Death of woman in hotel walk-in freezer was an accident, Chicago medical examiner says
An Illinois medical examiner’s office has determined that the death of a young woman whose body was found in a Chicago-area hotel’s walk-in freezer was an accident.
Kenneka Jenkins, 19, was found inside the freezer on Sept. 10 after she disappeared from a room at the Crowne Plaza in suburban Rosemont. She had attended a party with as many as 30 other people on the ninth floor and wasn’t found until nearly 24 hours after her disappearance, after repeated pleas to the hotel and police by the family.
Jenkins’ death captured the public attention and imagination, and her funeral drew about 1,000 people, many of whom had never met her.
The initial lack of information released by authorities drew activists and sparked online conspiracy theories that she was attacked and killed. The speculation was fueled by a number of videos on social media appearing to show the party and some of Jenkins’ friends. The case prompted protests from demonstrators who converged on the hotel, stirred by the strange circumstances of the death and complaints by Jenkins’ mother about the initial response from hotel staff and police.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office announced Friday that Jenkins died of hypothermia. Alcohol intoxication and the use of a drug for treating epilepsy and migraines were “significant contributing factors,” the office said.
The autopsy found mucosal erosions, a type of lesion, that indicated Jenkins had suffered from hypothermia, the medical examiner’s office said in a statement.
There was an abrasion to her right ankle and a purple contusion on her right leg, but no other sign of external or internal trauma, the office said. Her brain was swollen, but that is not indicative of a specific cause of death, it said.
Comprehensive toxicology tests were conducted for hundreds of drugs of abuse, medications and other chemical compounds, and the office said it sought to see if “date rape drugs” were in her system. None were found, the office said.
The testing found alcohol, caffeine and the epilepsy/migraine medication topiramate in Jenkins’ system, the office said. Her family said she had not been prescribed the drug, but the level was within the therapeutic range, the office said.
Her blood-alcohol level was 0.112, higher than the legal limit of 0.08 for legally driving. The alcohol and the drug can enhance each other, the office said.
The combination of alcohol and topiramate found in Jenkins’ blood can cause “impaired memory and concentration, poor coordination, confusion and impaired judgment,” among other adverse effects, the office said. This, plus cold exposure, could speed the onset of hypothermia and death, the medical examiner’s office said.
Video surveillance showed Jenkins entering the kitchen at approximately 3:32 a.m. on Sept. 9, but the recordings do not clearly show her entering the cooler and freezer because there are no cameras that directly show those doors, the office said.
Jenkins was discovered in the freezer approximately 21 hours after the video documented her entering the kitchen, the office said.
Citing the police investigation, the medical examiner said there’s no evidence Jenkins was forced to consume the alcohol or the drug. There also was no evidence of another person near the kitchen with Jenkins, and there was no evidence of an altercation or interaction with another individual immediately prior to her death, the office said.
The autopsy results were released the same day that the family filed a legal document in Cook County Circuit Court, claiming several padlocks that could have prevented entry to the unused freezer were available nearby but not used.
Kenneka’s mother, Tereasa Martin, had sought police assistance a few hours after her daughter disappeared, but a dispatcher told her Jenkins might have gone to a friend’s place or passed out after drinking too much.
Crowne Plaza staff eventually searched public areas of the hotel, and were later joined by Rosemont police. At 12:24 a.m. Sept. 10, according to video released by the village, a hotel worker went around the corner in the kitchen and summoned police that Jenkins’ body had been located.
In a statement released Friday night, Rosemont police said though “no sign of foul play appears to exist at this time,’’ they are continuing to investigate Jenkins’ death and are still looking for two people who originally checked into the hotel for the party.
Pratt, Healy and Olumhense write for the Chicago Tribune.
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