Newly released graphic post-mortem photos of Kenneka Jenkin’s body after she was found has raised “more questions than answers,” her mother’s lawyer said.
His words come as the Rosemont police department announced Friday that they have closed the investigation into her death, which was determined to be accidental.
The Rosemont officials posted many postmortem photos Friday of the 19-year-old’s body taken in the hotel freezer.
When the family saw the photos, they were disturbed by “graphic and disturbing images (that) inexplicably show portions of Jenkins’ body exposed, ” said Sam Adam Jr., a lawyer for Jenkins’ mother Teresa Martin.
The photographs show that Jenkins was still wearing the outfit shown in surveillance videos of her walking through the hotel, but the shirt beneath her jacket “was pulled up exposing her breasts,” a police report said.
But according to scientists, “paradoxical undressing,” a phenomenon where people freezing to death remove their clothing, is common. Jenkins died of hypothermia.
“Frankly, the photos depicting how Kenneka was found raise more questions about what happened to Kenneka Jenkins than they answer,”Larry Rogers Jr., another lawyer, said a press release.
Authorities say there is no reason to suspect foul play.
“Our detectives reported no signs of foul play throughout the whole investigation,” Chief Donald E. Stephens III said in a statement. “There is no evidence that Ms. Jenkins was forced to drink alcohol or consume any narcotics while at the hotel.”
“The death of any child is tragic; but the death and circumstances surrounding Ms. Jenkins are especially sad,” he added.