that his client planned to appeal the Michigan decision awarding the remains to Tracey’s parents, Andrew and Monica Tracey, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Reilly noted in her order Wednesday that it has been three weeks since Tracey’s death, and the medical examiner’s office has indicated that it could not keep her body beyond 30 days.
“Caitlin is a human being who died under horrible circumstances,” Reilly wrote. “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. Certainly, it does not seem just or equitable to do so.”
A lawyer for Andrew and Monica Tracey, Andrew Cunniff, said in a statement Tracey’s family is grateful for Reilly’s decision.
“We cannot imagine why the defendant would want to keep Caitlin away from her family—even now,” Cunniff said. “No one should have to bury their child, much less fight a legal battle to do it. Thankfully, the right side prevailed, and Caitlin will remain with her family where she belongs.”
