Police end investigation of Illinois woman’s freezer death

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Police have closed their investigation into the death of a 19-year-old woman whose body was found inside a hotel walk-in freezer in suburban Chicago.

Rosemont Police Chief Donald E. Stephens III said in a statement Friday the death of Kenneka Jenkins was a “sad” accident.

Jenkins’ body was found Sept. 10 in a walk-in freezer at a Rosemont hotel where she had been attending a party. She was found about 24 hours after relatives contacted the hotel and police to report her missing.

Police released surveillance video footage days later showing Jenkins alone and wandering through a kitchen area near the freezer.

Family members and friends have questioned whether she was the victim of foul play.

An autopsy determined she died of hypothermia and that it was an accident. Toxicology tests found alcohol, caffeine and an epilepsy/migraine medication in her system.