Kenneka Jenkins Case Closed, Death Was Accidental: Rosemont's Top Cop

ROSEMONT, IL — After interviewing 44 people, holding five photo lineups, executing three search warrants generating 135 reports, Rosemont police have determined that the death of Kenneka Jenkins was accidental. The Rosemont Public Safety Department announced the findings late Friday afternoon and closed the investigation surrounding the 19-year-old Chicago woman who was found dead in a hotel's walk-in freezer last month. The department's determination reflects and reinforces the same conclusions drawn by the Cook County medical examiner's office, which ruled earlier this month that Jenkins's death was an accident, caused by hypothermia from cold exposure.

"The death of any child is tragic; but the death and circumstances surrounding Ms. Jenkins are especially sad," Chief Donald E. Stephens III wrote in a statement introducing the department's findings.

"At this time, the Rosemont Public Safety Department has closed the death investigation of Kenneka Jenkins and has classified this incident as an accidental death," he added. "There is no evidence that indicates any other conclusion." (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest Arlington Heights news. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Along with the findings, police also released a timeline of events, as well as more photos — some graphic in nature — hotel security camera video footage and other documents surrounding the investigation, which officials had always said was noncriminal in nature. A page devoted to the investigation has been set up on Rosemont's website, and the information can be viewed there. (Editor's note: Because of the graphic nature of the images, Patch has decided not to include those photos with this story.)

The closing of the case, however, hasn't shut down questions over what happened to the teen from the time she attended a party at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel & Conference Center in Rosemont on Sept. 8 to when her body was found inside a hotel freezer Sept. 10. Lawyers for Jenkins's mother, Tereasa Martin, said the family continues to have concerns surrounding the circumstances of Jenkins's death, especially in light of some of the photos released by police Friday.

Since news of the teen's tragic death began spreading across social media and other platforms, many online observers have speculated that foul play was involved, a line of conjecture authorities have tried to quash since the investigation began.

"While there were many theories, rumors and much speculation floating around social media regarding the death of Ms. Jenkins, none were supported with facts," Stephens wrote. "While all leads and theories were investigated by our department, what we have reported throughout the investigation and again, [Friday], are the facts."

More Patch Coverage

Chicago Teen Found Dead In Hotel Freezer; Facebook Video Could Provide Clues: "I believe someone in this hotel killed my child," Kenneka Jenkins's mother said.

Autopsy For Chicago Teen Found In Hotel Freezer Inconclusive: Rosemont police plan to show hotel security camera video to the victim's mother.

Videos Released By Cops Don't Show Kenneka Jenkins Entering Freezer: A lawyer for the victim's family said they have not seen footage showing the teen walking into a hotel freezer alone.

Kenneka Jenkins Case: FBI Not Needed For Investigation, Rosemont's Top Cop Says: Public Safety Chief Donald E. Stephens III said Monday his department will handle the case despite demands to call in the feds.

Kenneka Jenkins Laid To Rest At Funeral, But Questions Over Her Death Remain (VIDEO): Mourners said goodbye to the 19-year-old woman Saturday during a service on the Far South South Side.

Medical Examiner Rules Jenkins's Death Accidental: The 19-year-old woman died of hypothermia from cold exposure in a Rosemont hotel's walk-in freezer, the medical examiner's office ruled.

More Photos To Be Released By Rosemont Police: Police told attorneys for the victim's family that additional pictures and documents would be made public Friday.

Among the facts presented by police are graphic photos showing "portions of Kenneka's body exposed," which generates more questions, not more answers for the family, Martin's lawyers told the Chicago Tribune in a statement last week. In those images, Jenkins's shirt does not fully cover her chest, although she is wearing a jean jacket. Her right foot also is bare, and her shoe is seen away from her body. Both the shoe and her body are on the floor of the freezer.

According to the Tribune, victims of hypothermia have been known to display "paradoxical undressing," a condition that happens before the loss of consciousness and death as blood vessels in the arms and legs to death narrow.

While the cause of death was hypothermia, alcohol and the antiepilepsy medication topiramate also played significant factors, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Police investigators initially told the family that Jenkins was intoxicated when she let herself into the freezer, and the medical examiner's report showed Jenkins's blood-alcohol level was 0.112. Under Illinois law, drivers with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 are considered impaired, although it's unclear how much alcohol Jenkins had consumed before her death.

The level of topiramate was "within the appropriate prescribed levels" to treat migraines and seizures, but Jenkins's family told investigators that she had not been given a prescription for the drug. When combined, topiramate and alcohol can amplify their individual side effects, causing increased dizziness, impaired memory, poor coordination and confusion, the medical examiner's office said.

No signs of “date rape drugs,” such as Rohypnol and ketamine, were found, according to Jenkins's toxicology report. Jenkins's autopsy did show the teen had an abrasion and a contusion on her right ankle and leg, respectively, but there was "no other evidence of external or internal trauma," the medical examiner's office said.

"Our detectives reported no signs of foul play throughout the whole investigation," Stephens wrote in Friday's statement. "There is no evidence that Ms. Jenkins was forced to drink alcohol or consume any narcotics while at the hotel."

Detectives constructed the following estimated timeline of events from their investigation:

11:30 p.m. Sept. 8: Jenkins leaves her home on the West Side of Chicago to attend a party at the Rosemont hotel.

1:13 a.m. Sept. 9: She arrives at the hotel for the party, which includes close friends and relatives.

3:25 a.m.: Hotel security camera footage shows Jenkins exiting a lower-level elevator, and she is last seen on hotel video at 3:32 a.m., walking through a first-floor kitchen.

7:14 a.m.: Tereasa Martin calls Rosemont police, saying she can’t find Jenkins.

12:46 p.m.: Jenkins’s sister files a missing person report at the Rosemont police station. Police go to the hotel to investigate.

8:29 p.m.: Police return to the hotel to continue searching for Jenkins and view security camera video. Searches are done throughout the night.

12:25 a.m. Sept. 10: Jenkins’s body is found by a hotel employee, and the teen is pronounced dead at the scene.

3:08 a.m.: An investigator from the Cook County medical examiner's office arrives.

5:10 a.m.: Martin and Jenkins's sister are allowed to view the teen's body before she's taken from the hotel.

Police viewed footage from the hotel's 47 security cameras, including a motion-sensored still camera inside the kitchen that was aimed in the area of the freezer. But because the camera was not pointed at the door, no footage exists showing how Jenkins got into the freezer.

According to investigators, the kitchen only has a single entrance, and the camera in the area would have captured anyone walking toward the freezer. A hotel security guard on his normal rounds is the only person who entered the kitchen between the time Jenkins had entered the area and the time her body was found, investigators said. During that time, he's always in range of the camera and never near the freezer.

Over the course of the investigation, police questioned 30 people who attended the party at the hotel with Jenkins, and it was revealed that a phony credit card was used to book and pay for the party, police said. Investigators believe two suspects in this case of identity theft and credit card fraud have ties to gangs on Chicago's West Side. Police are still looking for the suspects, and the investigation is ongoing.

Kenneka Jenkins (Photo via GoFundMe)

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