The University of Kentucky competitive cheerleader accused of stuffing her dead baby into a closet appeared in court on Tuesday, September 2.
Laken Snelling, 21, pleaded not guilty to charges of Abuse of a Corpse, Tampering with Physical Evidence and Concealing the Birth of an Infant in a Lexington, Kentucky courtroom.
Snelling was released on $100,000 and is now living on “home incarceration with no ankle monitor” with her parents in Jefferson City, Tennessee.
The cheerleader, who has competed on the University of Kentucky’s STUNT team for the past three seasons, was arrested on Saturday, August 30.
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Officers were dispatched to Snelling’s home in Lexington on Wednesday, August 27, responding to a call about an unresponsive infant, according to a Lexington Police Department report obtained by LEX 18 News.
According to an arrest citation obtained by the same outlet, the “infant was located wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag.”
When Snelling was interviewed by authorities on the scene, she “admitted to giving birth.”
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,” according to the citation.
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.
Snelling’s bio is still available on the University of Kentucky’s STUNT team page.
“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.”
According to USA Cheer, STUNT focuses on “the technical and athletic components of cheer, including partner stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, group jumps and tumbling.”
Univ. of Kentucky Cheerleader Arrested After Dead Baby Found in Her Closet
“These elements are put together in short routines that both teams must perform head-to-head on the floor at the same time,” the organization says. “The team that executes the skills best wins the round and the point, and has the opportunity to determine which routine level will be called next.”
Snelling was studying Interdisciplinary Disability Studies at the University of Kentucky, according to her Facebook page.
In addition to her cheerleading career, Snelling was also active in the beauty pageant scene in her home state of Tennessee.
Snelling’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 26.
