A Kentucky cheerleader named Laken Snelling took selfies while she discreetly gave birth to her baby — only to reportedly leave it in a closet as she went to grab a meal at McDonald’s, according to police reports.
According to newly released court documents obtained by People magazine, Snelling’s phone contained “photos of her during labor, and images of activities that typical pregnant women wouldn’t be engaged in.”
The affidavit indicates that the pictures taken while she was in labor were later “deleted to conceal the birth,” and investigators suspect that additional photos may have been successfully erased prior to her arrest.
After delivering her baby, Snelling allegedly placed the infant in a trash bag before heading out for McDonald’s, as documented in the affidavit. The timeline and circumstances surrounding the baby’s death remain unclear.
During Snelling’s absence, her roommates—who had heard unsettling sounds from her room the previous night—entered her bedroom and discovered a “blood-stained towel on the floor along with a plastic bag that contained evidence of childbirth.”
They subsequently found the baby “cold to the touch” in the closet and immediately called 911, as stated in the affidavit.
Initially, she told officers that the baby fell onto the floor after she gave birth and believed he was “not breathing or alive,” according to the affidavit.
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Snelling allegedly informed the authorities that, thinking the baby was dead, “she wrapped the baby up like a burrito and lay down next to it on the floor as it provided her some comfort at that moment,” according to the affidavit.
She reportedly woke around 7:30 a.m., placed the baby in a trash bag, then showered, cleaned the blood, and stored the placenta in a zip-lock bag before skipping her morning classes to go to McDonald’s.
Later, she admitted to medical personnel that the newborn had shown “a bit of fetal movement” and made a “whimper” after birth, per court documents.
The affidavit noted that images “taken during her labor were deleted to obscure the birth,” and investigators believe other images might have also been removed from her phone before her arrest.
Snelling has been charged with concealing the birth of an infant, tampering with physical evidence, and abuse of a corpse, to which she has pleaded not guilty.
Following her first court appearance, Snelling withdrew from the University of Kentucky and is no longer associated with the STUNT team.
She is currently under house arrest.
