21-year-old mother, who wrapped her newborn after giving birth in a towel then put the infant in a black trash bag and hid it in a closet, faces additional charges
Kentucky – In a shocking case in Kentucky, a 21-year-old woman, identified as L. Snelling, is now facing a far more serious charge after investigators determined that the newborn she concealed inside a closet had been born alive. Snelling, a former member of the university’s competitive stunt cheer team, has now been charged with first-degree manslaughter, in addition to the original charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.
The upgraded charge came after a grand jury reviewed evidence presented by prosecutors and the findings of the medical examiner. Authorities say the medical examiner determined that the baby was alive at birth but later died from asphyxiation, although the precise manner of suffocation was classified as undetermined. According to Commonwealth’s Attorney K. Baird, jurors were given information about the possible levels of homicide before reaching their decision. “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,” Baird explained. The case began months earlier when Lexington police were called to a home near the University of Kentucky campus.
On the morning of Aug. 28, officers with the police department responded to a report of an unresponsive infant at a residence, located just blocks from the university campus. When officers arrived at the home around 10:30 a.m., they found the infant already deceased. First responders pronounced the baby dead at the scene. Investigators quickly discovered that the child had been concealed inside the residence. According to an arrest citation obtained by local media, officers located the infant wrapped in a towel inside a black trash bag that had been placed in a closet. The disturbing discovery immediately launched a criminal investigation.
After officers found the infant, Snelling was read her Miranda rights and questioned by investigators. According to police records, she admitted that she had recently given birth inside the home. Authorities say Snelling told investigators that she did not believe the baby was breathing after the delivery. She reportedly claimed that she later passed out on top of the newborn. Police documents state that Snelling admitted to attempting to hide the birth and clean up the scene afterward. Investigators said she cleaned up evidence of the birth, gathered the cleaning supplies, and placed them in the same black trash bag as the baby, who had been wrapped in a towel. The bag was then placed in a closet inside the home. Snelling was arrested and taken to the county jail following the discovery.
Initially, Snelling was charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant. However, the investigation took a major turn once the medical examiner completed the examination of the infant. The examiner determined that the baby had been born alive, contradicting the possibility that the child had been stillborn. The autopsy further concluded that the baby died from asphyxiation, though officials said the exact mechanism that caused the suffocation could not be determined. Based on those findings, prosecutors presented the case to a grand jury, which decided to add the first-degree manslaughter charge.
Snelling is currently out on bond, though reports indicate that an arrest warrant has been issued following the new manslaughter charge. The criminal case continues to move through the Kentucky court system as prosecutors pursue the new charge tied to the death of the newborn. Authorities have not yet announced a trial date, but the upgraded charge significantly increases the potential penalties Snelling could face if convicted. As the legal proceedings continue, the case remains one of the most disturbing investigations in the area, involving the death of a newborn and the alleged efforts to conceal both the birth and the circumstances surrounding it.
