KY-Laken Snelling, 21, arrested after giving birth and infant was found in closet

[Mauig’ma]

That wording is used in several of the posted articles. It was quoted by Laken to the health care providers at the hospital. Also noted in several articles Laken looked up and deleted information about pregnancy, hidden pregnancy, labor & birth. Also selfies taken while she was in labor were deleted. IMO she was preparing herself to answer questions. It was absolutely an odd thing to say about a baby who was at or near term and once born was no longer a fetus but a baby/infant/newborn.

I worked OB, Post Partum, Labor & Delivery for 5 years (a lifetime ago) and honestly never heard a pregnant or postpartum lady refer to her newborn baby as a fetus. Not saying it hasn’t happened, I just never heard it and if I did (in this context) it would’ve been one of those things that makes you go hmmm

Jumping in to say maybe if she referred to the baby as a fetus it wouldn’t sound as bad knowing she killed a live baby. Moo

 

[cattlekate]

Outstanding questions. 1) What was the gestational age? 2) Did she have OBGYN care? 3) Where was the bf? Clearly he is cupping her belly in the mid June 2025 photo shoot. 4) Why did she register for her senior year if she was pregnant? Was she not that far along and thought baby would come at winter break? 5) did bf dump her during the summer and she was in total denial? 6) She was back home in Tennessee during the summer - didn’t her parents notice? 7) She looked 1st tri in the April 24 2025 cheer stunt photos - didn’t anyone point out pregnancy? 8) Was she all alone?

 

[cattlekate]

Looking at the April 24 cheer photos and mid-June couples photo shoot, she clearly is at least 1st trimester.

It would help to know if she sought OBGYN care.

Where were the bf and parents during the summer because she is clearly pregnant during the mid-June white-flowy dress photo shoot where bf cupped her belly and she hoisted up her dress.

 

[abyquinn]

Outstanding questions. 1) What was the gestational age? 2) Did she have OBGYN care? 3) Where was the bf? Clearly he is cupping her belly in the mid June 2025 photo shoot. 4) Why did she register for her senior year if she was pregnant? Was she not that far along and thought baby would come at winter break? 5) did bf dump her during the summer and she was in total denial? 6) She was back home in Tennessee during the summer - didn’t her parents notice? 7) She looked 1st tri in the April 24 2025 cheer stunt photos - didn’t anyone point out pregnancy? 8) Was she all alone?

1-They have only said she was full term which currently I believe is 38 to 42 weeks.
2-She didn’t appear to have prenatal care, at least she didn’t have care during labor & delivery & she used Dr Google to prepare herself.
3,5-IDK her current status with her bf.
6-IDK
7-She looks pretty clearly 2nd trimester in April IMO based on her athletic physique earlier. Her roommate said she suspected pregnancy but never actually confronted LS.
8-She gave birth alone, no one has said she shared being pregnant with them.

4-Why did she register? She planned on continuing with her life. LS clearly knew she was pregnant at some point. She concealed the pregnancy by denial. She had a protruding tummy for months, her face appeared fuller, like most of us she gained baby weight all over. She did internet searches regarding pregnancy, hidden pregnancy etc. she handled the labor & delivery all by herself while 2 roommates were in the same house! JMO - What she didn’t do was prepare for life with a baby. There is a baby box literally blocks away from her house. She could’ve wrapped him, still breathing, in a towel and placed him in the baby box and gone on with her life. But she didn’t. She made a different choice. A heartbreaking choice.

 

[abyquinn]

Outstanding questions. 1) What was the gestational age? 2) Did she have OBGYN care? 3) Where was the bf? Clearly he is cupping her belly in the mid June 2025 photo shoot. 4) Why did she register for her senior year if she was pregnant? Was she not that far along and thought baby would come at winter break? 5) did bf dump her during the summer and she was in total denial? 6) She was back home in Tennessee during the summer - didn’t her parents notice? 7) She looked 1st tri in the April 24 2025 cheer stunt photos - didn’t anyone point out pregnancy? 8) Was she all alone?

My youngest patient when working maternity was a 15 yr old who lived at home with her family & didn’t tell them until she went into labor. She had confided in an older sibling who no longer lived at home & they kept her secret. I spent time talking with her during her stay, she told me she wore baggy clothing, like sweats & kept her hands in her pockets to conceal her tummy. They didn’t know she had a boyfriend so maybe it never occurred to them that she could’ve been pregnant. She was a tiny little thing & the baby was average size, full term. I’m not sure how she got away with it. I think sometimes parents don’t see what’s right under their nose bc they don’t want to deal with it. Don’t shoot, I’m a parent & grandparent, while my kids couldn’t have concealed a pregnancy I’m sure they did other things right under my nose too.

IDK if this pertains to Laken’s family or not. If she was my daughter I would’ve suspected she was pregnant & confronted her. If she denied it, what were they going to to do?

 

[mickey2942]

My youngest patient when working maternity was a 15 yr old who lived at home with her family & didn’t tell them until she went into labor. She had confided in an older sibling who no longer lived at home & they kept her secret. I spent time talking with her during her stay, she told me she wore baggy clothing, like sweats & kept her hands in her pockets to conceal her tummy. They didn’t know she had a boyfriend so maybe it never occurred to them that she could’ve been pregnant. She was a tiny little thing & the baby was average size, full term. I’m not sure how she got away with it. I think sometimes parents don’t see what’s right under their nose bc they don’t want to deal with it. Don’t shoot, I’m a parent & grandparent, while my kids couldn’t have concealed a pregnancy I’m sure they did other things right under my nose too.

IDK if this pertains to Laken’s family or not. If she was my daughter I would’ve suspected she was pregnant & confronted her. If she denied it, what were they going to to do?

We have told our kids, anytime they are in trouble to call us, and we will help them. Well, our son got into a pretty sticky situation, and rather than talk to us, as we always encouraged, he just decided to leave. (Age 19)

Later, (a year), he said he thought we would be mad and disappointed. So he didn't want to deal with it. Well, the problem didn't just "go away". He finally did come home, tell us, we helped him dig out of the mess, which of course, had more consequences by that time.

I tell this story, because I wonder about young adults, and their thought process. Because, while the situation was far different, the way both dealt with it, was to just "ignore it". My son thought it would "go away" or something, if he didn't do anything.

Of course, being pregnant is different, but is the level of denial similar? We see so many young women on WS act in a similar manner. No judgement on the parents here from me, because I thought my kids would always come to us with anything. And they don't.

 

[LadyL]

An answer to my question:

Police were called by her roommate, who, after hearing suspicious noises in the middle of the night, snooped into Snelling’s room after she had left for class and discovered the newborn.....The roommates did not know Snelling was pregnant — though one told cops they were suspicious that their friend had been hiding a pregnancy.

University of Kentucky cheerleader Laken Snelling heard baby ‘whimper’ before hiding newborn in closet: docs

The new details mark an about-face for Laken Snelling, 21, who initially told cops she believed she gave birth to a dead baby.

nypost.com

strange that they wouldn't knock on her door to find out what was going on or if she needed help

 

[Gae]

Snelling claims she dropped the baby and then passed out and fell on the baby. If that were true, the ME would have found evidence of that in the initial autopsy examination. Someone is lying.

 

[Izzylizzy]

Good interview with retired detective David Sarni.

Uh-oh....Those deleted photos taken during labor.
Being reported that roommates heard noises from LS for about an hour..wow..I hadn't heard it was that long.
Sadly (scary) that her roommates took her word and let her continue...IMO

So much more

 

[Izzylizzy]

strange that they wouldn't knock on her door to find out what was going on or if she needed help

I've read yet don't know if it's true that her roommate(s) texted her ?

From what's been reported it sounds like LS declared herself the chosen one and if you wanted to remain on her good side you acquiesced to her.
imo

 

[abyquinn]

DBM

 

[TwoBlueJays]

JMO, but just how much in denial was she that a real baby was going to be the outcome. Perhaps when she saw the actual baby there on the floor, LS was unable to face the facts. Pregnancy is one thing, a living baby is quite another. You can tik tok and Instagram and pose for pics on social media, but it can be an absolute shock when faced with an actual baby you just birthed. One minute it's not real, the next a baby is there bloody and crying and you have to face reality. Is she immature enough to have truly thought the baby wasn't 'real'?

 

[tlcya]

JMO, but just how much in denial was she that a real baby was going to be the outcome. Perhaps when she saw the actual baby there on the floor, LS was unable to face the facts. Pregnancy is one thing, a living baby is quite another. You can tik tok and Instagram and pose for pics on social media, but it can be an absolute shock when faced with an actual baby you just birthed. One minute it's not real, the next a baby is there bloody and crying and you have to face reality. Is she immature enough to have truly thought the baby wasn't 'real'?

I don't think so. I think she was vapid enough to think she could pull off delivering it in secret and disposing of it tho. JMO. As to the photos taken during labor, I suspect she took photos of the area of interest during labor to see what was going on down there and how close she might be to delivery. I think she labored there, in the dark, because she knew exactly what was happening and she didn't want roommate(s) to know so in the dark, she snapped photos to better see the delivery zone.

I think if her roommates hadn't snooped and found that bag in her closet she would have removed it from the apartment later that afternoon and tossed in a random dumpster. I suspect, that once she figured out she was pregnant by her now ex boyfriend, she hooked up quickly with a new boyfriend hoping she could pass it off as his, but I also suspect she was too far along by the time intimacy was on the table and she was worried he would know, so she hid her pregnancy from every person in her life. A secret delivery followed by disposal of all evidence of baby was all planned in advance. MOO