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The University of Kentucky student-athlete accused of hiding her dead newborn inside a closet was described as a “serial bully,” according to a former classmate.
Laken Snelling, 21, was taken into custody on Sunday after officers with the Lexington Police Department responded to an unresponsive infant, according to officials. The infant was “pronounced deceased at the scene,” officials said in a statement. Police said Snelling was the infant’s mother.
The Fayette County Coroner’s Office in Lexington, Kentucky, said in a statement that an autopsy on the male infant was inconclusive, adding extensive microscopic analysis is needed to determine how the infant died.
Snelling was charged with tampering with physical evidence, concealing the birth of an infant and abuse of a corpse. She pleaded not guilty.
AUTOPSY RESULTS DEEPEN MYSTERY OF INFANT ALLEGEDLY FOUND DEAD IN UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY ATHLETE’S CLOSET
University of Kentucky student Laken Snelling was arrested on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (Getty Images; UK Athletics)
WLEX reported that the newborn was located in a closet “wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag,” according to a police document.
Sydney Kite, who went to high school with Snelling, accused the athlete of bullying her friends and sister, according to the Daily Mail.
“Laken had many, many people that she took her personal anger out on. My sister was one of them,” Kite said. “While in high school, she tried to run over one of my closest friends with her Jeep. The bullying got so bad, my friend had to be pulled out of school and transferred to another because Laken had taken it so far.”
Snelling is a senior at the University of Kentucky and a member of the STUNT team, according to a university spokesperson. The university describes STUNT as a “head-to-head competition between two teams that focuses on the technical and athletic aspects of cheer,” which is “one of the fastest-growing female sports in the United States.”
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY CHEERLEADER ACCUSED OF HIDING HER DEAD INFANT IN CLOSET
School officials confirmed Laken Snelling was a senior at the University of Kentucky. (Getty Images)
Snelling also “admitted to giving birth,” the police document indicated.
She was released from jail on a $100,000 bond and placed on house arrest.
Other similar cases have gained national attention.
In 1996, Amy Grossberg and Brian Peterson had a baby in a $52 a night Delaware hotel room, then they dumped the infant in a dumpster. The two claimed the baby was stillborn, according to NBC Philadelphia.
Amy Grossberg fell sick after returning to her dorm at the University of Delaware and needed to be hospitalized. Once at the hospital, doctors determined she delivered a baby.
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Laken Snelling was on the STUNT team at the University of Kentucky. (Getty Images)
Melissa Drexler gave birth to a baby while in a bathroom at her New Jersey high school prom in 1997, according to the New York Times. Officials said Drexler wrapped the infant in plastic bags and put him in a trash bin.
Drexler pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Fox News Digital reached out to Snelling’s attorney for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Alexandria Koch contributed to this report.