Laken Snelling, 21, is accused of giving birth to a baby boy and hiding his body in a trash bag in her closet, police allege
The autopsy for the newborn allegedly found dead in the closet of a University of Kentucky cheerleader and wrapped in a towel has been completed – with inconclusive findings.
On Sunday, Laken Snelling, 21, was arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant, the Lexington Police Department said in a news release.
The University of Kentucky senior competed on the school’s competitive cheer STUNT team for three years, and is originally from White Pine, Tenn., according to an official team roster.
Officers were dispatched to her home near campus on Wednesday, Aug. 27, after police received a report about an unresponsive infant, police said in the release.
Pronounced dead at the scene, the newborn was “wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag,” according to the arrest citation reviewed by PEOPLE.
Snelling admitted to giving birth when interviewed by officers, and to cleaning up all evidence and throwing it in a black trash bag, “including the infant, who was wrapped in a towel,” according to the arrest citation.
Authorities identified Snelling as the newborn’s biological mother.
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On Wednesday, Sept. 3, Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said that the results of a preliminary autopsy yielded inconclusive findings for the baby’s cause of death.
The death investigation remains pending the results of further studies “pending the results of these studies,” he said.
After her arrest, Snelling was held at the Fayette County Detention Center, but she was released on Sept. 2 on $100,000 bond, according to court documents reviewed by PEOPLE.
She was placed on house arrest at her parents’ home in Jefferson City, Tennessee.
Snelling appeared in court on Tuesday, Sept. 2, where she pleaded not guilty, KBTX reports.
Her attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
