The reason why the public has yet to see surveillance footage of 19-year-old Kenneka Jenkins entering a walk-in freezer where she was found dead last week is because it does not exist, members of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosemont said.
According to CBS News, a spokesperson for the suburban Illinois hotel said there is no video camera trained on the freezer in the hotel kitchen. Jenkins went to a party at the hotel on Friday, Sept. 8 with friends. Overnight she was reported missing and her body was found 24 hours later.
Police concluded the teen accidentally caused her own death by getting trapped inside of a walk-in freezer at the hotel where her body was found on Tuesday.
The Rosemont Police Department has been the focus of social media criticism, with many accusing the department of not investigating Jenkins’ death to the fullest of its ability.
On Tuesday, friends and family of the deceased held another demonstration at the convention center.
“I want to see her literally, actually walking into this freezer,” Tereasa Martin, Jenkins’ mother, said last week.
But that isn’t going to happen, according to the hotel as there is no footage to show.
On Friday, officials released clips of Jenkins roaming the hotel and according to video timecodes, she did so for more than an hour.
Initially, Jenkins is seen walking with friends in the footage. There’s a time gap, and she’s seen by herself a few hours later, appearing to be under the influence. At one point in the footage, the teen can be seen stumbling out of an elevator and repeatedly hitting the wall as she makes her way down a hallway.
Her body was found in an area where hotel officials say construction work was taking place. The area was reportedly restricted.
The results of an autopsy and toxicology report on Jenkins have yet to be released.
The investigation is ongoing and Rosemont police have said it is a top priority.
