CHICAGO _ The mother of Kenneka Jenkins, the young woman from Chicago who was found dead in the freezer of a Rosemont, Ill., hotel, has filed a long-anticipated lawsuit against the hotel, its security contractor and even a restaurant that was allegedly renting the space where Jenkins was found.
The lawsuit claims the defendants _ the Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel, Capital Security and Investigations and the Murray Bros. Caddyshack restaurant _ were negligent for failing to secure the freezer, located in a little-used kitchen, and for failing to conduct a proper search when Jenkins went missing from a party.
The family is seeking a judgment in excess of $50 million, the lawsuit says.
Jenkins, 19, disappeared in the early morning of Sept. 9, 2017, after attending a party held in a room of the Crowne Plaza. Her family and friends came looking for her, but authorities didn't find her body until 20 hours later. Surveillance video later released by police showed Jenkins stumbling alone through the hotel's hallways until she ended up in the kitchen, rounding the corner where the freezer was kept.
An autopsy report from the Cook County medical examiner's office concluded that Jenkins died of hypothermia, with alcohol and a drug used to treat epilepsy and migraines "significant contributing factors."
Jenkins' death spawned weeks of protests outside the hotel and online conspiracy chatter that remains robust.
A spokesman for the Crowne Plaza could not immediately be reached for comment.
