Inset: Laken Snelling (University of Kentucky). Background: Home in Lexington, Kentucky, where she allegedly gave birth to an infant and wrapped the child in a garbage bag (Google Maps).
A cheerleader at the University of Kentucky is now facing a manslaughter charge after a medical examiner determined she gave birth to a live baby who died of asphyxiation, prosecutors say.
Laken Snelling, 21, was originally charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant. But a grand jury tacked on the manslaughter charge after a medical examiner discovered the baby was alive at birth and then suffocated to death by undetermined means.
Snelling allegedly told cops she didn't believe the baby was breathing before she passed out on top of the child. Fayette County Commonwealth's Attorney Kimberly Baird explained to CBS affiliate WKYT how jurors came to their conclusion.
"They were given the information about homicide, the four levels of homicide and then deliberated and decided that manslaughter first degree was the charge that should come out of the grand jury," she told the outlet.
The cheerleader is currently out on bond, but an arrest warrant has reportedly been issued for her.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the Lexington Police Department was called around 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 28 about an unresponsive infant at a home in the 400 block of Park Avenue, blocks away from campus.
They arrived at the home and pronounced the infant dead at the scene.
Local NBC affiliate WLEX obtained an arrest citation that said the "infant was located wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag." After receiving her Miranda warnings, Snelling reportedly admitted to giving birth to the child. She also reportedly "admitted to concealing the birth by cleaning any evidence, placing all cleaning items used inside of a black trash bag, including the infant, who was wrapped in a towel." Cops found the trash bag in a closet, the citation reportedly said.
Snelling was arrested and taken to the Fayette County Jail.
The University of Kentucky told WLEX that Snelling was a member of the school's competitive cheerleading team for the last three seasons and referred further comment to Lexington police. Her bio is on the team's website. It says her hometown is White Pine, Tennessee, around 185 miles away from Lexington. She's since dropped out of school.
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