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

  • #161
this is not me defending laken since what she did to the infant was cruel and she should've chosen a different route instead of murder, but again. abortion is fully banned in kentucky, even in cases of rape or incest (from what I googled, the only exception put into place is if the pregnant person is at risk). she would have to have driven to either ohio, illinois or virginia to get an abortion since those states kept abortion legal, and from what i googled (at least in ohio) its 115 miles to get to an abortion clinic from lexington (an hr 20) but in illinois, the closest one from lexington KY would be five hours to even get there.
I'd also assume her parents are conservative and that they were funding her education. they probably wouldve freaked the hell out if they found out their daughter became knocked up or even got an abortion. Kentucky is very religious and with a full abortion ban, she probably killed the infant since she didn't want her name to be on records that indicate she gave up a baby for adoption.
Now, do i think she could've dropped the baby off to a police station or local fire station and she shouldn't have killed the infant, and that's just cruel for killing an infant. But, I fear that this is going to be a reality if abortions are fully banned within the United States where people would end up having either illegal abortions or killing their babies.

Agree that this seems to be a new reality, add inconvenience for young women.
I don’t agree with the driving 100 miles or 5 hours as an issue. Here that isn’t even out of the state, so distance is relative.

If there are options and young women do not seem to know about them- they are not what come to mind when the option is needed. Could it be that abortion has been so convenient that other options were not considered? Now they have to be and young women don’t know what they are?

We must prepare our daughters on what to do- prevent as best as we can, or they too could find themselves in a questionable situation. If she killed the baby- throw the book at her IMO
If she wasn’t sure she was pregnant, it came very early and she did not think it was alive, or it was not born alive, or it didn’t look like a baby- that is a different situation. IMO

The reality is even tougher- if parents who are against premarital sex, birth control, and abortions will not support a 19 year old getting on birth control. What is she to do? That makes her chances of pregnancy higher, or commit to being a nun.
If you want to hear about that horrific reality- ask your Mom or grandma. My 86 year old mom describes nightmares for young women prior to birth control pills 1971 and Roe v. Wade 1973. It seems in some places we are moving back there…
How is that progress?

IMO
 
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  • #162
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

And our differences of opinion tell us that a jury would not be 100% one way or another unless the facts are clear that she did kill a full term fully alive baby who was healthy, with full intention to cause death.

At this point, I just don’t know, and can’t- as LE doesn’t even know

IMO
 
  • #163
Agree that this seems to be a new reality, add inconvenience for young women.
I don’t agree with the driving 100 miles or 5 hours as an issue. Here that isn’t even out of the state, so distance is relative.

If there are options and young women do not seem to know about them- they are not what come to mind when the option is needed. Could it be that abortion has been so convenient that other options were not considered? Now they have to be and young women don’t know what they are?

We must prepare our daughters on what to do- prevent as best as we can, or they too could find themselves in a questionable situation. If she killed the baby- throw the book at her IMO
If it came very early and she did not believe it was a live, or didn’t look like a baby- that is a different situation.

The reality is even tougher- if parents who are against premarital sex, birth control, and a Orion’s will not support a 19 year old getting on birth control. What is she to do? That makes her chances of pregnancy higher, or commit to being a nun.
If you want to hear about that horrific reality- ask your Mom or grandma. My 86 year old mom describes nightmares for young women prior to birth control pills 1971 and Roe v. Wade 1973. It seems in some places we are moving back there…
How is that progress?

IMO
I'm missing the info that she even wanted an abortion. Do we know that?

jmopinion
 
  • #164
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.

A newborn baby that is in a towel and trash bag picked up by LE within 24 hours of birth where the mother is known is not at all the same to identify or do autopsy and toxicology work as compared to the situations you listed
Highly decomposed fetal tissue, or bones found out in the open outside or buried without any link to a mother

Not the same thing at all-
There is no question if this is her baby, she admitted it was.
The question is if the microscopic tissues in the lungs- that contain capillaries which contain red blood cells are carrying oxygen. If they are- the baby took a breath.
Babies do not breathe inthe womb- they share the mother’s blood through the umbilical cord.
So if the lung tissue shows oxygenated red blood cells- the baby took a breath outside of the womb. So the baby was alive at birth.
And if it was alive at birth- what was the manner and cause of death?

I keep stumbling as to what words to use- as to me the choice matters.
“It” feels impersonal as if non human, and non gendered
“Fetus” implies not full term, maybe not able to live outside the womb, or able with intense medical intervention
“Baby” implies full term or able to live outside the womb
“Infant” implies full term, born alive, and growing

Can you do these sorts of tests of highly decomposed fetal/ baby tissue, or bones? No

IMO
 
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  • #165
  • #166
I'm missing the info that she even wanted an abortion. Do we know that?

jmopinion

We don’t know for certain that she was aware that she was pregnant, I don’t think.
Or if it was full term-
Or if she was alone- and did the cleanup and disposal herself- or someone helped.
So I think we are speculating on all the possibilities until more info is revealed.

IMO
 
  • #167
A newborn baby that is in a towel and trash bag picked up by LE within 24 hours of birth where the mother is known is not at all the same to identify or do autopsy and toxicology work as compared to the situations you listed
Highly decomposed fetal tissue, or bones found out in the open outside or buried without any link to a mother

Not the same thing at all-
There is no question if this is her baby, she admitted it was.
The question is if the microscopic tissues in the lungs- that contain capillaries which contain red blood cells are carrying oxygen. If they are- the baby took a breath.
Babies do not breathe inthe womb- they share the mother’s blood through the umbilical cord.
So if the lung tissue shows oxygenated red blood cells- the baby took a breath outside of the womb. So the baby was alive at birth.
And if it was alive at birth- what was the manner and cause of death?

I keep stumbling as to what words to use- as to me the choice matters.
“It” feels impersonal as if non human, and non gendered
“Fetus” implies not full term, maybe not able to live outside the womb, or able with intense medical intervention
“Baby” implies full term or able to live outside the womb
“Infant” implies full term, born alive, and growing

Can you do these sorts of tests of highly decomposed fetal/ baby tissue, or bones? No

IMO
The Kentucky medical examiner clarified that their office uses the term “infant” even if it is an embryo or fetus.
 
  • #168
Did her boyfriend ever have any knowledge on the pregnancy?
Was it her current bf’s baby or someone else’s? Sounds like DNA test was done…but can’t get behind a paywall to read further details.
 
  • #169
View attachment 613028

In this image its more obvious that she was pregnant, but i guess some classmates may have brushed it off as weight gain. she looks around 16-20 weeks pregnant in this judging by the angle and from observation, along with some images I searched up on pregnancy trimesters.
thats another question i have: How come none of her classmates suspected that she was pregnant at all?
Does anyone know when this photo was taken? End of Spring semester? Summer practice?
 
  • #170
Was it her current bf’s baby or someone else’s? Sounds like DNA test was done…but can’t get behind a paywall to read further details.
The Daily Mail said the former boyfriend, IH, just did a DNA paternity test. The article did not say if it was at his request or LE’s.

I’ve yet to see an article about if the “current” boyfriend (the basketball player) was requested to do a paternity test. He is the one cupping LS’s belly in the photo shoot published by LS on her page. And I think this is the same six-photo post where LS added the ring, mother/baby, house, cash emojis.
 
  • #171
Agree that this seems to be a new reality, add inconvenience for young women.
I don’t agree with the driving 100 miles or 5 hours as an issue. Here that isn’t even out of the state, so distance is relative.

If there are options and young women do not seem to know about them- they are not what come to mind when the option is needed. Could it be that abortion has been so convenient that other options were not considered? Now they have to be and young women don’t know what they are?

We must prepare our daughters on what to do- prevent as best as we can, or they too could find themselves in a questionable situation. If she killed the baby- throw the book at her IMO
If she wasn’t sure she was pregnant, it came very early and she did not think it was alive, or it was not born alive, or it didn’t look like a baby- that is a different situation. IMO

The reality is even tougher- if parents who are against premarital sex, birth control, and abortions will not support a 19 year old getting on birth control. What is she to do? That makes her chances of pregnancy higher, or commit to being a nun.
If you want to hear about that horrific reality- ask your Mom or grandma. My 86 year old mom describes nightmares for young women prior to birth control pills 1971 and Roe v. Wade 1973. It seems in some places we are moving back there…
How is that progress?

IMO
BBM:

It's hard for me to imagine a 19 yr old looking for approval from her parents to get on birth control.
imo

"The reality is even tougher- if parents who are against premarital sex, birth control, and abortions will not support a 19 year old getting on birth control. What is she to do? That makes her chances of pregnancy higher, or commit to being a nun."
 
  • #172
OMG!

She still can't bring herself to delete her Tik Toks and her FB still has all her photos and "This content isn't available right now" under each one.

She did live and breathe for attention.


imo
I do not have FB anymore and thus cannot see LS’s posts. Do the mods allow others to post them here?

Also, does anyone know when LS and her current basketball boyfriend got together?

The tik tok with the white-dress photo shoot was published by LS on June 18 so I assume it was taken the week prior. Did this boyfriend know at the time she had a small bump because clearly she does. The country song she added speaks of not needing a ring because “I know you are the one.” Is this a normal thing kids do nowadays after dating a bit - do a professional photo shoot early in a relationship or pregnancy?

I ask this because I’m so confused as to how there is a “former bf” named IH taking a DNA test, as reported in the Daily Mail.
 
  • #173
Wasn't the current boyfriend also charged with something in this case, probably relating to improper treatment of a corpse or similar? I read that here in a post on this thread, but confused because I haven't seen any further mention of it. If so, I assume he was there at the birth, knew of the baby being placed in the bag in the closet (or actually did it himself), and would also have been there when LE arrived (or maybe they were told he had been there just prior). If not, my apologies, I may have read something wrong.
 
  • #174
Wasn't the current boyfriend also charged with something in this case, probably relating to improper treatment of a corpse or similar? I read that here in a post on this thread, but confused because I haven't seen any further mention of it. If so, I assume he was there at the birth, knew of the baby being placed in the bag in the closet (or actually did it himself), and would also have been there when LE arrived (or maybe they were told he had been there just prior). If not, my apologies, I may have read something wrong.

Credit goes to the Daily Mail for the worst headline ever.

It is this headline IMO that is the root of the confusion.

The boyfriend wasn't charged. He was revealed.

Grammar fail.

The cheerleader alone was charged.

JMO

 
  • #175
I do not have FB anymore and thus cannot see LS’s posts. Do the mods allow others to post them here?

Also, does anyone know when LS and her current basketball boyfriend got together?

The tik tok with the white-dress photo shoot was published by LS on June 18 so I assume it was taken the week prior. Did this boyfriend know at the time she had a small bump because clearly she does. The country song she added speaks of not needing a ring because “I know you are the one.” Is this a normal thing kids do nowadays after dating a bit - do a professional photo shoot early in a relationship or pregnancy?

I ask this because I’m so confused as to how there is a “former bf” named IH taking a DNA test, as reported in the Daily Mail.
To me, that photoshoot on TikTok looks like publicly declaring they are a couple expecting a baby, this boyfriend is the father, and he is happy about the pregnancy. I think she was making a claim on him as the daddy (whether true or not)....and that's why the photos haven't been taken down. My opinion only, at this point.

jmopinion
 
  • #176
The Kentucky medical examiner clarified that their office uses the term “infant” even if it is an embryo or fetus.

Of course that makes sense, not because scientifically that is how the term is used or what it means… but because Kentucky legally defines an embryo and fetus as the same as a newborn, infant, baby- under the law.
This means as per the law in many states currently- the result of conception is an infant. A human person due the full rights of a newborn baby.

IMO
 
  • #177
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.
This is true and heavily complicates the matter. I doubt she has a car considering Lexington is a big city with a lot of amenities near the campus. As for alternative transportation if she didn't have a car, her best option would probably have been to take a Greyhound bus to Cincinnati, which is only like 20 bucks each way, as long as the fetus hadn't reached viability. If it had reached viability, she would have had to go to Virginia, where it's legal through the second trimester. At this point with little public information, we can't really say if this would have been viable.
 
  • #178
This is true and heavily complicates the matter. I doubt she has a car considering Lexington is a big city with a lot of amenities near the campus. As for alternative transportation if she didn't have a car, her best option would probably have been to take a Greyhound bus to Cincinnati, which is only like 20 bucks each way, as long as the fetus hadn't reached viability. If it had reached viability, she would have had to go to Virginia, where it's legal through the second trimester. At this point with little public information, we can't really say if this would have been viable.

While I agree it would be difficult to obtain one, we don't know she wanted one.

jmopinion
 
  • #179
Credit goes to the Daily Mail for the worst headline ever.

It is this headline IMO that is the root of the confusion.

The boyfriend wasn't charged. He was revealed.

Grammar fail.

The cheerleader alone was charged.

JMO

Oops, you are right! I was fooled by the misleading headline. I wondered why this wasn't being talked about more. Makes sense now. thank you
 
  • #180
Oops, you are right! I was fooled by the misleading headline. I wondered why this wasn't being talked about more. Makes sense now. thank you
I was fooled when I saw it online last night on the NYPost. Really ugly way to treat the story, imo

jmo
 

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