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Rosemont police: Kenneka Jenkins' death was accidental

Authorities close their investigation

Rosemont authorities have officially closed their investigation into the death of Kenneka Jenkins, concluding it was accidental.

The village's public safety department issued a four-page news release Friday afternoon detailing the findings of its investigation into the Sept. 10 death of the 19-year-old Chicago woman, whose body was discovered in a freezer of the Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare hotel.

The department also made available records relating to the investigation on the village's website, including police reports, video surveillance footage, 911 and police dispatch calls and photographs.

"While there were many theories, rumors and much speculation floating around social media regarding the death of Ms. Jenkins, none were supported with facts," Chief Donald Stephens III said in the release. "While all leads and theories were investigated by our department, what we have reported throughout the investigation and again, today, are the facts.

"We have spent countless hours to ensure that we completed the most thorough and complete investigation possible."

The accidental death ruling comes exactly two weeks after the Cook County medical examiner's office made the same determination. The office's report listed the official cause of death as hypothermia, though it noted alcohol and topiramate, a medication used to treat epilepsy and migraines, as contributing factors. Jenkins had a blood-alcohol level of .112, the autopsy found.

Rosemont authorities on Friday said detectives found no signs of foul play, or evidence Jenkins was forced to drink alcohol or consume any drugs while at the hotel.

On Thursday, Jenkins' mother, Tereasa Martin, and sister, Leonore Harris, met with detectives for an update on the case and to view the photographs released to the public Friday. The family's attorneys said their requests to review all reports, photographs and videos were denied.

"Frankly, the photos depicting how Kenneka was found raise more questions about what happened to (her) than they answer," attorney Larry Rogers Jr. said.

Rogers filed a legal motion Oct. 6 asking that the Crowne Plaza be ordered to preserve evidence.

Police say Jenkins' body was discovered by a hotel worker at 12:25 a.m. in a walk-in freezer inside a walk-in cooler. That was about 21 hours after video surveillance documented her walking into an unused first-floor kitchen.

There's one motion-censored still camera near the freezer, but it doesn't show the freezer door, Rosemont authorities said Friday.

They also revealed that from the time Jenkins entered the kitchen to the time her body was discovered, only one person - a hotel security guard - entered the kitchen as he was making his normal rounds. But he didn't get close to the freezer and was never out of sight of the camera, police said.

During the investigation, police generated 135 reports and conducted interviews with 44 people, including 30 who were with Jenkins at a hotel party the night she went missing. Six more people believed to have been in the room haven't been interviewed, as they've been identified only by street names. Friends or associates have provided little cooperation in finding them, according to the Rosemont release.

Meanwhile, police said they are still looking for a man and a woman who have ties to a gang on the West Side of Chicago and used a fraudulent credit card to pay for the hotel room where the party occurred.

On Friday night, a small group of protesters gathered in front of the Crowne Plaza on Balmoral Avenue. A number of protests have been held since September, with activists questioning whether foul play was involved.

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Kenneka Jenkins' body was discovered inside this walk-in freezer at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare hotel in Rosemont. Courtesy of Rosemont Public Safety Department
Kenneka Jenkins' body was discovered inside this walk-in freezer at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare hotel. Courtesy of Rosemont Public Safety Department
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