A Chicago attorney who is a suspect in the suspicious death of his wife at their South Loop home last fall will be extradited to Michigan after he was arrested late last week on an out-of-state warrant accusing him of violating the conditions of release in two criminal cases that stem from earlier domestic violence incidents.
Adam Beckerink, 46, was arrested on Friday at his South Loop home by Chicago police after they learned he had an out-of-state warrant related to a pending case in Berrien County, Michigan, located about an hour-and-a-half from Chicago. The case also involves Caitlin Tracey.
Beckerink has been under scrutiny since his wife, Caitlin Tracey, was found dead Oct. 27 in a stairwell outside Beckerink’s apartment in the 1200 block of South Prairie Avenue. Authorities said she died of injuries she suffered in an apparent 20-story fall.
Beckerink was detained and questioned by police after officials said they learned he lied on a missing persons report for Tracey hours before her death. Beckerink allegedly claimed in the report that he came back to Chicago on Oct. 25 after spending time in Michigan, and he had not seen Tracey in about a month. Detectives found building surveillance video showing the two together on Oct. 24, according to a Chicago police report.
Beckerink was later released from custody and has not been charged with a crime in connection with the death of Tracey, who had obtained an order of protection against Beckerink in the fall of 2023 after multiple domestic battery reports to Chicago police.
On Monday, both prosecutors and the defense noted that Beckerink was a suspect in his wife’s death. Prosecutors said the case remained under investigation.
Beckerink, a tax attorney, was brought for a hearing on Saturday on the warrant that was continued to Monday after his attorneys in Chicago questioned whether the arrest warrant was still valid.
On Monday, defense attorney John Brayman argued before Judge Antara Nath Rivera that the warrant wasn’t valid because Beckerink had attended all his hearings in the Michigan case and not committed any other violations of his pretrial release in those cases.
Brayman noted that Beckerink had appeared before his Berrien County judge since the warrant was issued and it was never brought up.
Chicago police said the warrant was related to an alleged violation of his pretrial release conditions, but did not provide additional information in the hearing.
Judge Antara Nath Rivera ruled the warrant was valid and asked whether Beckerink wanted to challenge his extradition or agree to return to Michigan to sort out the matter before his judge there.
In a low voice, Beckerink, dressed in a bright orange department of corrections jumpsuit, said he agreed to be extradited.
People arrested on out-of-state warrants have few avenues to challenge their extradition, which essentially only requires that the court can confirm the person is charged with a crime and a valid warrant for their arrest has been signed by a judge.
Illinois bail reforms do not apply to extradition cases, meaning defendants can’t be released on a no-bail warrant from another jurisdiction even if they would likely be released for the same crime in Illinois.
The hearings take place daily in Cook County and judges often have little information about the case the defendant faces beyond the fact that a warrant has been issued.
The jurisdiction seeking the defendant has up to 30 days to take custody of a detainee who had agreed to be returned before they are released from Cook County custody. If they are released, defendants can be rearrested on the same warrant if they don’t return to the seeking jurisdiction on their own to handle the matter.
Defendants typically don’t fight extradition, which can see them held in custody for up to 90 days while the state seeks an order from the governor. Defendants are not given credit for that time in custody and often can resolve their cases more quickly by being returned to the jurisdiction that is seeking them.
In Cook County, nearby jurisdictions usually pick people up within a few days.
Tom Schuba contributed.