A COLLEGE cheerleader accused of hiding her newborn in a trash bag has also been branded an “appearance-obsessed serial bully” by former classmates.
The shocking claims include allegations that she once tried to run down a student with her Jeep, and that her bullying was so relentless some teens were forced to switch schools.
A University of Kentucky cheerleader, Laken Snelling, is accused of hiding her newborn in a trash bag[/caption]
Ex-classmate Sydney Kite claims that Laken was a bully[/caption]
Kite alleged that Snelling continued to torment peers online after they left[/caption]
The disturbing accusations center around 21-year-old Laken Snelling, a University of Kentucky student arrested in Lexington after cops found a dead baby inside her off-campus home.
She was released this week on a $100,000 bond and placed on home incarceration with her parents after pleading not guilty to abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.
Snelling, who was a member of the university’s competitive cheer stunt team, has become the focus of intense speculation online after the grim discovery.
But ex-classmates from her Tennessee hometown claim her behavior goes back years.
Sydney Kite, 20, told the Daily Mail: “I don’t know the circumstances of what is alleged to have happened over the baby. However, I do know that Laken had many, many people that she took her personal anger out on. My sister was one of them.”
“While in high school, she tried to run over one of my closest friends with her Jeep. The bullying got so bad my friend had to be pulled out of school and transferred to another because Laken had taken it so far,” Kite claimed.
She also alleged that Snelling continued to torment peers online after they left.
“Even after my friend left, Laken then kept it up with cyberbullying with text messages,” Kite said.
“There were other individuals who had to transfer to get away from her. And after they did that, she would continue to message them and make TikToks and social media posts about them as well,” she added.
Snelling and Kite grew up in White Pine, Tennessee, attending the same elementary and middle schools before Jefferson High.
Kite said Snelling’s bullying was tied to her obsession with looks and popularity.
“If you didn’t have a certain amount of money or a certain amount of popularity, then you weren’t really in Laken’s circle,” she said.
“She was obsessed with her appearance, very obsessed with being popular and fitting in,” Kite continued.
“She was always obsessed with being very thin, with wearing tight-fitting clothes. She wanted a lot of attention.”
Timeline of Laken Snelling’s case
Laken Snelling, 21, faces charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant after her baby was found dead in a closet in Lexington, Kentucky. Below is a timeline of the case:
- August 25 – First day of fall classes at University of Kentucky, where Snelling is enrolled as a Senior.
- August 27 – Police are dispatched to a home in Lexington, Kentucky, to reports of an unresponsive baby. A baby later identified as Snelling’s son is found dead in a closet at the home.
- August 31 – Snelling is arrested and booked in the Fayette County Detention Center.
- September 1 – She is released on $100,000 bond and is put on house arrest at her parents’ home in Tennessee.
- September 2 – Snelling pleads not guilty to the three charges.
- September 26 – Her preliminary hearing is scheduled.
According to Kite, the harassment extended into bathrooms at school.
“She would bully my sister and her friends in the bathroom at school. She would just corner them,” she said, adding her mother reported the behavior but little changed.
Kite recalled confronting her directly: “I cornered her in the bathroom and told her to stop messing with my sister while we were in middle school. She didn’t like it when people stood up to her.”
Other parents and locals have echoed the claims.
Jennifer Ricker wrote on Facebook: “I know this girl… she is a bully! Always treated my kids like trash in school and MANY others.”
Ricker also alleged: “She attempted to run over one of the students and that student left school and moved schools because of HER! She has never been held accountable for anything she does.”
Snelling appeared in court this week in a red dress and full makeup[/caption]
Her last TikTok post featured a list of “goals” including a wedding ring, cash, and an emoji of a mother with a baby[/caption]
An anonymous post in a discussion group added: “I attended her school. I didn’t know her personally, but everyone knew she was the mean girl.”
Snelling appeared in court this week in a red dress and full makeup, though she spoke only briefly to confirm she understood the judge’s order.
Her father, construction supervisor Terry Snelling, held her hand as they left the courthouse.
In a bizarre twist, it has also emerged that she joined a babysitting group on Facebook last year.
She was publicly welcomed as a new member on November 25.
Snelling admitted to giving birth during police questioning, according to the citation.
Cops said she told them she “concealed 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.”
Officers were called to the Lexington property on August 27 after receiving a report of a “deceased infant being located inside of a closet.”
It’s not clear who alerted authorities.
The Fayette County Coroner’s Office has not yet determined the baby’s cause of death.
Her last TikTok post on June 25 featured a list of “goals” including a wedding ring, cash, and an emoji of a mother with a baby.
Social media images also appear to show her with a baby bump while posing with a boyfriend in recent months.
The case comes in Kentucky, where abortion has been almost completely banned since 2022 with no exceptions for rape or incest. The state does have safe haven baby boxes, allowing infants to be surrendered anonymously.
Snelling is scheduled to return to court on September 26.
The University of Kentucky confirmed to The U.S. Sun that she is no longer enrolled as a student and has been removed from the cheer stunt team.
It’s unclear whether she was expelled or left the university voluntarily.
Snelling is scheduled to return to court on September 26[/caption]
