As police continue to investigate the Laken Snelling case, more shocking details emerge. For those who may not be following the case, the 21-year-old is a former University of Kentucky cheerleader. On August 27, 2025, Snelling gave birth to a baby in her off-campus apartment. Instead of calling for help, however, she reportedly wrapped the baby in a towel and placed it in a trash bag in her closet. She was soon arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.
An unsealed court filing is revealing more about Snelling and what she was apparently up to before giving birth. People obtained an affidavit for a search warrant that revealed shocking details about the woman.
The Lexington Police Department went into Snelling’s phone and found “several searches including different things pertaining to pregnancy.” This included evidence of “concealed or hidden pregnancy,” the magazine reported. According to the warrant filed on September 4, the young woman also took pictures of herself in labor.
The affidavit claims that her phone contained “images of her during labor, photos of her doing things ordinary pregnant women should not be doing.” Additionally, the affidavit states that “the photos that were taken while she was in labor were deleted in an attempt to hide the birth,” per People. Because of this, police believe there could be other images or searches she deleted.
After being taken to the hospital to be examined, Snelling waived her Miranda rights, opting to talk to police about what happened. According to the affidavit, she gave birth “to a baby which fell onto the floor of her bedroom.”
She reportedly told police she was awake for 30 minutes after giving birth “before falling on top of the baby and going back to sleep.” When she woke up, she noticed the newborn was “turning blue and purple.” She then allegedly told police she thought the baby was dead. So Snelling “wrapped the baby up like a burrito and laid next to it on the floor because it gave her a little comfort in the moment.”
Snelling woke up again when her alarm went off at 7:30 a.m. That’s when she put the newborn in a trash bag, cleaned up the blood after a shower, and put her placenta “inside of a zip lock bag and placed it inside the black trash bag.”
After this, the young woman left home with the intention of going to class, but she had a change of heart. “Laken stated that she did not go into class, but sat in her vehicle in the parking lot. Ms. Snelling stated that she wasn’t feeling well so she ordered McDonalds through the McDonalds app,” Capt. Matthew Carrier wrote in the affidavit.
“Ms. Snelling said that after getting McDonalds, she went to the University of Kentucky’s Student Clinic where she also did not go inside,” Carrier continued.
While Snelling was gone, her roommates called police after finding a bloody towel in her bedroom. When she returned, police were waiting and she was detained. Snelling was booked into jail but released on a $100,000 surety bond.
She is on house arrest at her parents’ home in Tennessee ahead of her trial. The case will be going to a grand jury after Snelling waived her right to a preliminary hearing.
There is still a chance a murder charge is added to the list of charges against Snelling, pending autopsy results, People reported. The medical examiner said further testing is needed to determine the newborn’s cause of death after the initial autopsy was inconclusive.
