Kentucky athlete who allegedly hid dead newborn in closet once posted about wanting babies

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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.

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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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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.