A Chicago Teen Was Found Dead In A Hotel’s Walk-In Freezer After Vanishing From A Party In 2017
Five years ago, a Chicago teenager who had a bright future ahead of her was tragically found dead in the walk-in freezer of a hotel after going missing from a party. Just a few days ago, her family reached a settlement with the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel, as they believe their staff played a role in her untimely death.
Kenneka Jenkins was 19-years-old when she attended a party on the ninth floor of the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, with some friends around 11:30 pm on Friday, September 8th, 2017.
After spending time with friends at the hotel party, which was held in a room, Kenneka’s friends saw her leave around 2:30 am the following morning.
However, she never made it home or returned to the room. After a few hours had passed with no one hearing from Kenneka, her friends contacted her mother, Tereasa Martin, who contacted the hotel’s management for help.
Tereasa was told by hotel management that they could not show her security footage to figure out what happened to Kenneka until she was officially reported missing. So, around noon that day, Kenneka’s sister contacted the police and reported her as missing.
Although police and hotel management became involved in trying to find Kenneka hours after she had left the hotel room, she tragically wasn’t discovered until 21 hours later, when an employee opened the hotel kitchen’s walk-in freezer and found Kenneka’s deceased body inside.
Kenneka was pronounced dead around 12:48 am on Sunday, September 10th, 2017.
After investigating her death, police suspected there was no foul play, and Kenneka’s death was ruled an accident caused by hypothermia.
Kenneka’s toxicology report revealed she had a high blood-alcohol level when she died and had topiramate in her system, which is a prescription drug used to prevent seizures.
Facebook – pictured above is Kenneka
According to authorities, combining topiramate and alcohol can hasten hypothermia, which is how Kenneka died.
Security footage from the hotel showed Kenneka last alive around 3:30 am on September 9th, entering the hotel kitchen. However, no cameras pointed directly toward the walk-in freezer, which authorities believe she must’ve stumbled into.
Following her daughter’s tragic death, Tereasa Martin sued the hotel, the restaurant that managed its kitchen and the freezer Kenneka died in, and a security company for over $50 million in 2018.
She claimed the hotel was negligent, didn’t carry out a thorough search when Kenneka was reported missing, and failed to secure the walk-in freezer.
Tereasa also claimed that if the hotel’s security had been closely monitoring the security cameras the night Kenneka died, this tragic accident could have been avoided.
A settlement agreement was not released until this month, five years after Kenneka’s death. Tereasa received $3.7 million, while other family members received a little over $1 million. Additionally, she received $3.5 million for attorney fees and over $6,000 for funeral expenses.
While no amount of money will ever replace Kenneka or bring her back, we hope her family feels some closure and can heal.
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