Kenneka Jenkins was the girl who was discovered in a walk-in freezer at a hotel in Chicago in 2017. Now, a settlement has reached in a wrongful death lawsuit that was filed.
Documents show that the settlement was reached in August. However, it wasn’t filed due to the attorneys of Jenkins’s mother, Teresa Martin. They stated that the components of the deal shouldn’t be publicized in order to protect the family.
On Tuesday, October 3, the judge denied the request but said to resubmit it. A status hearing will take place next week in the matter. Additionally, the trial will begin on October 16.
On September 8, 2017, 19-year-old Jenkins had gone to a private party that was in one of the rooms at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont.
On September 10, 2017, Jenkins was found dead at the hotel.
An investigation found that there was no foul play.
A medical examiner determined that Jenkins’s death was accidental, saying that she died from hypothermia. This came from being in the cold for an extended amount of time. They added that alcohol and epilepsy medication contributed to her death.
Later, more evidence was collected, including audio recordings, images of Jenkins’s body in the freezer, and a timeline of her last moments alive.
In 2018, Jenkins’s mother filed a lawsuit against the hotel, its security company, and the restaurant that leased the space where the body was located. The mother had been looking for $50 million in damages. The suit noted that the walk-in freezer wasn’t properly secured and that the staff didn’t effectively look for Jenkins when she disappeared.
