Kenneka Jenkins’ tragic and puzzling situation is still fresh in people’s minds. This young woman’s life tragically changed in September 2017 on a seemingly ordinary night out with friends.
There are still unanswered concerns about what happened that evening and the subsequent investigation into her premature death. Explore all the mysteries related to her in this article.
Who was Kenneka Jenkins?
Chicago native Kenneka Jenkins, who was born on May 27, 1998, was brought up to be smart, responsible, and a happy girl. When her mother, Tereasa Martin underwent surgery for breast cancer in 2017, she took care of her because they got along well.
Kenneka informed her mother that she was going out with several peers on September 8 of the same year.
She informed her that in celebration of her starting a job at a nursing home, they would be going bowling and then to a movie. Kenneka took her mother’s car and left the house at about 11:00 p.m.
Tereasa last saw her daughter then, when she was still alive.
What happened to Kenneka Jenkins?
Kenneka and her three companions skipped going to the movies and bowling that evening. Instead, they attended a gathering on the ninth floor of Rosemont, Illinois’ Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel.
Security footage shows the group entering through a side door at around 1:00 a.m. During the party, the friends posted live footage on Facebook and Snapchat, but it was obvious the girls weren’t having a good time. Males aggressively approached the girls for flirtation despite being warned to stop. At 1:30 a.m.
The females decided to leave the party at around 3 a.m. Kenneka discovered she had left her belongings, car keys, and cell phone back in the room when she was in the hotel lobby.
In some stories, the females abandoned her in the hotel lobby, but according to others, they left her in the hallway on the ninth floor next to the elevator.
All three of her companions left her wherever they had been and proceeded to get Kenneka’s things from the party, leaving her alone. They disappeared for ten to twenty minutes.
Disappearance and mysterious death of Kenneka Jenkins
Kenneka was gone when those arrived back at the location where they had left her. The peers looked all over the hotel for her but were unsuccessful. The police started their inquiry once Kenneka was formally reported missing the following day.
Her last known footage shows her returning to the double freezer through this kitchen. Although she is not seen entering the freezer in the video, it is assumed that she opened the door, entered, and became stuck there.
Kenneka’s body was found inside the freezer unit on September 10, 2017, at about 1:00 a.m. She was found on the ground with one shoe removed, and her hair messy. According to the authorities, there is no evidence of wrongdoing.
Reports of Kenneka Jenkins
Later autopsy results revealed that she had died of hypothermia. In addition to a few scrapes and wounds on her foot and ankle that were visible since she was not wearing shoes, there were no additional injuries or marks on her body. No signs of a struggle or a fight were present.
Her toxicology report revealed a blood alcohol content of 0.112, which qualified her as legally drunk. Hypothermia would have worsened if she had had alcohol in her blood.
Her mother also claimed that she had a prescription drug in her system that hadn’t been prescribed to her. It was topiramate, a drug also used to treat epilepsy and prevent migraines.
Current update on Kenneka Jenkins’s death
The 2017 wrongful death case filed by Kenneka Jenkins’s mother, Tereasa Martin, has been settled.
The agreement was made back in August, according to court records, but it wasn’t filed because Jenkins’ mother,’s lawyers argued that the contents of the settlement should be kept secret from the public to preserve the family’s safety and privacy, according to Chicago Tribune.
On Tuesday, October 3, a judge rejected the request but instructed them to resubmit. The matter will be the subject of a status hearing the following week. Monday, October 16, has been set aside for the trial to begin.
