As questions surrounding a Chicago teen's mysterious death continue to rise, the family of the 19-year-old found dead in a suburban hotel freezer is expected to see surveillance video from the hotel during a meeting with police Thursday.
A dozen people have been interviewed, 47 cameras are being analysed by investigators--and social media posts continue to be scrutinized--after Kenneka Jenkins was found dead in a hotel freezer over the weekend, authorities said Wednesday.
Rosemont police were still attempting to piece together the death of the 19-year-old. She was pronounced dead at 12:48 a.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, located at 5440 N. River Rd. in Rosemont, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
Facebook videos purportedly taken from a hotel room party Jenkins was said to have been at have been shared thousands of times. As the posts sparked amateur online detectives to flood social media with accusations and conjecture, police gave an official update Wednesday.
They say the department is still conducting a death investigation.
“Our detectives are working around the clock to identify, locate, and interview all persons who were involved,” the department said in a release. “Additionally, certain videos related to this investigation have been sent to specialized forensic technicians for further analysis.”
Police said they have interviewed 12 people who were “involved in some way”—including eight who were present the night or morning of the hotel party Jenkins attended.
Police are still searching for four other people who were at the party they say they want to talk to, but they did not elaborate.
“As interviews continue, the names and whereabouts of more people present that night are being discovered,” the department’s press release says.
Police said the Crowne Plaza hotel has been “extremely cooperative” and has provided all video surveillance along with employee rosters. Family members of Jenkins and community activist Andrew Holmes had implied at an earlier press conference that the hotel was withholding some security footage.
An autopsy was conducted, but Jenkins' cause of death was pending results, police and the medical examiner's office said.
Protesters gathered outside the hotel Wednesday to demand answers to the many questions still surrounding the teen's mysterious death.
"We ain't gonna stop until we find out what happened to my sister," said Jenkins' older sister Leonore Harris, who thanked the group of protesters for their support.
