NEED TO KNOW
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Cheerleader Laken Snelling, 21, was arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse and concealing the birth of an infant after her newborn was allegedly found dead in her closet in a trash bag
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Snelling admitted to giving birth, cleaning up the evidence, “including the infant, who was wrapped in a towel,” the arrest citation alleges
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The now-former University of Kentucky senior has been placed on house arrest at her parents’ home in Tennessee
New details are emerging in the case of the University of Kentucky cheerleader accused of hiding her dead newborn in the closet of her off-campus home.
Laken Snelling, 21, was arrested last month and charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant, the Lexington Police Department said in a news release.
Snelling allegedly admitted to police that she had given birth to a baby she “wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag,” according to the arrest citation reviewed by PEOPLE.
Now a Lexington Police Department incident report sheds more light on the shocking crime.
On Wed., Aug. 27, at 10:34 a.m., a Lexington Police Department dispatcher received a 911 call from someone who reported a disturbing discovery, according to the incident report obtained by Fox56.
“Complainant just found a dead baby in a closet,” the incident report states. “It is cold to the touch.”
The caller’s name and phone number were redacted from the report.
Snelling wasn’t home when police, EMTs and fire department personnel arrived, according to the report.
Related: Autopsy Findings Released for Baby Found Dead in Univ. of Kentucky Cheerleader’s Closet
Officers found her about five minutes away from her house shortly after, according to the report. She was taken to police headquarters and asked to be “checked out” medically, the incident report states.
She was arrested at 4:58 p.m. on Aug. 30, according to the arrest citation, and booked into the Fayette County Detention Center on Aug. 31.
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Investigators returned to her home later that night, according to the report.
Shortly after, Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn announced that the results of a preliminary autopsy were inconclusive.
With the cause and manner of death and other details still unknown, questions remain about when she gave birth, if she had a miscarriage, if the baby was born alive or stillborn and if she knew she was pregnant.
Snelling’s social media posts offer a glimpse into her state of mind before her arrest.
Snelling’s June 25 TikTok post shows her standing on the street wearing a white tank top and pink gingham pants with Beyonce and Dolly Parton’s hit song, Tyrant, playing in the background.
Categories including her “fav color,” “fav season,” “birth month,” “eye color,” and “goals” were superimposed onto the picture. Under the “goals” category she posted an emoji of a diamond ring, a bag of money, a family of four, a house — and a mother holding a baby.
On July 18, the young woman posted pictures of her in a long white dress and a young man, presumably her boyfriend, standing in a field holding hands, with the caption, #couples photography.
Other photos show her and her presumed boyfriend sitting down in the grass, with her holding her stomach and leaning against him.
It is unclear who the man in the pictures is and whether he had anything to do with the case.
Snelling has competed on the school’s competitive cheer STUNT team for three years, and is originally from White Pine, Tenn., according to an official team roster.
Since her arrest, Snelling has withdrawn from the university.
The death investigation remains ongoing pending the results of further studies.
Snelling was held at the Fayette County Detention Center after her arrest. She was released on Sept. 2 on a $100,000 bond, according to court documents reviewed by PEOPLE.
She is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 26.
Her attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The police department’s Open Records Unit did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for the incident report.
Read the original article on People
