Cheerleader ‘took selfies giving birth then left baby in closet to die and got McDonald’s’

Laken Snelling April 12, 2025 TikTok Post
Former University of Kentucky student Laken Ashlee Snelling hid her pregnancy from her roommates (Picture: TikTok/@laken_snelling)

A cheerleader allegedly took selfies while giving birth, then left her newborn to die in a closet and went to get food at a McDonald’s.

Laken Ashlee Snelling, 21, was taken into custody on August 31 after police found her baby boy’s body wrapped in a towel and a garbage bag in the closet of her bedroom in Lexington, Kentucky.

Newly released court documents reveal the appalling actions Snelling is accused of taking, from hiding her pregnancy to covering up the crime.

Snelling gave birth on August 27 around 4am in her off-campus house and told her roommates that the noises were from her passing out after not eating or feeling well, states her arrest affidavit obtained by LEX18.

Laken Snelling 15102009 Kentucky cheerleader accused of hiding newborn's body in off-campus closet wasn't home when shocking discovery was made
Laken Ashlee Snelling was arrested after returning from a McDonald’s (Picture: Fayette County Detention Center)

She ditched her 9.30am class at the University of Kentucky and instead ordered on the McDonald’s app and picked up her fast food, state the papers.

Meanwhile, Snelling’s roommates, who suspected she may have been pregnant, went inside her room and discovered a ‘blood-soaked towel on the floor and a plastic bag containing evidence of childbirth’, according to the affidavit.

After going to McDonald’s, Snelling drove to her university’s clinic but did not go inside and instead returned home. That is when she was arrested.

Snelling told police that she passed out on top of her newborn and woke up to see him ‘turning blue and purple’, states the affidavit.

2024 May 30: Panorama City, CA. McDonalds, McDonald's burger fast food restaurant. Sign, logo, angle view; Shutterstock ID 2469027415; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other:
Laken Ashlee Snelling allegedly ordered food from McDonald’s and picked up after leaving her baby to die in a closet (Picture: Shutterstock)

She claimed she believed her infant was dead and wrapped him in a towel, and woke up later at 7.30am and put the baby and the placenta in a black garbage bag in her closet.

However, Snelling told UK Hospital staff that ‘the baby made a “whimper,” and that she “guessed” the baby was alive’, according to the affidavit.

Lexington police found ‘images of her during labor, photos of her doing things ordinary pregnant women should not be doing, and a concealed or hidden pregnancy’, according to the affidavit.

Snelling has been charged with abuse of a corpse in connection with her baby’s death.

Laken Snelling social media from her mom's Facebook - Michelle Brackett Snelling
Laken Ashlee Snelling has been charged with abuse of a corpse in connection with her baby boy’s death (Picture: Facebook)

She appeared in court briefly on Friday and waived her right to a preliminary hearing, WKYT reported.

Snelling is out on bond and under house arrest.

She is no longer a student at the University of Kentucky.

Snelling was busted more than four years after a Phoenix mother was arrested for allegedly murdering her newborn boy, wrapping him in a towel and hiding him in the bathroom vanity.

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