Latest On ''Kenneka Jenkins'': Surveillance Video Shows Her Walking In The Freezer By Herself
Latest On ''Kenneka Jenkins'': Surveillance Video Shows Her Walking In The Freezer By Herself
Chicago community activist said Thursday that surveillance video from a Rosemont hotel shows Kenneka Jenkins entering a walk-in freezer alone.
Andrew Holmes, who has worked with many police agencies during his years of anti-violence activism, told the Tribune that Rosemont detectives showed him the video Wednesday when he showed up seeking answers on behalf of the family.
He said the video shows Jenkins, 19, waiting in the lobby of the Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel after her friends apparently went up to the room in which they had been partying to retrieve some possessions. Jenkins then takes the elevator to a lower level and wanders around, opening doors in an apparently disoriented manner, he said.
Finally, he said, Jenkins opens two doors in a kitchen area and enters the walk-in freezer. The doors close behind her and Jenkins is seen no more, he said.
Holmes said he was convinced no one else forced Jenkins into the area where she died. But he said the family is awaiting toxicology tests to see whether narcotics had been put into her drink.
"The important part is we all wanted to know: Did anybody call her down there?" he said. "Did anybody force her down there? Was there anybody on the other side of the room when she got down there? And the answer to that is no."
Holmes' account undercuts online speculation in recent days that the Chicago teen was murdered. He said the circulating theories are "just something they made up on social media," and urged people with hard information to call authorities.
When asked whether Holmes had been shown the video, Rosemont police spokesman Det. Joe Balogh did not answer directly, but expressed appreciation for Holmes' assistance "on behalf of the family and community pursuant to this investigation."
He said the department has released the surveillance video to Jenkins' family and to the Cook County Medical Examiner, which has yet to rule on the cause and manner of Jenkins' death. Police have also interviewed numerous people involved in the case, he said.
Jenkins' mother, Tereasa Martin, told a Tribune reporter Thursday that she has not seen the video but was planning to review it with her attorney, Larry Rogers, a prominent personal injury lawyer in Chicago. He did not return messages seeking comment.
Authorities say Jenkins went to a party at the Crowne Plaza Friday night, and that she went missing early Saturday morning. Martin came to look for her, but said hotel staff and Rosemont police declined to search for hours.
Jenkins was finally found in the walk-in freezer and pronounced dead just before 1 a.m. Sunday. The medical examiner's office has performed an autopsy but has said more tests are needed before it can pronounce a cause of death — a finding that could be weeks away.
Jenkins' death became the focus of fevered online conjecture, with thousands of people using Facebook videos evidently taken at the hotel room party to spin theories about what happened. Many contended that Jenkins had been murdered.
Rosemont Mayor Bradley Stephens complained Wednesday that such speculation was impeding the investigation by forcing detectives to chase spurious leads.
Community activists seized upon the case after Martin complained about what she believed was a lack of urgency in the initial response by the hotel and police. A crowd converged on the hotel Wednesday night to demand justice, confronting guests and telling them a teen had died there under mysterious circumstances.
Despite Holmes' statement, about 50 protesters gathered outside the hotel again on Thursday changing, "No justice! No peace!"
Tamika Harris, of Chicago, said the latest revelation proves the hotel was negligent for not blocking access to the unsecured area. Police, she said, weren't as forthcoming with evidence, allowing rumors to fester and run rampant.
"They could've put out more than they did," Harris said. "When her mom came out that night, they wasn't giving her no answers to help her out. So people feel like they knew but didn't tell us."
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