Kenneka Jenkins' family to get $6.4 million in settlement over her death in Chicago area hotel freezer

The above video is from a previous report

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The family of 19-year-old Kenneka Jenkins will get more than $6.4 million in damages as part of a wrongful death settlement, after she died when she got locked inside a hotel freezer in 2017.

Jenkins was found dead inside a walk-in freezer at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont early on Sept. 10, 2017, after she went to the complex late on Sept. 8 for a private party in a room there.

Her mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the hotel's parent company, security firm, and restaurant, claiming staff were negligent because they didn't secure the walk-in freezer or conduct a proper search when Jenkins went missing. 

A settlement agreement was reached in August, according to court records, but terms of the deal were not made public until Tuesday, when the case had been scheduled to go to trial.

The settlement totals $10 million, with more than $3.5 million going to the family's attorneys, more than $6,000 going towards her funeral costs, and more than $6.4 million to be split between Jenkins' mother and two other relatives.

Jenkins' mother, Tereasa Martin, will get more than $3.7 million, while two other relatives will get $1.5 million and $1.2 million.

The two sides originally had sought to keep the terms of the settlement sealed, but a judge denied that request. Martin's lawsuit had sought $50 million in damages.

The circumstances surrounding Jenkins' death generated controversy, with friends and family members questioning whether foul play had occurred -- and whether police mishandled the case.

Jenkins, a 19-year-old Chicago resident, was found dead inside a freezer at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel early Sept. 10, 2017, after she went to to the complex late Sept. 8 for a private party in a room there. The circumstances surrounding her death generated controversy, with friends and family members questioning whether foul play had occurred -- and whether police mishandled the case.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Jenkins' death an accident. Medical authorities say she died from hypothermia after being exposed to cold. Toxicology tests detected alcohol and topiramate, an epilepsy/migraine medication, in the woman's system, which contributed to her death, the M.E.'s office said.

Martin's suit claimed that staff failed to monitor security cameras that would have alerted them to Jenkins' whereabouts, thus preventing her death.

In October 2017, Rosemont police released a timeline of Jenkins' last hours and other evidence, including audio recordings and photographs of Jenkins' body in the compartment where she was found.

Police said they interviewed 44 people -- 30 were in the hotel room where the party was that weekend. The police report said the credit card used to pay for the room was fraudulent and was linked to a gang on Chicago's West Side.

"While there were many theories, rumors, and much speculation floating around social media regarding the death of Ms. Jenkins, none were supported with facts," police said in their final report.

Jenkins' final documented moments were these, according to Rosemont police:

• She left her home on the West Side of Chicago at 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 8.
• At 1:13 a.m. on Sept. 9, she arrived at Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel to attend a private party in a hotel room.
• Surveillance video time-stamped 3:25 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, showed Jenkins exiting a lower-level elevator.
• At 3:32 a.m., she was last seen on surveillance video moving through a first-floor kitchen.
• At 7:14 a.m., Jenkins' mother called Rosemont Public Safety to report her daughter missing.
• At 12:46 p.m., Jenkins' sister filed a missing persons report at the Rosemont police station. Officers searched the hotel and reviewed surveillance video as the day progressed.
• At 12:25 a.m. on Sept. 10, a hotel employee found Jenkins' body. She was pronounced dead at the scene.