Kenneka Jenkins ~ What's the Truth??? Part 1

 

Hi everyone. I am going to be straight forward about this particular case. There are many twists and turns to be told, and after doing some research, I feel there are as many as 5 to 6 other women/girls who have fallen victim to similar circumstances. 

Obviously, I am not law enforcement, nor forensic pathologist; so this one will be more of speculation and to see what you all think about it...

Let me first talk about Kenneka Jenkins.

Kenneka Jenkins was born on May 27, 1998 and to all accounts, she had a great relationship with her mother, Teresa Martin. There is not much information about her growing up, other than she seemed like a happy child. She was smart and a very responsible young lady; even becoming her mother's caregiver when Teresa went through surgery when it was discovered she had breast cancer. (Kenneka was 19 at the time, 2017).

On September 8th, 2017, Kenneka had lied to her mother, saying her and some friends were going to the movies and bowling to celebrate the fact that Kenneka just landed a job working in a nursing home. 

This would be the last time Teresa would see her daughter alive. It was approximately 11 PM, when Kenneka borrowed her mother's car and left with her friends.

Kenneka and her three friends decided to attend a party, in room 926, at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois. (I will get into it about the party after I explain what supposedly happened). Kenneka and her friends didn't arrive at the party until 1:13 AM, which is something I found odd because it was maximum a 24 minute drive from Kenneka's place to the hotel (???)

She didn't appear to be her usual bubbly self, and when she hugged one of the males at the party, he noted that she was wobbly. People claimed they saw her drinking cognac but were certain she didn't use any type of illicit drugs. She DID call her sister at approximately 1:30 AM. This would be the last time her sister would hear from her, but again, the question is raised... why did she call her sister merely 15 minutes after her arrival???

This is where things get fuzzy...

Kenneka was caught on hotel footage wandering around with some people (were they the friends she came with, or people from the party or complete strangers). She appeared to be very intoxicated and clearly she wasn't steady on her feet when the footage was reviewed; this was now 3:20 AM; where she walked past the front desk. 

At 3:25 AM, Kenneka Jenkins was seen getting off an elevators on one of the lower levels of the hotel. The last time that she was spotted on any camera was at 3:32 AM, where she can be seen walking through a kitchen towards where the freezers are located. 

Conveniently or not, the freezer door was just outside the sight of the camera (???)

It was said that it was at least an hour before Kenneka's friends decided to call her mother, Tereasa to let her know that they had "lost" Kenneka; and subsequently left the party. (It is to be noted here that the friends were in Teresa's car, and had possession of Kenneka's keys as well as her cellphone).

Teresa Martin arrived at the hotel at 5:30 AM, determined to find her missing daughter; but the hotel staff wasn't very cooperative, following policy, they refused to let Teresa see any of the hotel footage until Kenneka has been officially reported missing. It seems the Chicago PD were just as useless at this point, encouraging the frantic mother to wait it out, as she was probably drunk and would pop up eventually. Their lack of urgency will become a big part of this story.

At 12:46 PM, on September 8, 2017 Kenneka's older sister Leonore Harris demanded that a missing person's report be filed, which the police complied with and informed the hotel at 1:15 PM. Teresa and Leonore were back at the hotel by 6 PM. They decided to start their own search by banging on every door, starting from the top floor down; this continued until a hotel employee called 911 to file a complaint against the women.

Everyone seemed to be looking at the entrances and exits of the hotel for footage and it wasn't until 10 PM that night that the CPD found footage of Kenneka Jenkins stumbling. It seems they couldn't retrace her steps and sadly she was found deceased in the hotel freezer at 12:25 AM on September 9, 2017 by a hotel employee. 

She was found lying face down, on her side; but one of her shoes were missing. There was supposedly no trauma to the body other than a few cuts on the bare foot. Even after the freezer door had been open for over 2 hours, it was still only 1C (34F).

To be continued...