Photo Credit: KSBW
A University of Kentucky cheerleader, Laken Ashlee Snelling, has been arrested after authorities discovered a deceased infant hidden in a closet at an off-campus residence.
According to a statement from the Lexington Police Department, officers were dispatched on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, to a residence in the 400 block of Park Avenue following a report of "an unresponsive infant." When officers arrived, "they located an infant that was pronounced deceased at the scene."
An arrest citation obtained by local outlet WLEX stated the child was "located wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag." Police noted that Snelling, 21, admitted to being the baby's mother. After being read her Miranda rights, she "admitted to giving birth" and "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 now faces counts of corpse abuse, concealing an infant's birth, and interfering with physical evidence, according to police. She was booked into the Fayette County Detention Center, where public records show she was later released on bond and placed under home incarceration.
The Fayette County Coroner's Office is conducting an autopsy and will release the cause of death following its investigation. It remains unclear whether the case involves a live birth, miscarriage, or stillbirth.
The University of Kentucky confirmed Snelling's affiliation with the athletics program, stating she has "been a member of the STUNT team for the last three seasons," but declined further comment, referring all questions to police.
Public records show Snelling, a senior, had shared personal aspirations online just weeks before her arrest. In a TikTok post dated June 25, she listed life goals including marriage, owning a home, financial security, and parenthood, symbolized by an emoji of a mother holding a baby.
Snelling is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing. Under Kentucky law, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence are classified as Class D felonies, each carrying a possible sentence of one to five years in prison and fines up to $10,000.
