A 21-year-old Kentucky cheerleader and beauty queen has been arrested in a case that has left her community stunned. Authorities say she secretly gave birth and hid her dead newborn in a black trash bag inside her closet.
Grim Discovery in Lexington
On Aug. 27, police were called to a home on Park Avenue in Lexington after reports of an unresponsive infant. When officers arrived, they found the baby wrapped in a towel and stuffed inside a black trash bag, according to court documents. The child was pronounced dead at the scene around 10:30 a.m.
The mother, identified as Laken Snelling, a senior at the University of Kentucky, allegedly admitted to giving birth and concealing it. Police say she admitted to concealing the birth by cleaning any evidence, placing all cleaning items used inside of a black trash bag, including the infant, who was wrapped in a towel.
Snelling was arrested Saturday and charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.
Beauty Queen Image Shattered
On social media, Snelling presented herself as a rising star, promoting pageants and her role on the university’s competitive STUNT cheer team. Just weeks before her arrest, she posted: “There is a pageant for EVERYONE!” and spoke in videos about her dreams of one day being a mother and raising a family.
Snelling, originally from White Pine, Tennessee, was studying Interdisciplinary Disability Studies at UK.
Cause of Death Still Unknown
Preliminary autopsy results from the Fayette County Coroner’s Office were released in early September, but the cause of death remains inconclusive. Further testing is ongoing.
Investigators with the Lexington Police Special Victims Section are continuing to piece together what happened inside the home.
Snelling was released on a $100,000 bond and is now under house arrest at her parents’ home in Tennessee.
A Case That Raises Questions
The shocking arrest comes against the backdrop of Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban, in place since 2022. With no exceptions for rape or incest, and only limited circumstances under which a pregnancy can be terminated, critics argue that young women are being left without safe options.
Whether or not the state’s strict laws played a role in Snelling’s alleged actions remains unclear, but the case has already reignited debate over reproductive rights, desperation, and the hidden crises faced by women across the state.
For now, a community is grappling with a disturbing scene that contrasts sharply with the smiling pageant photos and cheerleading routines of a young woman once seen as a local success story.
