A 21-year-old University of Kentucky STUNT team member has been arrested for allegedly hiding her dead infant inside a closet. The incident occurred after police were called to a residence in Lexington where they found the unresponsive infant, later pronounced deceased. The infant’s mother, Laken Snelling, faces charges including abuse of a corpse and concealing the birth of an infant.
The Lexington Police Department took Snelling into custody after they received a report of an unresponsive infant at a residence in the 400 block of Park Avenue. When police arrived, they located the infant, who was pronounced deceased at the scene. The Fayette County Coroner’s Office will release the infant’s cause of death.
Snelling, whom the Lexington Police Department identified as the infant’s mother, has been charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant. She is a senior at the University of Kentucky and a member of the STUNT team, according to a University of Kentucky spokesperson.
University of Kentucky Athletics describes STUNT as a ‘head-to-head competition between two teams that focuses on the technical and athletic aspects of cheer’ and states that it is ‘one of the fastest-growing female sports in the United States.’ Snelling is listed as a member of the STUNT team on its website.
A police document indicated that the infant was found wrapped in a towel inside a black trash bag and placed in a closet. The station also noted that during an interview with police, Snelling admitted to giving birth. The Lexington Police Department said its Special Victims Section is continuing to investigate the case.