UK student charged after dead infant found in trash bag, police say

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A University of Kentucky student is facing several charges after police found a dead infant in her closet over the weekend.

Lexington police arrested 21-year-old Laken Snelling on Saturday morning at her home in the 400 block of Park Avenue, near the UK campus, after responding to a report of a dead infant found in a closet, according to court documents.

A UK spokesperson confirmed to WDRB that Snelling is a senior at the university and a member of the stunt team.

Police said the baby was found in a closet, “wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag.”

According to her citation, Snelling admitted to police she gave birth and concealed it by cleaning up and placing cleaning items inside the same black trash bag where the baby was found. Court documents say she treated the “corpse in a way that would outrage ordinary family sensibilities.”

Neighbors described shock at the discovery.

“Every house here is pretty much college kids,” said Tanner Lorms, who lives across the street from Snelling. “I step outside, there’s a fire truck, an ambulance and a bunch of cop cars," he continued "we’re just shocked by it.”

Lorms said he felt sympathy for Snelling’s roommates.

“I just feel bad for the roommates that have to live there and know what happened,” he said.

He added: “When we heard about it we were very shocked because they seemed like a crew of girls that were just very connected and very together.”

Police said officers were called to the home Aug. 27 for an unresponsive infant. Snelling admitted she gave birth and tried to hide it, placing the baby and cleaning supplies in the trash bag, according to her citation.

The Fayette County Coroner’s Office has not yet released the infant’s cause of death.

“The question that really remains is what does the autopsy tell us and could this have been avoided?” said Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes.

The boxes allow parents to surrender infants safely and anonymously.

“We see about a baby every three days being dumped in our country but not in our states with baby boxes,” Kelsey said.

Snelling lived just over three miles from one.

“Unfortunately in Kentucky we had one slip through the cracks,” Kelsey said, noting that three infants were surrendered to baby boxes in the last two weeks.

Snelling is charged with concealing the birth of an infant, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse. She pleaded not guilty in court Tuesday and posted a $100,000 bond on Monday.

Her attorneys and the university have not commented. Snelling is now on house arrest at her parents’ home in Tennessee without an ankle monitor.

Her next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 26 in Lexington.

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