New, chilling details are surfacing in the harrowing case of the University of Kentucky cheerleader accused of concealing her deceased newborn in the closet of her off-campus residence. Laken Snelling, 21, was apprehended last month and charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant, as stated in a news release by the Lexington Police Department.
According to the arrest citation reviewed by PEOPLE, Snelling allegedly confessed to police that she had given birth to a baby and "wrapped it in a towel inside of a black trash bag." Now, an incident report from the Lexington Police Department sheds further light on this shocking crime.
On Wednesday, August 27, at 10:34 a.m., a dispatcher with the Lexington Police Department received a frantic 911 call reporting a macabre discovery, as detailed in the incident report obtained by Fox56. "The complainant just found a dead baby in a closet," the report stated, adding that the infant was "cold to the touch." The caller's name and phone number were redacted from the report.
When police, EMTs, and fire department personnel arrived at the scene, Snelling was not at home, according to the report. Officers located her approximately five minutes away from her residence shortly thereafter. She was then taken to police headquarters and requested to undergo a medical examination, as indicated in the incident report.
Snelling was arrested at 4:58 p.m. on August 30, according to the arrest citation, and booked into the Fayette County Detention Center the following day. Investigators returned to her home later that evening, as noted in the report.
Shortly after, Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn announced that the preliminary autopsy results were inconclusive. With the cause and manner of death and other crucial details still unknown, questions linger about when Snelling gave birth, whether she experienced a miscarriage, if the baby was born alive or stillborn, and if she was even aware of her pregnancy.
Snelling's social media posts offer a glimpse into her mindset prior to her arrest. Her TikTok post from June 25 shows her standing on the street, clad in a white tank top and pink gingham pants, with Beyonce and Dolly Parton's hit song "Tyrant" playing in the background. Categories such as her "favorite color," "favorite season," "birth month," "eye color," and "goals" were superimposed onto the image. 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 shared pictures of herself in a long white dress and a young man, presumably her boyfriend, standing hand in hand in a field, with the caption "#couples photography." Other photos depict them sitting in the grass, with her cradling her stomach and leaning against him.
It remains unclear who the man in the pictures is and whether he had any involvement in the case. Snelling has been a member of the school's competitive cheer STUNT team for three years and hails from White Pine, Tennessee, according to an official team roster.
Since her arrest, Snelling has withdrawn from the university. The death investigation is ongoing, pending the results of further studies.
Following her arrest, Snelling was held at the Fayette County Detention Center. She was released on September 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 September 26.
