Family of woman who died in freezer at Chicago-area hotel agrees to $6 million settlement

The family of a woman who froze to death in a walk-in freezer agreed to a $6 million settlement in their wrongful death lawsuit against the Chicago-area hotel where she died.

Martin will receive more than $3.7 million from the settlement, according to court documents viewed by the Chicago Tribune. $3.5 million will go towards attorneys' fees, and other family members of Jenkins will receive $1.2 million and $1.5 million. Another $6,000 will cover Jenkins' funeral.

Security cameras last captured Kenneka Jenkins, 19, wandering through an empty kitchen in the Caddyshack Restaurant within the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosemont, a suburb of Chicago, at around 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 9, 2017. She was found dead in a walk-in freezer 21 hours later.

Jenkins' mother Tereasa Martin filed suit in 2018 against the hotel, the restaurant, and a security company hired to monitor the premises for failing to prevent Jenkins from entering the freezer and to check surveillance cameras in time to find her. Martin originally sought a $50 million from the companies.

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Around one hour before surveillance footage showed her in the kitchen, Jenkins left a party on the ninth floor. In the lawsuit, Martin faulted hotel employees for failing to notice Jenkins was "visibly disoriented and in dire need of assistance" as she wandered through the hotel.

Toxicology tests carried out by the Cook County medical examiner's office found Jenkins had alcohol, caffeine, and a medication used to treat epilepsy and migraines in her system when she died.

The restaurant also failed to properly secure the freezer in which Jenkins died, according to the lawsuit.

Jenkins was reported missing at around 12:30 p.m. the same day. Police began an investigation around three hours later, but Jenkins' body was not discovered until 12:25 a.m. the next day, the complaint states.