Former Kentucky STUNT member performed at national championship months before arrest after infant found dead

Laken Snelling, a 21-year-old former member of the University of Kentucky STUNT team, appeared in footage of the team’s national championship performance months before Lexington police found a deceased newborn in a closet at an off-campus residence, authorities and video posted online show.

A highlight clip uploaded in April to FloCheer’s YouTube page shows Snelling and Kentucky teammates during the National Championship in Nashville, Tennessee, including moments in which she is lifted by team members and serves as a base in stunts. The video features Kentucky’s matchup against California Baptist University, which won the title 106–75.

Lexington police arrested Snelling after responding to an off-campus residence where they found the newborn "wrapped in a towel inside a black trash bag," according to a police report. The baby was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy later listed the cause of death as inconclusive.

Snelling was charged with concealing the birth of an infant, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse. She has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors and police did not immediately provide additional public details about the investigation, and it was not publicly disclosed who first reported the alleged crime.

Court records and local media reports show Snelling was released from jail on a $100,000 bond and ordered to remain under house arrest at her parents’ home in Tennessee until her next scheduled court appearance on Sept. 26. The university confirmed she is no longer listed as a member of the STUNT team and that she has dropped out, but it did not disclose when she unenrolled; classes at the school began on Aug. 25.

Police said a man identified by local media as 21-year-old Izaiah Hall provided a DNA sample to determine whether he is the infant’s father. Hall’s father, Justin Smith, told The Post his son was asked to come to the police station to give a sample and declined further comment. Media reports also noted a man identified as Jordan, who formerly played college basketball in Tennessee, appeared in social media posts with Snelling in the months preceding her arrest; those accounts were later removed or deactivated.

Snelling’s appearance in the STUNT championship footage underscores her recent participation in collegiate athletics while the criminal case moves forward. STUNT is an NCAA emerging sport focused on partner stunts, tosses and tumbling and has staged a national championship in recent years where teams from across the country compete.

Kentucky’s loss to California Baptist in the highlighted match marked CBU’s fourth straight title and its third consecutive victory over the Wildcats at the national tournament. The FloCheer clip circulating online does not address the subsequent legal developments.

Investigators have not publicly released further forensic or medical findings beyond the initial autopsy result. Prosecutors will present evidence in upcoming proceedings, and Snelling’s attorney has not publicly commented on the record about the case.