Coroner rules death of Chicago woman found in freezer an accident

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

CHICAGO (AP) — An autopsy has determined that a 19-year-old woman whose body was found inside a suburban Chicago hotel freezer died of hypothermia from exposure to cold conditions.

Kenneka Jenkins’ body was found Sept. 10 in a walk-in freezer at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont. Jenkins had left her Chicago home to attend a party at the hotel. She was found about 24 hours after relatives contacted the hotel and police to report her missing.

Surveillance videos released by police days later show Jenkins, alone, wandering through a kitchen area near the freezer.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office says toxicology tests found alcohol, caffeine and an epilepsy/migraine medication in Jenkins’ system.

The medical examiner concluded her death was an accident.

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