University of Kentucky Competitive Cheerleader Arrested After Dead Baby Found in Her Closet

A competitive cheerleader at the University of Kentucky was arrested after a dead infant was found in a closet inside her home.

Laken Snelling, 21, was taken into custody on Saturday, August 30, and charged with “Abuse of a Corpse, Tampering with Physical Evidence, and Concealing the Birth of an Infant,” according to a Lexington Police Department report obtained by LEX 18 News. 

Officers were dispatched to the home on Wednesday, August 27, responding to a call about an unresponsive infant. 

According to an arrest citation obtained by the same outlet, the “infant was located wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag.”

Snelling was interviewed by officers on the scene and “admitted to giving birth.”

Per the citation, Snelling also “admitted 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 posted a $100,000 bond on Tuesday, September 2, and is now living on “home incarceration with no ankle monitor.”

A court document obtained by LEX 18 News said she is staying with her parents in Jefferson City, Tennessee, roughly 200 miles away from where she was arrested in Kentucky.

The Fayette County Coroner’s Office will determine the infant’s cause of death after an investigation.

The Lexington Police Department’s website says they are “continuing to investigate” the death and any individuals with information are urged to contact them. 

Snelling, from White Pine, Tennessee, is still listed on the roster of the University of Kentucky’s STUNT team. 

According to USA Cheer, STUNT is “one of the fastest growing female sports in the country” and focuses on “the technical and athletic components of cheer, including partner stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, group jumps and tumbling.”

“We can confirm that she has been a member of the STUNT team for the last three seasons,” the university said in a statement. “All other questions should be directed to the Lexington Police.”

Snelling still has an active TikTok account, where she boasts nearly 9,000 followers and last posted on June 25, filling in her followers about her favorite season, birth month and goals for the future. 

Earlier that month, Snelling showed off images from a “couples photoshoot” with a man believed to be her boyfriend. It is unclear if the man in the pictures is connected to Snelling’s pregnancy. 

Snelling and the same man attended a Megan Moroney concert together in April, which she also showed off via TikTok.