The mourning mother of Kenneka Jenkins is speaking out to demand answers for her daughter’s suspicious death in 2017, claiming she was “forced to never talk about my child again.” Despite a wrongful death settlement from the hotel where Jenkins froze to death in a walk-in freezer, Tereasa Martin now claims she was “promised lies” and still doesn’t “know what happened to my child’s life.”
Wrongful Death Settlement Did Not End Demands For Justice & Answers About Kenneka Jenkins
As BOSSIP previously reported, Martin filed a $50 million lawsuit against the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel, its restaurant, and its security company. In 2023, the family won a $10 million settlement, with $3.5 million going to legal expenses. The wrongful death suit asserted that the companies could have saved Jenkins’ life if staff had reviewed security camera footage and followed safety protocols to prevent these deadly mistakes.
Although an autopsy ruled Jenkins’ death an accident, her mother says she remains silenced by powerful forces and haunted by unanswered questions. Martin took to a Facebook post to “speak my truth,” which she claimed put her at risk of “getting sued.”
Yet, it’s a risk she’s willing to take after her daughter’s mysterious disappearance for more than a day, shady and conflicting details about the hotel room party Jenkins attended before her death, and still-missing information after a social media swarm of conspiracy theories. Kenneka Jenkins deserved better, and her mother won’t let us forget!
Tereasa Martin Speaks Out About Alleged Coercion To Say “What They Wanted Us To Say,” Echoing Past “Cover-Up” Claims
“To whom this may concern, I still don’t know what happened to my child’s life, clothes, shoes, cell phone, hair, and the list goes on. However, I have been promised lies, as if once this case is over, I was forced 
to NEVER talk about my child again. As you can see, over the years I wasn’t near as vocal as I am today, so after this post, I might be back in court, but I will be getting sued because I was tricked,” Martin wrote in a post on Nov. 22.
Martin not only questioned the missing personal effects promised to her from Jenkins’ body, but also what really happened in the teen’s final moments. She claimed the investigation never explained how she got locked in the freezer, or why it was left unlocked for guest access while its kitchen was closed for construction. According to NewsOne, a video days after the death allegedly showed hotel employees demonstrating that Jenkins couldn’t have locked herself in the freezer.
“They WILL GET ME ANSWERS, give me her clothes and her CELL PHONE and anything that belongs to her when she died that was on her body. That was a lie once they finish investigation [by] allegedly people I trusted. They told me that somehow K got out the back door I never heard how which door could get out but they never told me how or where,” the post continued.
Martin admitted that she was not “vocal” about these details in the years after Kenneka died, but she repeatedly called out a “cover-up” in the days after the discovery of the body. The post reveals that while Martin was painfully fighting for her life from “cancer battles,” she was allegedly intimidated like a criminal rather than a grieving parent. Martin claimed she was “forced into rooms” for hours, and an unnamed authority “would not let us go until we said what they wanted us to say.”
“They made us accept what they wanted to give us. I’m literally living without my child, and I’m rising above, staying strong, and holding on to hope, even without you,” she continued.
Questions About Kenneka Jenkins’ Death Continue To Circulate Amid Mother’s New Statement & A Close Friend’s Shocking Death
The revelatory post goes on to describe authorities allegedly coercing Martin “to do a recorded a video hours after we were held during one of my child’s birthdays. At the same time, I was sitting in a meeting about another child who wasn’t even living. I had nothing to give my baby that day.”
It’s unclear what prompted the timing of Martin’s statement. Critics and cynics called it guilt for accepting the settlement or an attempt to get more money. However, another shocking death recently rocked those close to Kenneka, possibly reopening emotional wounds that would never fully heal. The teen’s close friend, Zahrie Walls, died in another accident a few months ago on June 21, 2025.
The beloved hairstylist reportedly fell off a boat at Chicago’s Navy Pier into Lake Michigan. Once again, this young woman was reportedly celebrating when tragedy cut her life short. She was at a popular boating spot during a popular Black boating weekend when she fell into the water without a life vest. Her unresponsive body was later discovered in the water after reported failed attempts from bystanders to dive in after her.
Regardless of what prompted Martin to break her silence, she said she won’t stop anytime soon. “I’ve stayed quiet long enough, but at this point, I’m simply speaking my truth—respectfully, clearly, and without naming anyone,” the statement concluded.
