Laken Snelling, University of Kentucky student charged arrested for hiding dead newborn in closet [PHOTOS]

A beauty queen and cheerleader at the University of Kentucky was arrested after it was discovered that the 21-year-old female student had recently given birth and then hidden her newborn's body in a closet.

Laken Snelling, 21, was arrested on Saturday and accused with abusing a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.

The newborn's cause of death had not yet been disclosed.

The mother's arrest came after officers from the Lexington Police Department responded to a dispatch to a home on the 400 block of Park Avenue on Wednesday morning after receiving reports of an unresponsive newborn.

The baby was pronounced deceased at the scene at 10:30 a.m.  

According to the arrest document, the newborn was found wrapped in a towel inside a black trash bag.

Snelling confirmed to officers that she had given birth after being told her rights, according to LEX 18.

According to police documents, she "admitted to concealing the birth by cleaning any evidence and placing all cleaning items used inside of a black trash bag, including the infant, who was wrapped in a towel."

Laken Snelling, University of Kentucky student charged w/ abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and concealing the birth of an infant.

The citation also included the mother admitting to ‘hiding cleaning supplies.’

Not immediately clear is who made the initial call to authorities.

The Fayette County Coroner’s Office has yet to issue a cause of death, according to the Independent.

The identity of the child’s father was not immediately known.

Did Laken Snelling, Kentucky university student kill her newborn?

The newborn’s death comes amid a near total ban going into effect in Kentucky since 2022, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

The ban only permits abortion to prevent the ‘substantial risk of death’ or to prevent the ‘serious, permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ’ of the pregnant person.  

Snelling is a member of the University of Kentucky ‘stunt team,’ a competitive cheer program, according to the school’s athletics website.

Pictured, Laken Snelling, University of Kentucky student in what appears to be
maternity photos with the child’s father, posted in June.

‘We can confirm that she has been a member of the STUNT team for the last three seasons,’ the university said in a statement to LEX 18. ‘All other questions should be directed to the Lexington Police.’

According to a social media account, Snelling is from White Pine, Tennessee, and was studying Interdisciplinary Disability Studies at the University of Kentucky.

Will University of Kentucky student face upgraded or additional charges?

A social media post shared by Snelling in June included her uploading a video in which she stated that her goals in life were to be a mother and having a family.

Come Monday, Snelling remained held at the Fayette County Detention Center with the department’s Special Victims Section continuing to investigate. It remained unclear when a bond hearing would be set.

It remained unclear if Snelling would face additional or upgraded charges.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Lexington Police at (859) 258-3600.