Former University of Kentucky cheerleader involved in infant death case

Laken Snelling, previously a cheerleader for the University of Kentucky and part of the school’s STUNT team, was performing with her team just months before authorities discovered her deceased newborn. The baby was found wrapped in a towel inside a black trash bag in a closet at her off-campus residence.

Footage from a National Championship event in Nashville shows Snelling actively participating in routines with her team, being held up and performing flips, just prior to her arrest. In one clip, she is seen being supported by teammates before executing a stunt involving hoisting a fellow team member into the air.

Snelling was apprehended after Lexington police found the infant’s body and confirmed the death at the scene. The infant’s cause of death was deemed inconclusive after an autopsy. She admitted to police that she attempted to conceal the birth by cleaning evidence and discarding supplies in the same trash bag as the baby. She has pleaded not guilty to charges including concealing the birth, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse.

It is not known who reported the incident. However, police say her former boyfriend, Izaiah Hall, provided a DNA sample to determine paternity, according to his father. Hall’s father stated that Hall had been asked to come to the station for testing but declined further comment.

Since her arrest, Snelling has dropped out of school and is no longer part of the cheer team. She was released on a $100,000 bond and is under house arrest at her parents’ home in Tennessee, awaiting her next court date on September 26.