Kentucky cheerleader who hid dead newborn in closet listed motherhood as one of her life goals

The University of Kentucky cheerleader whose dead newborn was found stuffed in a closet listed being a mother was one of her life goals in a social-media post just months before police made the grisly discovery.

Laken Snelling, 21, was arrested Sunday after cops in Lexington found her deceased infant “wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag” in a closet at an off-campus residence, according to a police report.

In her last TikTok post June 25, Snelling included an emoji of a mother holding a baby under her list of “goals” beside a wedding ring, house and cash.

Social-media users flocked to her comments section after news of her baby’s death broke this weekend.

“Goal to be a mother but [kills] her baby??” one commenter wrote.

Another said, “You can’t tell me this girl didn’t have options…”

Snelling “admitted to giving birth” when she was interviewed by cops, Lex18 reported, citing the police report.

The cause of the infant’s death is still pending review by the Fayette County Coroner’s Office, officials said.

While nearly all abortions have been illegal in Kentucky since 2022 — including for cases of rape and incest — there are alternatives for mothers who want to give up their babies, commenters noted.

“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,” a woman wrote. “She could’ve took her baby there anonymously. Or to any fire station hospital, etc.. truly heartbreaking.”

Snelling, a senior and member of the University of Kentucky’s STUNT cheerleading team, was charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and concealing the birth of an infant, cops said.

Snelling is being held at the Fayette County Detention Center, records show.