Laken Ashlee Snelling, 21, of Lexington, Kentucky, United States is a senior at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. For the last three seasons, she was a member of the cheer stunt team of the university.
Snelling is originally from White Pine, Tennessee, USA. The town is around 190 miles away from Lexington.
Laken Snelling
At around 10:30 a.m. on August 27, 2025, Lexington Police Department officers were dispatched for an unresponsive infant at a residence in the 400 block of Park Avenue in Lexington. They found an infant wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag inside a closet.
The infant was pronounced deceased at the scene. Snelling is the mother of the child.
After being mirandized by the officers, Snelling admitted to giving birth and concealing the birth by cleaning any evidence. She told them she placed used cleaning items inside a black trash bag, which also contained her newborn baby wrapped in a towel.
In the process of cleaning the evidence of the birth, Snelling tampered with said evidence that proved she had given birth, according to the Lexington Police Department. She treated the corpse in a way that would outrage ordinary family sensibilities by wrapping her newborn child in towels and placing it inside of a black trash bag, the department pointed out.
On August 31, 2025, Snelling was arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant. She was booked into the Fayette County Detention Center in Lexington.
On September 1, 2025, Snelling was released from custody after posting $100,000 bond. She was placed on house arrest to live with her parents and was not required to wear ankle monitor.
On September 2, 2025, Snelling was arraigned and she pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against her. On September 26, 2025, she will be back in court.
CONAN Daily 