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

[Izzylizzy]

Right now she is not facing murder charges but other charges like not reporting a birth and abuse of a corpse. This is another reason I'm thinking the baby came too soon and arrived in a condition beyond her abilities to handle. speculation.

jmopinion

BBM:
That is exactly what 911 is for.
I have no doubt that her cell phone was no further than 6" from her hand.
She obviously did not want help for her or the baby before,during or after its arrival.
imo

 

[Izzylizzy]

I am going to sound harsh but she is 21 not 12, 15 or 16; she is a university student so she is not stupid so why not seek medical attention or terminate the pregnancy if she didn’t want the baby?

That's not harsh.
It's factual.
imo

 

[Inthedetails]

BBM:
That is exactly what 911 is for.
I have no doubt that her cell phone was no further than 6" from her hand.
She obviously did not want help for her or the baby.
imo

I'm not defending anyone who puts a newborn in the closet, just to be clear. I'm just trying to sort out what happened. At this point, the autopsy results are undetermined, and it's unknown if the baby was born alive. We should eventually know.

jmopinion

 

[Izzylizzy]

I'm not defending anyone who puts a newborn in the closet, just to be clear. I'm just trying to sort out what happened. At this point, the autopsy results are undetermined, and it's unknown if the baby was born alive. We should eventually know.

jmopinion

I didn't think you were defending her wrapping a newborn, either breathing or not, in a towel and putting it in a black trash bag along with the stuff she used to clean up after giving birth only to be found by a roommate.
imo

 

[The4TierBridge]

I see a lot of people who are confused about them not having determined a cause/manner of death or gestational age yet, but I feel like that isn’t abnormal. Just through my experience searching through unidentified bodies on NamUs, I feel like most cases with babies have a relatively large age range of 0-1, or they are vaguely described as just an infant, newborn, or fetus with no clarification on specifics (although a lot of these involve skeletal or severely decomposed remains, and the decedent here seems to have a very short PMI so making specific determinations would be easier). Many also do not list whether they are thought to have been born alive or not, any cause of death info, or possible congenital defects.

 

[RobertCatesby]

I am not OP, but LS is living with her parents while on bail, so in a very literal sense, they are supporting her by providing room and board. I am assuming, though don't know for a fact, they provided the bail money.


Snelling was released Tuesday on $100,000 bond, according to court documents shared with NBC News. The court documents say she was placed on house arrest at her parents' home in Jefferson City, Tennessee, roughly 200 miles from where she was arrested in Kentucky.

A University of Kentucky athlete is accused of hiding a dead baby in closet

Laken Snelling, 21, is a senior and a member of the university's STUNT team, a spokesperson said. It's not clear how the infant died.

www.nbcnews.com

I'm pretty sure the court ordered that she has to stay with her parents, so It's not like they really had a choice to take her in. Although if they were willing to dish out $100k for bond that quickly, I guess that says something. I doubt they know much more than we do, if anything, right now. Although I have questions about them later when more info comes to light, like whether they knew about the pregnancy and if the birth would possibly be coming around August 27th.

 

[Inthedetails]

I see a lot of people who are confused about them not having determined a cause/manner of death or gestational age yet, but I feel like that isn’t abnormal. Just through my experience searching through unidentified bodies on NamUs, I feel like most cases with babies have a relatively large age range of 0-1, or they are vaguely described as just an infant, newborn, or fetus with no clarification on specifics (although a lot of these involve skeletal or severely decomposed remains, and the decedent here seems to have a very short PMI so making specific determinations would be easier). Many also do not list whether they are thought to have been born alive or not, any cause of death info, or possible congenital defects.

To bring it back to this specific case with a body recovered quickly, before severe decomposition, the autopsy is pending, awaiting additional reports. The actual document was posted upthread, but here's an MSM source, bbm:

Police said that the baby was found inside a closet, wrapped in a towel, and placed in a black trash bag. Ginn said a preliminary autopsy report was completed, but the cause of death is still unclear.

According to Ginn, the death investigation will require “extensive microscopic analyses.”

https://fox56news.com/news/local/lexington/inconclusive-doctor-breaks-down-what-this-means-for-death-investigation-of-lexington-baby/

 

[Izzylizzy]

Did LE want the ex-boyfriend's DNA because LS was 20 weeks or more pregnant when she gave birth and according to Kentucky law a death certificate needs to be filled out and the father's name may be entered?

Or did the ex-boyfriend initiate the DNA testing for personal reasons?
imo

snip

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=52233

 

[AngTxGal]

LS is 21 yrs old and not a 15 yr old teenager.

She knew she was pregnant , she went into labor and by not getting to a hospital or calling 911 then, or during labor or even after she delivered therefore she denied the baby medical attention it may have needed upon birth to survive.

Many premature babies born at 6 months survive today with all the medical advances available.

imo

Yes, she is 21, the same age as my daughter.
We can assume she knew she was pregnant, but in order for her to know she would have to have a cycle that was interrupted, and gaining weight without explanation…
But we do not know that…

I know an IUD can make you skip periods, and taking high amounts of Ibuprofen can do the same thing if you have low body fat. Both of those things happened to me, I could go three months without a cycle and then it would come back.
Girls with high athletic activity and low body fat can often do that- they don’t have the body fat to make the hormones…

So, maybe or maybe not.
If she knew, and she harmed the baby on purpose… she didn’t get away with it.
If it was an accident, a stillbirth, or something was wrong… with her mental state or she didn’t do it… I hope she finds peace.
She has a name no one will forget… so she isn’t going to fade into the woodwork.
She has a life sentence either way

IMO

 

[AngTxGal]

I am going to sound harsh but she is 21 not 12, 15 or 16; she is a university student so she is not stupid so why not seek medical attention or terminate the pregnancy if she didn’t want the baby?

Abortion is illegal in Kentucky

IMO

 

[Izzylizzy]

Abortion is illegal in Kentucky

IMO

No one restricted her to remain in Kentucky.
imo

 

[AngTxGal]

I believe that KY has no exceptions even for rape or incest.

Maybe so, I did a search but AI jumped in and made assumptions.
It may be only when the mother’s life is in danger.

Now imagine that- a young woman could be raped and be forced to carry the baby to term.
Choosing to do so and being forced to do so are very different… to me that is sick

IMO

 

[Bahshudc]

It is not illegal in Kentucky to have an abortion in another state.

 

[Izzylizzy]

I'm pretty sure the court ordered that she has to stay with her parents, so It's not like they really had a choice to take her in. Although if they were willing to dish out $100k for bond that quickly, I guess that says something. I doubt they know much more than we do, if anything, right now. Although I have questions about them later when more info comes to light, like whether they knew about the pregnancy and if the birth would possibly be coming around August 27th.

It didn't cost her parents anything.

"The White Pine, Tennessee native was placed under a $100,000 surety bond, meaning she doesn’t have to pay as long as she stays with her parents for the duration of the trial."

University of Kentucky student athlete pleads 'not guilty' in infant death case

Laken Snelling, 21, was arrested Sunday after police found her infant unresponsive in a closet.

www.whas11.com

 

[Absoluterubbish]

I am not OP, but LS is living with her parents while on bail, so in a very literal sense, they are supporting her by providing room and board. I am assuming, though don't know for a fact, they provided the bail money.


Snelling was released Tuesday on $100,000 bond, according to court documents shared with NBC News. The court documents say she was placed on house arrest at her parents' home in Jefferson City, Tennessee, roughly 200 miles from where she was arrested in Kentucky.

A University of Kentucky athlete is accused of hiding a dead baby in closet

Laken Snelling, 21, is a senior and a member of the university's STUNT team, a spokesperson said. It's not clear how the infant died.

www.nbcnews.com

They signed a surety for her bond.

 

[Ghostwheel]

LS is 21 yrs old and not a 15 yr old teenager.

She knew she was pregnant , she went into labor and by not getting to a hospital or calling 911 then, or during labor or even after she delivered therefore she denied the baby medical attention it may have needed upon birth to survive.

Many premature babies born at 6 months survive today with all the medical advances available.

imo

You obviously have never had a premature baby that came in a span of 20 minutes with mild labor pains where you weren't sure what it was until the last 10, at which point getting anywhere near phone was not an option. While alone. Fortunately the baby survived the approx. one hour of unconscious mother until 911 could be dialed by the poor mailman who heard the baby crying and no one answered the door. Stuff happens.

It's why exactly what happened matters as to culpability, imo. I don't care how old the person is. It is also moo that 21 can still be pretty immature in a crisis.

 

[Ghostwheel]

BBM:
That is exactly what 911 is for.
I have no doubt that her cell phone was no further than 6" from her hand.
She obviously did not want help for her or the baby before,during or after its arrival.
imo

BBM. This is quite the assumption. Perhaps my mother is the only person who has had their phone bounce halfway across the room when she dropped to her knees in pain, no way to retrieve it. But being as there is no report of the actual circumstances leading up to the discovery in this case,, I could not possibly say if she wanted help and was unable to get it, or thought she had it covered but didn't, or didn't want help at all. I know my mom sure wanted help, laying on the floor in agony with her phone under the table and out of her reach. Broke her hip and shattered her arm.

I just cannot judge without actual facts.

 

[Inthedetails]

I just cannot judge without actual facts.

snipped

This is where I am landing too, at the moment.

We don't even know if the baby was full term or not. That is important info, imo, and we simply don't know (yet).

We don't know if she delivered alone or not.

We don't know if the baby was delivered alive or in condition to survive.

jmopinion

 

[Woolly]

It is not illegal in Kentucky to have an abortion in another state.

No, but we also don’t know when she realized she was pregnant. As @AngTxGal mentioned, very athletic women often have irregular periods. Women with strong abdominal muscles can also show later. Once you factor in the logistics of needing to find a clinic out of state and possibly arrange transportation (not sure if she had a car, for example), it could have been too late to terminate the pregnancy.

 

[Izzylizzy]

You obviously have never had a premature baby that came in a span of 20 minutes with mild labor pains where you weren't sure what it was until the last 10, at which point getting anywhere near phone was not an option. While alone. Fortunately the baby survived the approx. one hour of unconscious mother until 911 could be dialed by the poor mailman who heard the baby crying and no one answered the door. Stuff happens.

It's why exactly what happened matters as to culpability, imo. I don't care how old the person is. It is also moo that 21 can still be pretty immature in a crisis.

BBM:

I find it impossible to believe that "at which point getting anywhere near phone was not an option", and had she called 911 her baby may have survived like the mother's baby you described.

imo