Family of Teenager Who Froze to Death in Hotel Freezer Agrees to $10 Million Settlement

The family of a Chicago 19-year-old woman who froze to death after being accidentally locked in a hotel freezer has reached a legal settlement amounting to $10 million.

The incident occurred in September 2017 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in suburban Rosemont, where the lifeless body of the victim, Kenneka Jenkins, was discovered in a walk-in freezer a day after attending a party. The Cook County medical examiner’s office determined her cause of death as hypothermia.

The examination revealed that alcohol intoxication and the use of a medication for epilepsy and migraines were notable contributing factors to her death. Police-released surveillance videos depicted Jenkins roaming alone through a kitchen area near the freezer at approximately 3:30 a.m. on the day of her disappearance.

In December 2018, her mother, Tereasa Martin, initiated a lawsuit alleging negligence on the part of the hotel, a security company, and a restaurant leasing the freezer. The accusation pointed to their failure to secure the freezer and conduct a thorough search following Jenkins’ disappearance. Initially seeking over $50 million in damages, the lawsuit contended that friends informed Martin around 4 a.m. that Jenkins was missing, prompting a call to the hotel. The lawsuit claimed the hotel assured a review of surveillance footage, but Jenkins’ body remained undiscovered for more than 21 hours after she was believed to have entered the freezer.

The legal action argued that had the hotel properly monitored security cameras, Jenkins would still be alive.

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