A Kentucky cheerleader accused of hiding her dead newborn child in a closet has dropped out of college just days after her arrest.
Laken Sneely, 21, was taken into custody on August 31 after police found her newborn son inside a trash bag in her closet in her Lexington home.
Sneely withdrew from the University of Kentucky, Jay Blanton, a school spokesperson, told the Lexington Herald Leader on Friday.
The former college student is no longer part of the STUNT team, confirmed Blanton. As noted in the official roster, the junior had been with the team for three years.
It is unclear when exactly Sneely withdrew from the university.
The autopsy for the infant did not yield conclusive results. However, the Fayette County Coroner’s Office plans to perform ‘extensive microscopic analyses’ to ascertain the cause and manner of the death.
“I recognize the community’s concerns and sensitivity regarding the tragic passing of a child. This incident impacts many people in our neighboring state of Tennessee as well as in the Commonwealth,” stated the autopsy report.
‘We are currently conducting a thorough and methodical death investigation to ensure all facts are carefully considered.’
Laken Sneely, 21, the cheerleader accused of hiding her dead newborn child in a closet, unenrolled from the University of Kentucky
She is also no longer of member of the school’s STUNT team. Sneely was on the team for three years
Sneeling was released on a $100,000 bond and ordered to home incarceration at her parents’ home in Jefferson City, Tennessee, NBC News reported.
She pleaded not guilty to charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant.
Fayette County Coroner, Gary W. Ginn, informed Daily Mail that additional microscopic examinations will require taking tissue samples from the infant for further evaluation. The brain will also undergo examination by a neuroscientist.
“There is a requisite timeframe for the tissue to stabilize before we can conduct both gross and microscopic examinations, which lengthens the completion time of our final autopsy report,” explained the coroner.
He noted, “Often, during an autopsy, when examining the brain and bone structures such as the skull and the dura mater with the naked eye, injuries may be observable.”
‘But until you look at the brain microscopically, you might look at the structures and not really think that there might be the injuries — that there could be internal hemorrhaging or something of that nature of the brain. So, it has to be looked at more microscopically than just grossly with the naked eye.’
Snelling, who was accompanied by her family, mostly kept her head down during the court appearance on Tuesday and nodded as the judge outlined her release conditions.
Her father was seen holding her hand as she walked out of the courtroom.
The cheerleader was seen looking to the floor and holding her father’s hand as she walked out of the courtroom last week
Police made the gruesome discovery after they were called to Snelling’s home for a report of ‘a deceased infant being located inside of a closet,’ officials said.
The baby was pronounced dead at the scene but a cause of death remains unclear pending an autopsy.
It’s not clear who called the police to report the alleged crime.
An arrest citation said the ‘infant was located wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag.’
‘By wrapping the infant in towels and placing it inside of a black trash bag, the listed suspect treated the corpse in a way that would outrage ordinary family sensibilities,’ the police report said.
Snelling admitted to concealing the birth by cleaning any evidence before hiding the supplies and the infant, who was wrapped in a towel, in a trash bag, according to the citation.
Images posted on social media in recent months also showed Snelling with what appeared to be a stomach bump
She pleaded not guilty to charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant
The former student, who allegedly admitted to giving birth to the baby before her arrest, posted images in June where her boyfriend held her stomach, which appeared to have a visible bump.
Other images posted on social media in recent months also showed Snelling with what appeared to be a stomach bump.
However, it’s not clear if Snelling had announced a pregnancy to anyone.
Snelling’s next court appearance is scheduled for September 26.
