Family of Kenneka Jenkins settle lawsuit for $10M

The family of Kenneka Jenkins has agreed to a $10 million settlement in their wrongful death lawsuit against the Chicago-area hotel where she died.

Kenneka Jenkins lawsuit settled

Jenkins’ mother Tereasa Martin will receive more than $3.7 million from the settlement, according to NBC Chicago.

$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.

Unfortunate tragedy

The settlement comes more than six years after Jenkins died at the Crowne Plaza Chicago-O’Hare hotel in Rosemont, Ill. She went to the hotel in September 2017 to attend a late-night party but she never came home. 21 hours later, her body was found in a freezer in a commercial kitchen space. The cause of death was determined to be hypothermia.

Martin filed the lawsuit 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.