A cheerleader and beauty queen from the University of Kentucky has been arrested for reportedly giving birth in secret and hiding her baby’s body in a closet.
Police reported that Laken Snelling, 21, was arrested on Saturday and accused of hiding the birth of an infant, tampering with physical evidence, and abusing a body.
Police claim they found a de@d baby in a closet
Last Wednesday morning, police officers went to a home on Park Avenue after hearing that a baby wasn’t responding. The Independent said that the baby was declared de@d at the scene at about 10:30 a.m.
An arrest report said that the baby’s body was found wrapped in a towel inside a black trash bag. Snelling, who had been told her rights, eventually acknowledged to having a baby and hiding proof of the birth.
She is said to have informed police that she cleaned up the area, put the things used during the birth in a trash bag, and put the baby’s body inside.
The Fayette County Coroner’s Office had not yet figured out what caused the de@th as of Monday. The police department’s Special Victims Section is still looking into the situation.
Cheerleader and beauty pageant competitor are in trouble
Snelling is being jailed at the Fayette County Detention Center. He was a member of the University of Kentucky’s stunt team, which is a competitive cheer program.
The university told local news site LEX 18 that she had been on the STUNT team for the last three seasons. The Lexington Police should be able to answer any further inquiries you have.
Snelling, who was born in White Pine, Tennessee, was working on a degree in Interdisciplinary Disability Studies.
She often posted on social media about future beauty pageants and talked about her dreams of raising a family one day.
She wrote in a June post, “There is a pageant for EVERYONE!” Another video from same month showed her talking about her aspirations in life, which were to be a mother and raise a family.
Credit: Facebook/Laken Snelling
The case shows how tight Kentucky’s abortion restriction is
The case is happening in Kentucky, where there has been a near-total prohibition on abortion since 2022.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, a global human rights group that works to protect women’s reproductive rights, says that the law does not provide for exceptions for rape or incest and only allows abortion if it is required to save the life of a pregnant person or avoid irreparable damage to their important organ.
Legal experts say that the state’s tight rules may make young women especially vulnerable, as there aren’t many options for those who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant.
Prosecutors will decide if they can bring more charges against Snelling as the inquiry goes on.
The horrible tragedy has stunned both the University of Kentucky community and Snelling’s hometown, where she was known for her cheering, pageant appearances, and promising future.