Featured Image Credit: Fayette County Detention Center
Topics: Crime, Police, US News, Social Media
Kit Roberts
Topics: Crime, Police, US News, Social Media
A 21-year-old woman who was arrested after the death of her infant child made a disturbing post to social media before police detained her.
Laken Snelling, a senior at the University of Kentucky, was arrested on Saturday, September 30 after officers from Lexington Police Department were called to an address in 400 block of Park Avenue to reports of an unresponsive infant.
The baby was pronounced dead at the scene at around 10.30am, and the cause of death has yet to be determined. Officers have since said that Snelling is the child's mother.
Snelling, from White Pine, Tennessee, has been charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.
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Prior to her arrest, Snelling, who was a member of the University of Kentucky's competitive cheerleading STUNT team, had made a post on TikTok including her aspirations for the year, the Daily Mail reported.
In the video was a number of emojis showing an engagement ring, a house, money, and a picture of a woman bottle-feeding a baby, implying that she wanted to have a baby.
An arrest citation alleged that the 'infant was located wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag.'
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It added that Snelling '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.'
Snelling was studying Interdisciplinary Disability Studies at the University of Kentucky.
She was held in custody at the Fayette County Detention Center ahead of a scheduled court appearance on Tuesday, September 2.
Corpse abuse and tampering with physical evidence are considered Class D felonies under Kentucky law, and those convicted of those offences can be fined up to $10,000 and jailed for between one and five years.
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The cause of death for the infant will be determined by Fayette County Coroner’s Office.
It is not clear whether Snelling suffered a miscarriage or stillbirth, gave birth, or had an abortion.
Kentucky has had a near total abortion ban in effect since 2022, the year that the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade.
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This includes no exceptions in the case of someone becoming pregnant by rape or incest, with the only exceptions being to prevent the 'serious, permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ' or a 'substantial risk of death'.
In a statement to local news station WLEX, the University of Kentucky said: “We can confirm that she has been a member of the STUNT team for the last three seasons. All other questions should be directed to the Lexington Police.”