University of Kentucky cheerleader accused of hiding her dead infant in closet

A 21-year-old University of Kentucky cheerleader has been arrested after allegedly hiding her dead infant inside a closet. 

The Lexington Police Department took Laken Snelling into custody Sunday after officers were “dispatched for an unresponsive infant at a residence in the 400 block of Park Avenue” earlier last week. 

“When officers arrived, they located an infant that was pronounced deceased at the scene,” police said. “The Fayette County Coroner’s Office will release the infant’s cause of death.” 

Snelling, whom the Lexington Police Department said was the infant’s mother, was charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant. 

A sign for one of the entrances to the University of Kentucky campus. (Getty Images)

A police document said the “infant was located wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag” and was placed in a closet, according to WLEX. 

The station also cited the document as saying that Snelling, during an interview with police, “admitted to giving birth.” 

Pedestrians walk along Rose Street on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington, Ky., on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (Getty Images)

The Lexington Police Department said its “Special Victims Section is continuing to investigate.”