The roommates of University of Kentucky cheerleader Laken Snelling allegedly heard her giving birth and later snuck into her room when she went to get McDonald’s and found a dead newborn stuffed in a black plastic bag in her closet.
Her roommates, who had been suspicious that Snelling was hiding her pregnancy, heard strange noises as the 21-year-old gave birth to a baby boy in her off-campus house in Lexington at around 4 a.m., court documents obtained by Lex18 allege.
Snelling allegedly told her roommates several hours later that the commotion was caused from her falling over and passing out from being sick, the New York Post reported, citing court documents. She then left her residence to pick up McDonald’s and did not attend her 9:30 a.m. class. During that time, her roommates searched her bedroom, where they found a “blood-soaked towel on the floor and a plastic bag containing evidence of childbirth,” the affidavit alleges.
The roommates discovered the baby boy stuffed inside a black plastic bag in the closet, according to the report. They called 911 and told the dispatcher the newborn was “cold to the touch.”
When Snelling returned home, law enforcement was there waiting for her.
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Snelling has pleaded not guilty to charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.
Snelling first told law enforcement her baby fell on the floor after she gave birth, and she did not believe he was “breathing or alive,” the affidavit reportedly states.
Then, she told police she passed out “on top of the baby” and woke up to find him “turning blue and purple,” documents detail.
Snelling ended up admitting she wrapped “the baby up like a burrito and laid next to [him], which “gave her a little comfort in the moment,” court documents allege.
Authorities said Snelling ended up hiding her baby boy in the closet, showering, and cleaning up the blood from giving birth.
During the investigation, law enforcement learned that Snelling told medical staff that the baby had shown “a little bit of fetal movement” and she had heard a “whimper” following his birth, court documents allege.
Snelling also allegedly took several pictures while she was in labor, but she subsequently deleted them “in an attempt to hide the birth,” authorities alleged.
“In the wake of her arrest, Snelling withdrew from the Lexington-area school and is no longer a member of the STUNT team,” the Post reported.
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