What happened to Kenneka Jenkins? Chicago teen's family paid $6M in settlement over 2017 hotel freezer death

In 2017, 19-year-old Kenneka Jenkins was found dead in a hotel in Chicago. Jenkins reportedly died of hypothermia in the walk-in freezer, as reported by The New York Times. This week, Tereasa Martin, Kenneka's mother agreed to a $10 million settlement. Martin will reportedly receive about $3.7 million in the wrongful death lawsuit, that she filed.

After Jenkins' death, Martin filed a lawsuit against CPO Hospitality LLC. This organization oversees Crowne Plaza Chicago-O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, the hotel where the incident happened. A surveillance footage was recovered which captured the deceased teenager in a disoriented manner before she entered the abandoned kitchen.

---

Kenneka Jenkins, a Chicago teenager, was found dead in a walk-in freezer at the Crowne Plaza Chicago-O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, six years ago

The horrific incident took place at the Crowne Plaza Chicago-O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont, in September 2017. According to Kenneka Jenkins' mother, she visited the hotel on September 9. According to the lawsuit filed by her mum, she was last seen leaving a room on the ninth floor, by her friends. After that, she went missing for quite some time.

According to security footage, the 19-year-old girl was seen loitering around Caddyshack Restaurant, which was within the hotel premises, at about 3.30 am local time. About 21 hours later, she was found unresponsive in a walk-in freezer in an abandoned kitchen of the hotel. Authorities then stated that the case was a mere accident, and there was no sign of foul play. It was revealed that police began looking for her about three hours after she was reported missing.

The hotel employees assured Tereasa Martin they would "check and review all security cameras and footage." The lawsuit claimed that they initially failed to do so, and thus the teenager's death couldn't be prevented. The lawsuit also alleged that the defendants had not locked the freezer well. Originally, Tereasa sought $50 million from the companies in connection to Jenkins' death.

---

It was revealed that Jenkins had alcohol in her system when she died

Despite being ruled as an accident, several conspiracy theories came up, in connection to Kenneka Jenkins' tragic death. Over 1,000 people attended her funeral as well. Toxicology reports revealed that Kenneka Jenkins had traces of alcohol and caffeine in her body, during the time of her death.

Apart from these, traces of medication used to cure epilepsy and migraines were also recovered. CNN further reported that the victim's cause of death was ruled to have been caused by hypothermia and "cold exposure in a walk-in freezer" as well as "ethanol and topiramate intoxication."

NBC News reported that about $3.7 million will go to the deceased teenager's mother, $2.7 million has been allocated for other family members, and about $3.5 million will be used as attorney fees. They used a further $6,000 to cover the funeral costs. Despite the allegations in the lawsuit, the defendants did not admit to any wrongdoing in the case. According to the court filing, Jenkins' death happened primarily because she consumed three separate medications.