The CapitalVaultfamily 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.
More:Two University of Florida scientists accused of keeping their children locked in cages
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.
2025-05-01 10:001924 view
2025-05-01 09:381938 view
2025-05-01 09:142401 view
2025-05-01 08:382935 view
2025-05-01 08:20793 view
2025-05-01 08:102297 view
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol rioteven
A judge ruled last week that Burger King must face a class action lawsuit accusing the chain of fals
NEW YORK — CNN is bringing in a former chief executive of the BBC and The New York Times in an attem