Police: Baby whose death led to Lexington mother’s charges believed to be full term
Editor’s note: This story contains details some readers may find disturbing.
Police believe the baby found dead last month in the closet of a former University of Kentucky student-athlete was delivered at full term, according to court documents.
That detail was one of several revealed in documents filed in Fayette District Court in the criminal case of the baby’s mother, 21-year-old Laken Snelling.
Other key details in the documents — search warrants and affidavits filed by Lexington police — include that Snelling told medical staff the baby made a “whimper” after it was born; Snelling’s roommates discovered the newborn baby in Snelling’s closet; and Snelling was detained by police just hours after giving birth.
The documents were filed Sept. 17 and were first reported on by media Friday, Sept. 26.
Snelling, a former member of the UK STUNT team, was charged with concealing a birth, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse after the baby was found dead Aug. 27 at her Park Avenue home in Lexington. She has since withdrawn from school.
On Friday, she appeared in court with her attorney and waived her right to a preliminary hearing. The case was sent to a Fayette County grand jury.
The coroner has said “extensive microscopic analysis” is needed to determine how the baby boy died.
According to the court documents, Snelling told police she gave birth to the baby in her bedroom about 4 a.m. Aug. 27, and he fell on the floor, according to a police account.
“She didn’t think the baby was breathing or was alive,” police said.
About 30 minutes later, Snelling said, she passed out and fell on top of the baby.
When she woke up, Snelling said the baby was “turning blue and purple,” and she told police she wrapped him in a towel “like a burrito” and lay next to him on the floor “because it gave her a little comfort in the moment.”
Snelling said she woke up again when her alarm went off at 7:30 a.m. She had a class at 9:30 a.m.
Snelling said she got a trash bag from the kitchen and placed the baby, still wrapped in a towel, inside it, and then put the trash bag in the closet.
After taking a shower, police say Snelling told them she used paper towels and a towel to clean up.
Snelling then drove to school, but rather than going to class, police said, she sat in her vehicle in the parking lot and used an app to order food because she was not feeling well.
Snelling told police she then went to the University of Kentucky student health clinic but did not go inside.
Meanwhile, according to the documents, Snelling’s roommates found her baby.
In interviews with police detectives, the roommates said they and Snelling were in a Snapchat group together.
“In the 4 a.m. hour of August 27, one of the roommates sent a message in the group chat stating she heard loud noises that sounded like something had fallen,” police wrote. “Another roommate stated she heard the noises too, and that whatever caused them was so forceful it knocked a picture off her wall. One roommate stated the noises lasted for approximately an hour.”
Snelling responded to those messages at 8:48 a.m., police said, telling the group via text that the noises were from her passing out because she hadn’t eaten and wasn’t feeling well. She told them she was going to see a doctor.
“Curious as to Ms. Snelling’s story, the roommates entered Ms. Snelling’s room in an attempt to locate a source of the loud noises,” police wrote. “In the room, they found a blood-soaked towel on the floor and a plastic bag containing evidence of child birth. They looked in Ms. Snelling’s closet and located the deceased newborn baby, placed in bags. The newborn appeared to be a full term baby.”
Police have said they were called to the residence for a report of an unresponsive infant at about 10:30 a.m. The baby was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said one of the roommates told them “all the occupants of the residence had suspicions that Ms. Snelling was pregnant but never confirmed it with her.”
Police detained Snelling when she returned to the home. They took her to police headquarters for questioning, then transferred her to UK Hospital for treatment.
“It should be noted that when speaking to medical staff at the University of Kentucky Labor and Delivery, she stated that the baby had a little bit of fetal movement, but passed out shortly after,” the documents state.
Police said Snelling “also told medical staff that the baby made a ‘whimper,’ and that she ‘guessed’ the baby was alive.”
Police said a search of Snelling’s phone showed “several searches including different things pertaining to pregnancy, images of her during labor, photos of her doing things ordinary pregnant women would not be doing, and a concealed or hidden pregnancy.
“Also, during the search of the phone, the photos that were taken while she was in labor were deleted in an attempt to hide the birth, which leads me to believe that other items could have also been deleted in an attempt to hide any evidence of the pregnancy, birth, and newborn baby.”
Police said they believe an iCloud account shared by Snelling and her mother “could contain current or deleted information that relates to Ms. Snelling’s pregnancy, to the birth of the full-term baby, and ultimately its potential demise.”
Snelling, originally from White Pine, Tenn., has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her and is out of jail on bond.
She was a UK senior majoring in interdisciplinary disability studies and was a member of the UK STUNT team, a varsity sport focused on the technical and athletic aspects of cheerleading.
