Over the past eight years, Kenneka Jenkins’ mother has endured the tragic death of her daughter — whose lifeless body was found in a hotel’s walk-in freezer — the ensuing lawsuit, and a $10 million settlement that put the family in the national spotlight.
Now that the media frenzy has subsided, two years after settling the case, Tereasa Martin is going public with bold claims about how events unfolded, saying she was “tricked” into a settlement and forced to stay silent about Kenneka.
“I still don’t know what happened to my child’s life. Clothes, shoes, cell phone, hair, and the list goes on,” she wrote in an explosive Facebook post on Nov. 21. “I have been promised lies, as if once this case is over, I was forced to NEVER talk about my child again.”
On September 10, 2017, her daughter’s lifeless body was found inside a walk-in freezer of the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare hotel in Rosemont, Illinois. The 19-year-old from Chicago had been partying with friends in a hotel room on the 9th floor, but video footage later captured her wandering into a private area that Martin believes should have been secured.
Kenneka’s death was ruled an accident by the Cook County Medical Examiner, and the cause of death was listed as “hypothermia and cold exposure in a walk-in freezer,” with intoxication as a contributing factor. However, the Rosemont police admitted the investigation was incomplete, and the family suspected foul play — her body was discovered 24 hours after authorities and the hotel had been alerted by the family to her disappearance…