Criminal Justice
Former BigLaw partner pleads no contest to alleged domestic abuse of wife who was later found dead in stairwell
A former Duane Morris partner pleaded no contest in Berrien County, Michigan, on Friday to charges of domestic abuse against his wife and interfering with her 911 call. (Image from Shutterstock)
A former Duane Morris partner pleaded no contest in Berrien County, Michigan, on Friday to charges of domestic abuse against his wife and interfering with her 911 call.
The alleged abuse against Caitlin Tracey happened two months before her body was found in October 2024 at the bottom of a stairwell in former partner Adam P. Beckerink’s condo building in Chicago’s South Loop. He has not been charged in her death.
Representatives for Tracey’s family announced the no contest plea along with Beckerink’s guilty plea to a contempt of court charge Friday for violating an order not to contact Tracey.
ABC 7 Chicago was in Michigan for the plea hearing; CWBChicago and Fox 32 Chicago also covered the plea.
Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 20.
Beckerink was ousted as a partner at Duane Morris in November 2024 after Tracey’s parents alleged in court documents that Beckerink physically abused their daughter in Michigan where she lived.
Beckerink avoided a trial scheduled to begin Sept. 9 as a result of the plea. A judge had ruled in June that during the scheduled trial, prosecutors could play Tracey’s 911 call for help in August 2024 and show police body camera footage showing Beckerink’s arrest for domestic abuse at the Michigan home, ABC 7 Chicago previously reported.
A lawyer for Beckerink has said Tracey “was the love of Adam’s life,” and there was no link between her death and his client.
The Cook County, Illinois, medical examiner did not issue a finding on Tracey’s cause of death. The options include accident, suicide, homicide and natural causes, according to CWBChicago. Tracey had multiple fractures, and her foot had been severed.
See also:
Former Duane Morris partner arrested on outstanding warrant related to Michigan assault case
Judge denies bid by former Duane Morris partner to stop his wife’s funeral
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