Hidden True Crime - Labor selfies, DARK Secrets, & What Police Reveal About Baby Found in Closet | Laken Snelling

Episode Date: September 29, 2025

New court filings and police affidavits are shedding light on the disturbing details behind the case of Laken Snelling, the 21-year-old University of Kentucky student accused after a newborn was found dead in her apartment closet. From her own account of the birth to deleted phone evidence and roommates’ chilling discoveries, the picture emerging is far darker than anyone first realized. About Hidden True Crime What started as a simple conversation at their dinner table became a captivating podcast. Join the dynamic duo of Dr. John Matthias, a criminal psychologist, and Lauren Matthias, an investigative journalist, as they delve into the psychological facets of unthinkable crimes every week. Their unique perspectives and in-depth analysis offer a fresh take on true crime storytelling. Thank you for your support through sponsorships, subscribing, listening, and becoming a Patreon member at⁠ Patreon.com/HiddenTrueCrime⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Until this point, the information was thin. We knew the baby existed that Lakin was arrested and that she had done. been charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant. But we didn't know the baby's official cause of death. We didn't know whether Lakin even knew she was pregnant or what exactly happened between the birth and the baby being placed in that closet. But today we have some answers in a fresh police affidavit, findings again from that search warrant and court filings that don't all warn paint a pretty picture. Quite the opposite. First, let's recap the timeline briefly. So the new information makes sense. Lakin Snelly was a full-time college student at the University of Kentucky involved in athletics through the stunt team on August 27th.

She gave birth in her apartment. Hours later, the baby, determined to be a baby boy, was found dead in a black trash bag inside her closet. The person who found him is speculated to be Lakin's roommate who made the call to 911. Lakin was arrested that very day, that same day. When she was first questioned, she admitted she'd given birth. That's all the public really knew. But according to newly obtained records from Fayette County District Court in Lexington Police, Lakin herself, gave police and hospital staff much more details, much more detailed account. The signed affidavit state that she told officers she went

into labor and gave birth around 4 a.m. on August 27th. She said the baby, quote, fell onto the floor during the delivery and that she didn't think he was breathing or alive. She also said she was awake for roughly 30 minutes after giving birth before she said she lost consciousness and that she fell on top of the baby when she passed out. When she came to, she observed the baby turning blue and purple. At that point, she believed he was dead. The affidavit quotes her as saying she then wrapped the baby up like a burrito and lay next to him on the floor because it gave her, quote, a little comfort in the moment. Comfort in the moment. Around 7.30 a.m., Lakin's alarm went off. She got up, went into the kitchen and grabbed a black trash bag.

She returned to her room, placed the still wrap baby along with the placenta, which she reportedly put into a Ziploc bag inside the trash bag, then put that bag into her closet and closed the door. She then showered to wash off blood and tried to clean the rest of the blood in her room with paper towels and the towel that she had used on the baby. So then at 8.48 a.m. she sent a message to her roommates in their Snapchat group chat explaining away the noises from earlier in the day. She told them that she had passed out because she had not eaten and that she wasn't feeling well but was going to go see a doctor. Well, two of Lakin's roommates later confirmed to police that they had heard, quote, loud noises like something had fallen, coming.

from Lakin's room for about an hour during the early morning. They were then already suspicious she might be pregnant, but had never confirmed it with her, which implies she was not telling anyone that she was pregnant. But they were suspicious. So later that morning, when she left the apartment, they chose to enter her room. They went into their roommate Lakin's room,

and there they did discover a blood-soaked towel on the floor, a plastic bag containing evidence of childbirth, and ultimately the deceased newborn baby placed in bags inside the closet. So yes, roommates discovered this baby boy. One of those roommates called 911 and police arrived at 1034 a.m. Lakin returned home shortly after and then she was detained by patrol officers at that time. So between the time that she put the baby, in the closet and the time she was detained records show that Lakin left her residence for her 9.30 a.m. class. She did leave, but she never went inside. Instead, she sat in her car in the parking lot, ordered McDonald's on the app, picked up her food at McDonald's, drove to the University

of Kentucky student clinic, but again, did not go inside and then returned home. And that is when police were already on scene, thanks to the roommate who called 911, responding again to that call. And so later that day, she was transported to police headquarters and then to the UK hospital, where she also spoke to medical staff and they spoke to her. And according to Kentucky colonel's reporting, she told them that the baby has shown, quote, a little bit of fetal movement and had made a whimper. She even said she guessed, guessed that the baby was alive at birth. So these details matter because they go into the heart of the charges and how prosecutors might frame this case. The affidavits also note that the baby appeared, yes, to be full term when discovered in her closet. Another

major element revealed in the court files is the digital evidence. Police obtained a search warrant for Lakin's phone and for her social media, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, as well as a shared iCloud account with her mother. The search of her phone turned up, quote, several searches pertaining to pregnancy. Seems like she possibly knew she was pregnant. Images of her during labor. So she was taking photographs sounds like of herself or she was taking photos of her during labor, unless somebody else was there, images of her during labor selfies, and photos of her, quote, doing things ordinary pregnant women would not be doing, suggesting that she may have been trying to conceal her pregnancy, but knowing that she is pregnant. So investigators also found

that some of those photos that she had taken had been deleted, which they do say indicates she was attempting to hide evidence of the pregnancy, the birth, and the newborn baby. We don't know why yet, though. We don't know why. So we will hold out the why until later when we learn more. The search warrant requests explicitly that police believe these accounts could contain current or deleted information about the pregnancy, the birth of the full-term baby, and ultimately its potential demise. Lakin pleaded not guilty, as you recall, to the three charges. The three charges again are abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant. She is not charged with murder.

And at a hearing on September 2nd, that was when she pleaded not guilty. And then she returned to the Fayette County courtroom on September 26th. And she waived her right to a preliminary hearing, which means her case now goes directly to a grand jury. No prelim, no prelim, just straight to a grand jury. And that grand jury is scheduled to meet as early as October. So this is going fast. Kentucky student Lake and Snelling waved her right to her preliminary hearing in court this morning. You may remember she's charged in the death of her newborn baby.

And this case has raised a lot of national attention. Our Sam Carter was in court and has the latest. Jen, good afternoon. Now, after a long buildup, Lake and Snelling chose this morning to waive her right to a preliminary hearing. So what does that mean? Well, that means her case will go directly to a grand jury.

Snelling is accused of multiple charges, all in connection to the death of her infant son. Some of those charges, felonies. The hearing today began promptly at 8.30. Her legal team was allowed to go first, and they immediately announced that they were waving her right to a preliminary hearing. The defense did not object.

Now, Judge Melissa Moore did come back to Snelling, asking her if she understood that she was waving, her right to a preliminary hearing. Snelling replied one word, yes. Now, one interesting thing of note today, there were about 10 young women all appearing to be classmates of Snelling. They're supporting her. They did not want to talk to the media after the hearing. And in the meantime, she's reportedly living with her parents in Tennessee. She's wearing an ankle monitor. About 10 of her former classmates came to court to support Lakin, but they all declined to speak to the her legal team Nash Marshall PLLC has told reporters they are not taking media inquiries at this time,

but they did make that statement, no media inquiries. So where does that leave us? We still don't have an official public cause of death for this baby boy. We don't know whether prosecutors will upgrade or add charges. Again, she's not charged with murder once the grand jury hears the case. We're going straight to the grand jury, no preliminary hearing. which would often show a lot of the evidence that they have. And we don't know how the deleted photos and searches will be interpreted in court. We also do not know a motive. Again, from the evidence we read, from what we've discovered, we've learned a lot,

it looks like as if Lakin was trying to hide this pregnancy from people, but that she herself did know she was pregnant. And again, we don't know why. What we do know is that investigators believe the baby was born, full term, and may have shown signs of life that whimper that Lakin suggests that she heard. That combined with the deleted material, that is all likely to become a major issue if any future trial does actually take place. So regardless, this case just became even more devastating.

The details are disturbing, heartbreaking, very heartbreaking. We're talking about a very young mother who felt like she had to hide her pregnancy, a newborn infant who has lost its life, and a set of choices that has ended an absolute tragedy. So as always, we're going to keep following the facts as they come out. And hopefully soon, expect a conversation with Dr. John Matthias, my co-host, a criminal psychologist, so we can unpack why this happens again and again and again. We'll update you when the grand jury decision is made and as soon as any autopsy results or new filings are released. So make sure to hit subscribe and hit that bell so you can also receive notifications when we have new videos or are going live.

Thank you so much. Thank you to those who support us here at Hidden True Crime as we follow multiple cases and bring you the latest updates and stories. May Justice be certain. Before I switched to Wellfront, my API was probably zero. point one. Once I switched to chiching, with the Wealthfront cash account, earn up to 4.2% APY on your cash. I can trust Wellfront is taking care of me. Make your money earn more. Get started at Wealthfront.com. Clients were paid $1,000 for their testimonials creating a conflict of interest. Howcomes vary. 3.3% base API as of January 30th, 2026, is representative variable and earned on funds swept to program bank.

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