UK student-athlete charged in death of newborn has withdrawn from university
A University of Kentucky student-athlete charged in connection to the death of her newborn baby is no longer enrolled at UK.
Laken Snelling, 21, “has withdrawn from school and, as a result, is no longer on the STUNT team,” UK spokesman Jay Blanton confirmed Friday evening.
Snelling was arrested after the Lexington Police Department found a baby in a trash bag in the closet of a home on the 400 block of Park Avenue Aug. 27. The child was pronounced dead at the scene.
Snelling allegedly told police she had given birth and then cleaned up, placing the infant and the cleaning supplies in the garbage bag.
Snelling has pleaded not guilty to charges of abuse of a corpse, concealing the birth of an infant and tampering with physical evidence. She is out of jail on bond.
Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said Wednesday that “extensive microscopic analysis” would be needed to determine how the baby boy died.
Snelling, originally from White Pine, Tenn., was a UK senior majoring in interdisciplinary disability studies and was a member of the UK STUNT team. That is a relatively new varsity sport to the university and is focused on the technical and athletic aspects of cheerleading.
