Family of Kenneka Jenkins Reaches Settlement 6 Years After Daughter Was Found In Hotel Freezer

The family of Kenneka Jenkins, whose body was found in the freezer of a Chicago hotel, has settled with the hotel, security company, and the hotel’s restaurant, CBS News reports.

Terms of the settlement will remain undisclosed for safety reasons, according to Cook County Circuit Court Records, at the request of the Jenkins family.

“The widespread publicity of this case, including uncontrolled speculation and social media commentary, has resulted in various threats made against various individuals in the case,” Jenkins’ mother, Tereasa Martin’s attorneys, said. “One of the main terms of the settlement for all parties was maintaining the confidentiality of the settlement.”

Jenkins was found dead inside a walk-in freezer at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel on Sept. 10, 2017, after going to a private party at the facility on Sept. 8. Martin filed a lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages in 2018 against the hotel’s parent company, security firm, and restaurant, claiming negligence on the staff as they didn’t secure the walk-in freezer or conduct a proper search once the victim went missing.

The suit also alleged staff failed to monitor security cameras that would send an alert of Jenkin’s location and possibly prevent her death. The lack of answers regarding her death made headlines and prompted protests around the country, but her family was left wondering if it was foul play or the police mishandling the case.

According to The Associated Press, police released surveillance videos that showed Jenkins wandering alone through a kitchen area close to the freezer shortly after she disappeared. The Cook County medical examiner’s office found that Jenkins died from hypothermia and ruled her death an accident. However, alcohol and epilepsy treatment drugs were “significant contributing factors” in her death.

Over 40 people were interviewed regarding the case. Thirty of them were people at the hotel room party. Police reports say the credit card used for the hotel was fraudulent and was linked to some gang activity. The final police report alluded that facts didn’t support all of the rumors surrounding Jenkins’ death.