The family of an Illinois woman who was found dead in a walk-in freezer in 2017 received a $6.4 million settlement, according to records made public on Tuesday.
Kenneka Jenkins, 19, was found dead in an unused, locked freezer at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosemont a day after she vanished. The Chicago Tribune reported that the settlement totals $10 million, but Jenkins’ mother will get more than $3.7 million, while her half-brother and sister were awarded $1.2 million and $1.5 million, respectively.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Jenkins was leaving a party she was attending in a room at a hotel when she lost her phone. Her friends went to look for it but could not find Jenkins when they returned.
Surveillance footage showed Jenkins stumbling through an abandoned hotel kitchen before turning a corner where the freezer was located.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled Jenkins died of hypothermia and listed alcohol intoxication and the use of topiramate, an anti-epilepsy drug, as contributing factors.
Jenkins’ mother originally sought $50 million, alleging the hotel, Capital Security and Investigations, and Murray Bros. Caddyshack Restaurant were negligent for not securing the freezer Jenkins died in and failing to properly search for her after she vanished.
Roughly $3.5 million of the $10 million settlement will go to Jenkins’ mother’s attorneys. The case was dismissed in light of the settlement.
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[Featured image: Kenneka Jenkins/Facebook]
