A woman from Farmington Hills was found dead in downtown Chicago. Her family won a court case to get her body back.
It was one day after her husband reported her missing that Caitlan Tracey’s body was found in the stairwell of his apartment building last month.
Court records show that Tracey fell 24 flights of stairs in the high rise on October 27 in the 1200 block of Prairie Street.
Lawyers say a resident of the building found a severed foot near a railing in the east stairwell and told the building manager about it.
While Chicago police searched the area, Tracey’s body was found by the building manager.
Tracey’s parents asked the probate court in her home county of Berrien County, Michigan, to give them their daughter’s body and let them decide how she was buried.
Legal custody of Tracey’s body had been given to her husband, who is charged with assaulting her, but her parents now have custody after two court rulings in Michigan and Illinois.
Andrew Cunniff, the family’s lawyer, told WWJ Newsradio 950 this after the latest decision, which was made Friday in Cook County Court:
The hearing today was a big step forward for Caitlin’s family, and we’re thankful to the courts in both Michigan and Chicago for making good decisions quickly.
We also want to thank Mitt Drew, the family’s lawyer in Michigan, for all of his hard work and dedication.
The Tracey family can finally put this chapter to rest and go back to grieving Caitlin’s death and honoring her amazing life.
“Caitlin was a wonderful young woman who died way too soon.” We hope that her story will bring attention to the terrible problem of domestic violence, which is often hidden.
“The Tracey family wants to thank everyone for all the support and help they have received during this very hard time.” Now, we ask that their request for privacy be respected while they deal with their terrible loss.
Tracey had an order to keep her husband away from her, and he is accused of assaulting her twice.
Luke Sloan of WWJ says that police are still trying to figure out if Tracey’s death was caused by foul play.
Once Tracey’s body is brought back to Michigan, her family plans to have a private Catholic funeral and burial.
