The autopsy for the newborn allegedly found dead in a University of Kentucky cheerleader’s closet and wrapped in a towel has been completed, but the results are inconclusive.
Laken Snelling, 21, was arrested on Sunday and charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant, according to a Lexington Police Department news release.
According to an official team roster, the University of Kentucky senior has three years of experience on the school’s competitive cheer STUNT team and is originally from White Pine, Tenn.
Officers were dispatched to her home near campus on Wednesday, August 27, following a report of an unresponsive infant, according to the release.
The newborn, who was declared dead at the scene, was “wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag,” according to the arrest citation reviewed by PEOPLE.
When interviewed by officers, Snelling admitted to giving birth and cleaning up all evidence before 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.
On Wednesday, September 3, Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn announced that a preliminary autopsy yielded inconclusive results for the baby’s cause of death.
The death investigation is still ongoing “pending the results of these studies,” he stated.
Snelling was arrested and held at the Fayette County Detention Center before being released on September 2 on $100,000 bond, according to court documents reviewed by PEOPLE.
She was placed under house arrest in her parents’ home in Jefferson City, Tennessee.
KBTX reports that Snelling appeared in court on Tuesday, September 2, and pleaded not guilty.
Her lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
