Former University of Kentucky athlete competed months before police allegedly found dead infant in closet

The previous one University of Kentucky Student-athlete Laken Snelling was seen performing on the school’s stunt team for months, and then detectives said they found her newborn baby in the closet in a garbage bag.

Snelling, 21, was detained on August 31 Lexington Police Department Officials are responding to calls about unresponsive babies, officials said. Police said the baby “dead at the scene”, adding that Snelling was the baby’s mother.

The Fayette County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy on male babies and pointed out that extensive microscopic analysis is needed.

Snelling was charged with tampering with physical evidence, covering up the birth of the baby and abuse of the body. She pleaded not guilty.

The former classmate said

University of Kentucky student Laken Snelling was arrested on Sunday, August 31, 2025. (Getty Images; UK Track and Field)

Wellex Report A police document says the newborn is located in a closet and is “wrapped in a towel in a black garbage bag.” Snelling was released from prison on $100,000 in bonds and was arrested. Snelling also “confessed to give birth,” police documents show.

Snelling of the University of Kentucky Stunts team and teammates participated in the April college championship at California Baptist University in Nashville, Tennessee. The video of the game has been released Flocheer’s YouTube Page.

Autopsy results deepen the mystery of the baby allegedly died in the closet of the University of Kentucky athlete

Police detained Snelling on August 31. (Laken Snelling/Facebook and Fayette County Detention Center)

While performing a routine match, Snelling was seen being detained by his teammates.

A spokesman for the University of Kentucky told Fox News Numbers that Snelling has since dropped out of school.

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School officials confirmed that Laken Snelling is a senior at the University of Kentucky. (Getty Image)

Snelling is University of Kentucky According to a university spokesperson, this is a member of the stunt team. The university described the stunt as “a head-on competition between the two teams, focusing on the technical and athletic aspects of cheering, which is “one of the fastest-growing women’s sports in the United States.”