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A University of Kentucky athlete who allegedly hid her dead newborn baby inside a closet once shared that she dreamed of being a mother, according to one of her social media posts.
Officers with the Lexington Police Department took 21-year-old Laken Snelling into custody Sunday after they responded to an unreponsive infant, who was “pronounced deceased at the scene,” officials said in a statement. Police said Snelling was the infant’s mother.
In Snelling’s latest TikTok post from June 25, she indicated a desire to raise a child as a life goal. She included an emoji of a mother holding her baby under a list of “goals,” which included a family, money, house and cash.
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY ATHLETE ACCUSED OF HIDING HER DEAD INFANT IN CLOSET
Laken Snelling, 21, allegedly hid her dead newborn in a closet. (Getty Images/Fayette County Detention Center)
Snelling was charged with tampering with physical evidence, concealing the birth of an infant and abuse of a corpse.
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.
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A sign for one of the entrances to the University of Kentucky campus. (Getty Images)
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.”
Snelling also “admitted to giving birth,” the police document indicated.
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Pedestrians walk along Rose Street on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington, Ky., on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (Getty Images)
Snelling was released from jail on a $100,000 bond, but was placed on house arrest.
Fox News Digital reached out to Snelling’s attorney for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report.