HARROWING details have emerged regarding the condition of cheerleader Laken Snelling’s dead baby boy after he was found inside a closet.
Snelling, a now former university student, was arrested days after the haunting discovery was made at the off-campus property where she was living.
Laken Snelling, a now former university student, is accused of covering up the death of her newborn son[/caption]
She dropped out of the University of Kentucky – days after her senior year started[/caption]
She had just started her senior year at the University of Kentucky when her baby son was found in a trash bag.
Someone at the Lexington property called 911 on August 27 after finding the baby.
Now, harrowing details from the call have emerged.
The baby was cold to the touch, the caller told dispatchers, according to a transcript seen by the Lexington Herald Leader.
“Complainant just found a dead baby in a closet; it is cold to the touch,” the report said.
The call came in at 10:34am and responders swooped on the property around a minute later.
Cops rushed to the house and arrived seven minutes later, as reported by the CBS affiliate WKYT-TV.
It appeared that a period of time had passed between the death of the baby and when it was found.
Ryan Stanton, the chief medical contributor for the Fox affiliate WKDY-TV, suggested the baby had been dead for more than a “few hours.”
“That is part of the criteria for not starting CPR: obvious signs of death,” he said.
Snelling was found at 11am and she was not at the property when the baby was discovered.
The caller’s name was redacted in the transcript.
Coroners conducted an autopsy but it came back inconclusive. They have confirmed more tests will be carried out.
Mystery still surrounds Snelling’s baby’s cause of death.
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.
Snelling was arrested on August 31 – four days after the baby was found – and was charged with concealing the birth of a child.
The baby was wrapped in a towel and had been put inside the bag that was discovered in the closet.
She admitted to cops that she gave birth and cleaned up evidence surrounding it, according to police.
Snelling is also said to have confessed to putting the cleaning supplies inside the bag along with her child.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against her, but has been put under house arrest.
She looked somber and downcast during her first hearing on September 2.
Snelling was being held at the Fayette County Detention Center before her release.
She is no longer a student at the university, a representative told The U.S. Sun.
She was part of the university’s STUNT team for the past three seasons.
Snelling was active on social media months before dropping out of college.
In a TikTok video that turned out to be her most recent clip uploaded to the social media site, she mapped out her life goals.
She seemed to hint that starting a family was one of her ambitions.
Snelling shared one emoji that depicted a family of four.
She posted another emoji that showed a doting mother cradling a newborn wrapped in a blanket.
Her other goals included marriage and owning a home.
Snelling is scheduled to appear in court next on September 26.
