The family of a young woman who froze to death after being locked in a hotel freezer agree a $10 million settlement

• Kenneka Jenkins, 19, died after being locked in a walk-in freezer in a Chicago hotel in 2017.
• Her family sued the hotel and a security company for negligence and won a settlement.

The family of a woman who died after being trapped in a hotel freezer has been awarded a total settlement of $10 million.

Kenneka Jenkins, 19, was found dead in a walk-in freezer at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois in 2017, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Surveillance footage showed Jenkins stumbling and walking into the freezer in an unused kitchen. Her body was discovered more than 21 hours later.

Her death was ruled as accidental, caused by hypothermia, the Cook County medical examiner's office ruled.

Jenkins' family sued the hotel, a security company, and a restaurant at the hotel in 2018, alleging that staff were negligent, per the Chicago Tribune.

Jenkins' mother, Tereasa Martin, will receive more than $3.7 million in a wrongful death settlement, the Chicago Tribune reported, citing court records that made the deal public on Tuesday.

Other family members will receive $1.2 million and $1.5 million.

An additional $3.5 million will go towards attorney fees and $6,000 was earmarked for Jenkins' funeral costs, per the outlet.

Jenkins' death sparked a flurry of conspiracy theories on social media at the time, the Chicago Tribune said. The interest led to more than 1,000 people attending her funeral.

Jenkins left a party in a room at the hotel around 2:30 am on September 17, 2017, when she realized she had left her phone behind, the outlet said.

Her friends went to look for it and found she was gone upon their return. Security footage shows her entering the freezer around 3:32 am.

Her friends went to go look for it, and found she was gone upon their return. Security footage shows her entering the freezer around 3:32 am.

The lawsuit alleged that Jenkins, who was affected by a mixture of alcohol and her medications for migraines and epilepsy, passed several hotel staff who should have stopped her from going into the kitchen when she "was visibly disoriented and in dire need of assistance," per the Chicago Tribune.

It also claimed that staff did not review security footage when they were first alerted to Jenkins' disappearance, which might have helped find her.

The lawsuit claimed that hotel staff did not watch the footage, and it was only reviewed for the first time when police came to the hotel to investigate her disappearance many hours after she had gone missing.