What are the charges against Laken Snelling? TikToker and University of Kentucky cheerleader arrested for allegedly hiding dead baby in closet

Laken Snelling, a content creator and University of Kentucky student, was arrested on Sunday (August 31, 2025) at the 400 block of Park Avenue, Lexington.

The police officers were alerted on Wednesday (August 27, 2025) after they were informed on a call that an unresponsive infant was found. When the officers arrived at the scene, they found a baby wrapped in a towel inside a black garbage bag, which was in Laken Snelling's closet.

The infant was pronounced dead at the scene, and Laken was arrested as she admitted that she had given birth.

The Lexington Police Department released a statement on Sunday, sharing that Laken Snelling was charged with abuse of a corpse, concealing the birth of an infant, and tampering with physical evidence. As of now, Laken is at the Fayette County Detention Center. It is unknown whether she has a lawyer.

A representative from the University of Kentucky confirmed to The Independent that Snelling was a student at their institution. They also shared that she was a cheerleader for the last three seasons.

"We can confirm that she has been a member of the STUNT team for the last three seasons. All other questions should be directed to the Lexington Police," the representative stated.

NEW: University of Kentucky student arrested after her baby was found deceased in a trash bag inside a closet.

21-year-old Laken Snelling has been charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.

Snelling is a member of the… pic.twitter.com/CWzlwctc0B

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 1, 2025

Laken Snelling's TikTok account explored

The 21-year-old student and influencer has over 7,700 followers on TikTok. She had more than 3,500 followers on Instagram before she deleted her account.

The TikToker regularly created videos of her daily life, as well as content related to cheerleading, skincare, and makeup. Sometimes she made videos lip-syncing to singer Megan Moroney's songs.

On June 19, 2025, Snelling uploaded pictures with her boyfriend, Connor Jordan, which appeared to be from a maternity photoshoot. Connor has deleted his TikTok account. It is unclear whether he was the father of the infant found in Laken's room.

Laken Snelling's last TikTok post was on June 26, 2025, in which she mentioned her favourite things in emojis. In her future goals, she added a ring, a mother holding a baby, a house, money, and a family emoji, seemingly hinting that she wanted to be a mother and have a family in the future.

Laken Snelling's last TikTok activity was on August 22, 2025, when she reposted a video about being a college athlete. Her account's comment section has been flooded with netizens' comments, saying that she could have put that baby up for adoption instead of allegedly killing it.

"The goals are to be a mom, but you MURDERED your chance to be one. Anyone, I mean anyone would have taken that baby, so you didn't murder it," one TikTok user wrote.

"I know that Kentucky has absolutely no abortion clinics in this entire state; however, there was a baby box less than 10 minutes away from where this happened. She could've taken her baby there anonymously. Or to any fire station, hospital, etc, truly heartbreaking," another user added.

The Lexington Police Department stated in their press release that the investigation is ongoing. Stay tuned for more updates regarding Laken Snelling's case.