Cheerleader 'took labour photos' and heard 'whimper' before hiding baby in closet
Laken Snelling, 21, who was a cheerleader at the University of Kentucky, is alleged to have given birth to a baby in her bedroom who was later found dead inside a wardrobe
A cheerleader took photos of herself in labour and heard her newborn baby “whimper” before hiding him in a wardrobe, according to court documents.
Laken Snelling, 21, an ex-University of Kentucky student-athlete, is accused of giving birth to a baby who was later found dead in her bedroom by police. She is facing charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.
Prosecutors claim in court documents that Snelling gave birth around 4am on August 27 and she told staff at the University of Kentucky hospital that she heard the baby “whimper” so she “guessed” he was still alive, says the affidavit. It also said that the baby showed a “little foetal movement”.
The baby was found inside a rubbish bag that had been placed in a wardrobe in Snelling’s bedroom. Snelling is understood to have searched pregnancy topics on her phone which was examined by the Lexington Police Department.
The phone was found to contain “several searches including different things pertaining to pregnancy”, according to court documents. She is alleged to have taken photos of herself while in labour with the affidavit saying that there were "images of her during labour, photos of her doing things ordinary pregnant women should not be doing" on the phone, reported People.
But "the photos that were taken while she was in labour were deleted in an attempt to hide the birth" it claimed with detectives believing that more could also have been removed by Snelling before her arrest.
Snelling is alleged to have given birth to the baby who “fell onto the floor of her bedroom” and she stayed awake for 30 minutes before “falling on top of the baby and going back to sleep”. When Snelling woke up after passing out, she saw that the newborn was "turning blue and purple," according to the prosecution.
Snelling then 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". It was when she woke up again at 7.30am following her alarm going off that she is said to have put baby in the rubbish bag, had a shower and cleaned up the blood.
Her flatmates are also said to have heard loud sounds coming from her bedroom while she was giving birth, according to an affidavit. In a chat with her flatmates, Snelling claimed the loud sounds they heard were simply her fainting and falling.
That morning after giving birth she 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 when Snelling returned she was arrested by police.
Snelling pleaded not guilty to the 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 last 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.