Laken Snelling, 21, has been charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant after police allegedly discovered the body of the newborn baby boy infant in her bedroom
A cheerleader popped out to collect a McDonald’s order whilst her flatmates made the grim discovery of her newborn baby’s body inside a wardrobe, a court has heard.
Laken Snelling, 21, is facing charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant after police allegedly found the body of the newborn baby boy in her bedroom. Prosecutors claim in recently filed court documents that the former University of Kentucky cheerleader gave birth around 4am on 27 August.
Her flatmates heard loud sounds coming from her bedroom at the time, according to an affidavit. Snelling reportedly told police she was conscious for about half an hour after giving birth before she passed out and fell asleep on top of the baby.
When she came round, the baby boy was “turning blue and purple,” leading her to believe he had died, the affidavit states. Snelling wrapped the baby up “like a burrito and laid it on the floor next to her because it gave her a little comfort in the moment,” WKYT reported.
The young mum then allegedly nodded off again and woke up at 7:30am to her alarm, reports the Mirror.
According to the affidavit, it was at this point Snelling placed the baby in a towel and the placenta in a black bin bag and put it in her wardrobe.
In a chat with her flatmates, Snelling claimed the loud sounds they heard were simply her fainting and falling. Police records reveal she then departed the flat, skipped her 9:30am lecture and used the McDonald’s app to order food, before picking it up from the restaurant.
Snelling did pop by a student clinic afterwards but failed to go inside, according to the affidavit.
Whilst she was away, her flatmates went into her room and found a “blood-soaked towel on the floor and a plastic bag containing evidence of childbirth,” prosecutors allege. An unidentified person rang 999 and described the baby as ‘cold to the touch’.
When Snelling came back home, she was arrested by police.
Following an investigation, police seized Snelling’s phone and allegedly discovered she had conducted several internet searches “including different things pertaining to pregnancy”, whilst determining multiple images of her in labour had been wiped.
This prompted investigators to believe “other items could have also been deleted in an attempt to hide any evidence of the pregnancy, birth and newborn baby.”
During a trip to University of Kentucky Labour and Delivery Unit, Snelling is alleged to have told staff that she “guessed” the baby was alive and that she heard the baby “make a whimper”. Authorities stated the baby “appeared to be full-term” upon finding the deceased infant in the wardrobe.
Snelling pleaded not guilty to charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant at a hearing in early September. She returned to court on Friday, where she waived her right to a preliminary hearing.
Currently, Snelling is out on bail and has been ordered to remain under house arrest.
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