A University of Kentucky cheerleader has been charged in connection with a dead newborn found in a trash bag left inside her closet.
Laken Snelling, 21, was arrested on Sunday on charges including corpse abuse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant, according to a Lexington Police Department press release.
Her arrest comes days after authorities were called to investigate reports of an unresponsive baby at a residence not far from the University of Kentucky campus.
When officers arrived at the scene, located on the 400 block of Park Avenue in Lexington, they found the baby “wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag,” which had been left in a closet, according to a police report obtained by WLWT.
The baby was pronounced dead at the scene, but a cause of death was not provided.
Police said the Fayette County Coroner’s Office will be releasing the infant’s cause of death amid the ongoing investigation.
Snelling, who’s listed on the school’s website as a member of UK’s STUNT cheerleading team, was confirmed to be the child’s mother.
According to the police report, Snelling admitted to investigators that she had given birth and then tried to conceal it by “cleaning any evidence [and] placing all cleaning items used inside of a black trash bag, including the infant,” Lex 18 reported.
Nearly all abortions have been illegal in Kentucky since 2022, allowing the procedure only in cases of a life-threatening medical emergency.
Snelling was booked into the Fayette County Detention Center before being released to “home incarceration” on $100,000 bond. She reportedly entered a not guilty plea and is next scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 26.
