(I FORGOT THE SOURCE- I tried to pull it back up, but, for some reason, I just couldn't find the website I used to find this...)
Friday, September 15, 2017
ROSEMONT, Ill. (WSL) -- Eight snippets of raw surveillance video were released on Friday afternoon showing 19-year-old Kenneka Jenkins walking the halls of a Rosemont hotel more than a day before she was found dead in a basement freezer.
Sound familiar? It should. Lots of people are comparing the death of Kenneka Jenkins to Elisa Lam. The similarities I saw when reading about these two deaths sent chills up my spine...
Kenneka Jenkins' body was found roughly 24 hours after she was last seen, at a party. Police state that drugs and alcohol were present at the party, leading them to believe Kenneka was drunk.
When the article I read was published, the police had identified and interviewed 16/31 party-goers from the hotel room the party was hosted. Chicago police helped Rosemont police to find the other 15- I think by now they would have talked to everyone.
Police TOLD ABC7 that they didn't believe foul play was involved in Jenkins' death. However, Kenneka's family - well, mother - reported there were signs of a struggle. Kenneka's mother was not allowed to see the scene at first, but once she did she was shocked- Kenneka's clothes were messy, her panties weren't on, and there was a piece of black plastic nearby. (I'm pretty sure they said it was from a trash bag.)
"The scene of the incident was processed by evidence technicians to include prediction 3D measurement imaging and crime scene analysis. Our detectives also have created video recordings of the scene to include the path believed to be taken by Kenneka Jenkins tool from hotel room to freezer, supported by surveillance video," the Rosemont press release said.
Now, back to those surveillance videos. The Rosemont-police released the videos- and while it doesn't show Jenkins actually entering the walk-in freezer, it does show her walking around, alone, in the kitchen, before she slips out of view. She appears to be stumbling and disoriented in the video.
"There is no camera that shows her physically walking into the freezer and no camera angle that was missing or broken," Rosemont police said in an email last Friday.
Kenneka's parents have spoken out multiple times, but nothing came of it. The case was closed, and everyone moved on. Naturally, the people who said they wouldn't stop talking until justice was brought, forgot about Kenneka.
What do I personally think? I think it was an accident. Of course, given the close connections between Elisa Lam and Kenneka Jenkins, I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be a killer, or perhaps some supernatural being. I'm almost expecting another girl to turn up dead by the end of the year...