The steps of former University of Kentucky competitive cheerleader Laken Snelling have been traced after she allegedly gave birth and hid the infant’s body in her closet.
Snelling, 21, gave birth in the early morning hours of August 27, according to police records obtained by LEX18.
The former cheerleader told police she passed out after giving birth, falling on top of the baby. When she woke up, she saw the infant had turned “blue and purple.”
After wrapping the baby in a towel, believing it was dead, Snelling went back to sleep and woke up to a 7:30 a.m. alarm, when she then placed the baby and the placenta in a black trash bag in her closet.
Around 8:40 a.m., Snelling told her roommates that she was going to the doctor because “she had not eaten and had not been feeling well.”
Snelling skipped her 9:30 a.m. class at the University of Kentucky and ordered McDonald’s through the fast food restaurant’s app. After picking up her order, she drove to a university clinic but did not go inside.
While she was away, Snelling’s roommates entered her room and found a “blood-soaked towel on the floor and a plastic bag containing evidence of childbirth.”
One of the roommates called the police and reported finding an infant’s body “cold to the touch.”
Snelling returned home just after 10:30 a.m., when she was questioned by police.
During questioning, Snelling “admitted to giving birth” and to “concealing the birth by cleaning any evidence, placing all cleaning items used inside of a black trash bag, including the infant, who was wrapped in a towel.”
Snelling was eventually detained and taken to Lexington police headquarters before being transported to a local hospital for evaluation.
The cheerleader told hospital staff that the baby displayed some fetal movement, including a “whimper,” after it was born.
Snelling was officially arrested on August 30 and charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant.
She pleaded not guilty to all charges during a September 2 court appearance. She was released on $100,000 bond and has been living with her parents in Tennessee.
Snelling was back in a Lexington courtroom on Friday, September 26, where she waived her right to a preliminary trial. The case now proceeds to a grand jury.
The Fayette County Coroner’s Office ruled the infant’s cause of death as inconclusive and “extensive microscopic analyses are essential to determine the cause and manner of death” in a report obtained by Luxury Handbag Shopping on September 4.
“I understand the community’s concern and sensitivity surrounding the death of a child,” Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said in the report. “We are conducting a thorough and methodical death investigation to ensure all facts are carefully considered.”
In a statement to Us on September 8, the Lexington Police Department said the investigation into the infant’s death remains “ongoing.”
Prior to her arrest, Snelling was a student at the University of Kentucky and a member of the school’s STUNT cheerleading team.
A university spokesperson confirmed to Us on September 6 that Snelling is no longer enrolled at the school or on the STUNT team.
