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.
Her mother and siblings filed a $50 million lawsuit in December 2018, accusing the hotel and others of negligence, but settled for $10 million in 2023.
In her explosive Facebook post, Martin alleges that her family was coerced into accepting the settlement. “They forced us, had us in rooms for hours, and would not let us go until we said what they wanted us to say. They made us accept what they wanted to give us,” she claimed. She also alleged that she was forced to record a video after being held for hours on one of her daughters’ birthdays.
In her post, Martin acknowledged that going public could cost her. “I might be back in court,” she wrote. “I will be getting sued because I was tricked [but] they WILL GET ME ANSWERS, give me her clothes and her CELL PHONE and anything that belongs to her when she died that was on her body.”
But a few prominent voices in her community have expressed skepticism.
A former ally of the family, Chicago activist Jedidiah Brown, posted a scathing rebuke of Martin’s claims, “I’m drinking, I’ll admit, but I can’t believe this f-ckin lady intentionally would reinforce lies she knows aren’t true when that wasn’t a condition of her selling out her own seed” he wrote, adding, “I protected this witch all these years even when I found out what she actually was doing…. NO MORE, Teresa, I’m bout to tell on you ass!…you gave up justice for temporary pleasure.”
There are plenty of supporters rallying around Martin, however, and this time, it appears she won’t be silenced any longer. “I’ve stayed quiet long enough,” she wrote. “At this point, I’m simply speaking my truth — respectfully, clearly, and without naming anyone.”
