KY-Laken Snelling, 21, arrested after giving birth and infant was found in closet

[justme11]

Snelling appeared in court at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, where she pleaded not guilty. She’s scheduled to appear back in court at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 26.

https://fox56news.com/news/local/lexington/uk-student-mom-of-baby-found-dead-in-lexington-closet-released-on-house-arrest/

 

[RobertCatesby]

I think we are missing something too. I wonder who called the police and told them and I wonder when she gave birth.

I agree that there are pieces missing as of now. What about her family? Surely they knew she was pregnant and would've been a bit suspicious if they were told the baby just dissapeared. You can't conceal an entire pregnancy, maybe in the early stages but definitely not the whole thing. And if they knew the baby had been born, that raises even more questions because then you'd think they'd be completely on top of it if anything happened to it. Why didn't her "Baby Daddy" who was literally the kids parent raise any alarms? What about roommates/fellow cheerleaders? I also find it odd how, despite her fairly frequent posting on TikTok, she never posts about her pregnancy, with I think would be the exact opposite of how most women would be with that sort of thing. All very strange, hopefully we get some answers soon. I also woudn't rule out the possibility it was a stillborn.

 

[Inthedetails]

At this time, we do not know who initially called the police.

UK student charged in baby’s death pleads not guilty in first court appearance

A University of Kentucky senior charged in connection with the death of her infant made her first appearance in court on Tuesday.

www.wkyt.com

 

[Bounceycat]

You can't conceal an entire pregnancy, maybe in the early stages but definitely not the whole thing.

A lot of people can, and do, conceal an entire pregnancy. Some also don't know they're even pregnant until they give birth or until the very late stages of pregnancy. We have no evidence that did or didn't happen here, unless I missed this info. So I would think it remains a possibility.

 

[tlcya]

generally when people don't know they are pregnant until they give birth it is due to being obese or very young AND uneducated about their bodies and pregnancy.

This young lady is educated, middle class at the very least, and from pictures and videos she posted to her social media that I have seen, had undergone obvious changes to her weight and physical appearance. JMO

 

[Bahshudc]

Wow this is weird. Have I got this right?

She posted, essentially, a pregnancy photoshoot with her partner on TikTok

Was visibly showing

Desired children as her caption states on another TikTok (this is not to say she wanted the baby at this stage in her life, however)

Was a cheerleader for 3 seasons despite being visibly pregnant

Didn’t call the emergency services whilst she was in labour (an assumption of mine as I think we would be aware of this)

Was very happy with her long-term partner (via her TikTok posts and reposts)

The poor thing was called in by somebody else and not her?

Admitted to police she did it in her interrogation, yet pleaded not guilty in court

It is not legal to get an abortion in Kentucky,
however you CAN travel to another state - and birth control is available

There are boxes and other resources for her to have left the child if she didn’t want to keep it

She has NOT yet claimed that the child was stillborn or passed naturally soon after birth

??? This makes very little sense to me

 

[Bahshudc]

generally when people don't know they are pregnant until they give birth it is due to being obese or very young AND uneducated about their bodies and pregnancy.

This young lady is educated, middle class at the very least, and from pictures and videos she posted to her social media that I have seen, had undergone obvious changes to her weight and physical appearance. JMO

She is absolutely showing in videos on social media, one of her videos looks like a pregnancy photo shoot with her partner - he is holding her stomach while they sit down. She must have known. Bizarre.

 

[arielilane]

I dont believe theres any new info in this article. Posting for those interested.

last updated 8:55 AM, Sep 03, 2025
WARNING: The following story contains disturbing details. Viewer discretion is advised.


According to the citation, after being Mirandized, Snelling was interviewed by officers and "admitted to giving birth."

UK student connected to infant's death pleads not guilty, posts $100K bond

New details have been released in the infant's death and the arrest of 21-year-old Laken Snelling, who is charged with several crimes in connection, according to Lexington police.

www.lex18.com

 

[KentuckyFilly79]

Fayette County Coroner releases autopsy results:

Cause of Death still unknown; Infant was a boy

Fayette County Coroner releases autopsy results for infant found dead in closet

The Fayette County Coroner says the cause of death is inconclusive for an infant boy found dead at a Lexington home last week.

www.wkyt.com

 

[LittleSeaTree]

Fayette County Coroner releases autopsy results:

Cause of Death still unknown; Infant was a boy

Fayette County Coroner releases autopsy results for infant found dead in closet

The Fayette County Coroner says the cause of death is inconclusive for an infant boy found dead at a Lexington home last week.

www.wkyt.com

Any ideas why the results could be inconclusive?

 

[iamshadow21]

Any ideas why the results could be inconclusive?

Toxicology results take weeks, generally.

MOO

 

[Inthedetails]

Any ideas why the results could be inconclusive?

I'm a bit confused by the inconclusive results too. In cases with a newborn, it seems the question is - was the baby born alive and breathing or was the baby stillborn? Maybe that is harder to determine than I realize? idk

She is not charged with murder and perhaps won't be if the results remain inconclusive.

jmopinion

 

[justtrish]

Her life is ruined. This is a horrible thing. Lexington has a baby box I'm pretty sure. Makes me wonder if she gave birth alone and the baby was born dead or died.

Depending on the circumstances she'll probably end up serving time. I hope she gets some mental health help. Something isn't right in this scenario.

Moo. I'm not excusing the behavior just trying to understand. UK cheerleaders' grades and behavior used to be tracked on a monthly basis.

I am struggling to understand this all as well. I see so many photos of her and to me she looks pregnant in so many of them. I would assume someone trying to hide a pregnancy would avoid being photographed and they certainly wouldn't have photo shoots and post photos all of their own socials that show she has a belly. I guess we don't know if she told anyone she was pregnant or if she pretended like she had no idea and just went on living and letting others just think she gained some weight?

I think we might get a better idea of what she was thinking/doing if we knew if she had any prenatal care at all? Did she tell anyone she knew she was pregnant. If she had prenatal care and told even one person, then that's proof she knew. I feel like she had to know anyway, but even if she was in extreme denial and claims she didn't know, if she told anyone then that would remove the claim, she could make that she just didn't know. I don't see how she gives birth and then hides the baby even if the baby was stillborn. If anyone knew, then she would have no reason to not go to the hospital. It's so extreme to give birth alone without any medical professionals or even a friend/relative to help and then if that did happen, why not call 911 to get help unless your plan all along was to hide it and either way not go to the hospital.

I guess there is a very small chance she just went into labor so fast and the baby was born so fast that she didn't have time to call for help? I mean it does happen, but if she has a phone it seems easy enough to call even one friend or someone to come help her. So I am leaning toward she wanted to keep it a secret either way. It is possible she had a stillborn baby, but her actions before giving birth don't really show a person that was trying to give birth to a baby that she intended to let others know about or she would have went to the hospital.

 

[justtrish]

I'm a bit confused by the inconclusive results too. In cases with a newborn, it seems the question is - was the baby born alive and breathing or was the baby stillborn? Maybe that is harder to determine than I realize? idk

She is not charged with murder and perhaps won't be if the results remain inconclusive.

jmopinion

I am curious if it IS clear when a baby is stillborn so that is not going to be the result here. If the baby was born breathing but they are unable to determine exactly why the baby died until the tox report? Are they looking for medicine or something that she could have given to the baby? Maybe they have to have a tox report to rule out other things in these cases?

It does seem like if a baby never took a breath outside the womb, that would be able to be determined and inconclusive would not be a result.

 

[iamshadow21]

I am curious if it IS clear when a baby is stillborn so that is not going to be the result here. If the baby was born breathing but they are unable to determine exactly why the baby died until the tox report? Are they looking for medicine or something that she could have given to the baby? Maybe they have to have a tox report to rule out other things in these cases?

It does seem like if a baby never took a breath outside the womb, that would be able to be determined and inconclusive would not be a result.

It depends on the level of decomposition. They examine the lungs for signs they inflated with air, but if the organs are decomposed, sometimes it's difficult to tell.

MOO

 

[GeorgiaRai]

Some newborns need stimulation/intervention to take their first breath. So even if the ME can tell if whether or not the infant breathed air, I wonder if or how it's possible to determine if he could've taken a breath with proper care.

Such as sad situation for all involved.

 

[tlcya]

I'm a bit confused by the inconclusive results too. In cases with a newborn, it seems the question is - was the baby born alive and breathing or was the baby stillborn? Maybe that is harder to determine than I realize? idk

She is not charged with murder and perhaps won't be if the results remain inconclusive.

jmopinion

my understanding from other cases similar to this one is that sometimes an MRI can offer clues as to whether a baby was born alive (or ever drew breath). But that is not always conclusive. There is also something called the lung float test that can help determine if the infant's lungs ever drew breath but that one is very controversial.

Forensic Aspects of Perinatal Deaths - PMC.

“Was the Infant Born Alive?” A Review of Postmortem Techniques Used to Determine Live Birth In Cases of Suspected Neonaticide - PMC

Spoiler: graphic

the problem with these tests as I understand it, is that decomp can affect their reliability. We dont know how long the baby was in that closet closed within that towel and hefty bag. not to be crude, but decomp gases can mimic the presence of air in the lungs and other organs.

Histological sections of the umbilical stump can be used to gather microscopic evidence - if a presence of inflammatory infiltrates is found it can indicate an infant was born alive.

 

[cocomod]

This breaks my heart. I think she knew she was pregnant. I think she wore dresses that were loose or high-waisted to conceal (if that was her intent). I am curious what her excuse is. If the baby was still-born, why not call for help? Why the clean-up and hiding of the body? Did she not want to tell the baby-daddy that the baby was born deceased? I don't see anyone on social media defending her

 

[Inthedetails]

This breaks my heart. I think she knew she was pregnant. I think she wore dresses that were loose or high-waisted to conceal (if that was her intent). I am curious what her excuse is. If the baby was still-born, why not call for help? Why the clean-up and hiding of the body? Did she not want to tell the baby-daddy that the baby was born deceased? I don't see anyone on social media defending her

It is odd because appearances seem to be she is capable of making responsible decisions yet didn't. I want to be gentle as I consider possibilitites, given the victim and not knowing what happened. But, the fact is, crimes have been alledged and this is a crime discussion board. The only things I can possibly think of are a mental-health issue we don't know about; or, the baby's father was not who was assumed to be the father and it was apparent when the baby was born; or, the baby was born with medical issues that traumatized the mother and she panicked while delivering the baby on her own. These are speculations, not facts, just ideas while we await answers (if answers will be forthcoming at all).



jmopinion

 

[abyquinn]

Autopsy Report on Baby Boy Snelling