A 21-year-old athlete from the University of Kentucky was taken into custody, accused of concealing her deceased newborn, which was wrapped in a towel and placed in a trash bag inside a closet, according to police reports.
Laken Ashlee Snelling, identified as a senior and a participant on the competitive cheer stunt team by a university spokesperson, is facing expected charges of hiding the birth of an infant, tampering with physical evidence, and abuse of a corpse, based on a police document.
She was arrested Sunday and booked into the Fayette County Detention Center, Lexington, Kentucky, police said in a statement.
It remains uncertain whether Snelling has legal representation. The state Department of Public Advocacy, responsible for providing legal assistance to some defendants, did not promptly reply to a request for information on Monday evening.
According to the Lexington police arrest report for Snelling, acquired by NBC affiliate WLEX of Lexington, police officers were sent to her address on Wednesday morning following a report about a deceased infant located in a closet.
“Infant was located wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag,” the citation states.
Police said Snelling agreed to be interviewed and told officers she had given birth and tried to conceal evidence of the birth.
The Fayette County Coroner’s Office is investigating the infant’s cause of death, police said.
