Attorney accused by CPD of murdering wife in South Loop high-rise to be extradited to Illinois soon

CHICAGO (WLS) -- According to Michigan prosecutors, Adam Beckerink has now been served a governor's warrant for extradition to Illinois.

Originally, Beckerink was contesting his extradition while serving out a sentence for domestic violence and contempt of court convictions, but he is now set to face a charge for the murder of his wife in Chicago.

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After more than a year of questions surrounding the death of 36-year-old Caitlin Tracey, it's now just a matter of time before her husband, Beckerink, the only suspect in her death, is brought back to Chicago to be charged with her murder.

"That was just great work by, and a follow up by, the detective division. Sometimes these things are lengthy. They take a little time and you have to do a lot of digging to make sure that you get the right evidence and build that strong case," Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling told the I-Team recently.

Tracey was found dead in October of 2024 at the bottom of the stairwell in Beckerink's high-rise apartment in the South Loop, her foot severed, her body pulverized.

"The detective division dedicated hours and days and months to this to make sure that they brought justice to someone by getting this person charged," said Supt. Snelling.

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A Chicago police murder warrant for Beckerink was issued near the end of October 2025. Now, after months of serving his sentence for domestic violence against Tracey in Michigan, Beckerink has been served a governor's warrant signed by JB Pritzker for first-degree murder to bring him back to Illinois.

In a surprise hearing last week, the judge revoked Beckerink's bond, and his attorneys said he was no longer contesting his extradition, according to a Michigan prosecutor on the case. Beckerink could be brought back to Chicago to face a Cook County murder charge in a matter of days.

"These aren't always open and shut cases," ABC 7 chief legal analyst Gil Soffer told the I-Team.

He says once Beckerink is brought back to Chicago, the complex legal process of a murder case begins for both prosecutors and the defense.

"The evidence of domestic battery, you would imagine. The state will try to find every way it can to introduce that, to establish that there's a violent pattern of behavior here in that relationship, and the defense will say it's not relevant to the question about whether this murder took place on this date. They'll fight tooth and nail; I'm sure, to keep that all out," Soffer said.

The I-Team has made repeated attempts to contact Beckerink's attorney, but has not heard back.