Inset: Laken Snelling (University of Kentucky). Background: Home in Lexington, Kentucky, where she allegedly gave birth to an infant and wrapped the child in a garbage bag.
A cheerleader at the University of Kentucky is now facing a manslaughter charge after a medical examiner determined she gave birth to a live baby who later died from asphyxiation, according to prosecutors.
Laken Snelling, 21, was initially charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant. However, a grand jury later added a manslaughter charge after the medical examiner concluded the baby had been alive at birth but later suffocated through undetermined means.
Snelling allegedly told police she did not think the baby was breathing before she passed out on top of the child. Fayette County Commonwealth’s Attorney Kimberly Baird explained to CBS affiliate WKYT how jurors reached their decision.
“They were given the information about homicide, the four levels of homicide and then deliberated and decided that manslaughter first degree was the charge that should come out of the grand jury,” she said.
The cheerleader is currently out on bond, but authorities have reportedly issued an arrest warrant for her.
As previously reported, the Lexington Police Department responded around 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 28 to a report of an unresponsive infant at a home in the 400 block of Park Avenue, just blocks from campus.
Officers arrived at the home and pronounced the infant dead at the scene.
Local NBC affiliate WLEX obtained an arrest citation stating the infant was found wrapped in a towel inside a black trash bag. After receiving her Miranda warnings, Snelling reportedly admitted she had given birth to the child. She also reportedly admitted to concealing the birth by cleaning the area and placing all the cleaning items used inside a black trash bag along with the infant, who was wrapped in a towel. Police later found the trash bag inside a closet, according to the citation.
Authorities arrested Snelling and took her to the Fayette County Jail.
The University of Kentucky told WLEX that Snelling had been a member of the school’s competitive cheerleading team for the past three seasons and referred further comments to Lexington police. Her biography previously appeared on the team’s website, listing her hometown as White Pine, Tennessee, about 185 miles from Lexington. She has since withdrawn from the university.
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