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The University of Kentucky cheerleader charged with concealing the birth of her newborn son told medical staff she 'believed her baby was alive' at the time of delivery, according to court documents. Laken Snelling, 21, was arrested on August 31 after police discovered the body of a newborn baby boy inside a trash bag located in her bedroom closet. Snelling allegedly admitted to giving birth in secret and attempting to conceal both the baby and related evidence. She has since been charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant. The 21-year-old former cheerleader appeared in court on Friday, where she waived her right to a preliminary hearing during a brief 35-second court appearance, WKYT reported. Newly unveiled court documents show that when Snelling was transported to UK Hospital, the day after she delivered her baby, she spoke to staff at the University of Kentucky Labor and Delivery unit. She told them her baby had shown 'a little bit of fetal movement,' made a 'whimper,' and that she 'guessed' he was alive at birth, according to court records. The infant appeared to be full term, with case records referring to him as such, according to the Kentucky Kernel. However, Snelling's original account of her delivery, which she shared with police at the time of her arrest, contradicts the newly unveiled details. At the time of her arrest, Snelling told police she gave birth at 4 am, and at that time, she didn't believe the baby was alive. She said she later passed out and fell on top of the baby. When she regained consciousness, she noticed the baby had turned blue and purple, at which point she believed he was dead. She told police she then wrapped the baby and laid next to him on the floor, saying that doing so 'gave her comfort' in that moment. According to her arrest citation, Snelling's newborn son was found wrapped in a towel, placed inside a garbage bag, and hidden in a closet - all of which she admitted to police. After the birth, the University of Kentucky senior reportedly went to campus but did not attend class. She later went to the university's student clinic but never entered the facility. Shortly afterward, she returned home, where she was detained by police. Affidavits filed on September 4 and 8 reveal that police executed a search warrant on Snelling's phone and requested access to her Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and a shared iCloud account with her mother. The phone search revealed internet activity related to pregnancy, photos of Snelling in labor, and images of her engaging in activities typically avoided during pregnancy. Investigators also found evidence suggesting she was attempting to conceal the pregnancy. Investigation records indicate that photos taken during labor were deleted, allegedly 'in an attempt to hide the birth,' leading police to believe additional content may have been erased to cover up the pregnancy, delivery, and the presence of the newborn, the Kentucky Kernel reported. In the search warrant requests for her digital accounts, investigators stated their belief that these platforms 'could contain current or deleted information related to Ms. Snelling' and the ongoing investigation. Snelling remains out on bond and is under home incarceration, ordered to live with her parents in Tennessee as she awaits a decision from the grand jury on whether she will be formally indicted. Questions still remain in the case, including how the child died - as Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said that a preliminary autopsy on the tragic baby boy inconclusive. It is also unclear whether Snelling, who has since dropped out of school, had told anyone she was pregnant. But, unearthed footage from April shows Snelling performing with UK's STUNT team with what appears to be a pregnant bump on her stomach. As previously reported, Snelling also posted images in June where her then-boyfriend, former college basketball star Connor Jordan, 24, held her stomach, which appeared to have a visible bump. Other images posted on social media in recent months also showed Snelling with what appeared to be a stomach bump. Those who know the former cheerleader have told the Daily Mail how she was an 'appearance-obsessed serial bully' at school. She is even accused of once trying to run down a fellow student with a Jeep and being so mean that others transferred to different schools to get away from her. Sydney Kite, who attended high school with Snelling, told us: 'I don't know the circumstances of what is alleged to have happened over the baby. 'However, I do know that Laken had many, many people that she took her personal anger out on. My sister was one of them. 'While in high school, she tried to run over one of my closest friends with her Jeep. The bullying got so bad my friend had to be pulled out of school and transferred to another because Laken had taken it so far.' 'Even after my friend left, Laken then kept it up with cyberbullying with text messages,' Kite continued. 'There were other individuals who had to transfer to get away from her. And after they did that, she would continue to message them and make TikToks and social media posts about them as well.' 'If you didn't have a certain amount of money or a certain amount of popularity, then you weren't really in Laken's circle,' said Kite. 'She was obsessed with her appearance, very obsessed with being popular and fitting in. She was always obsessed with being very thin, with wearing tight-fitting clothes. She wanted a lot of attention. 'She would bully my sister and her friends in the bathroom at school. She would just corner them. There were talks with teachers about her behavior, but nothing led to her stopping doing it. 'I know my mother reported it to the school, and Laken and I had our own interaction. I cornered her in the bathroom and told her to stop messing with my sister while we were in middle school, say eighth grade. She didn't like it when people stood up to her, which is why she would go after the kids she saw as weaker. I wasn't the sort of person to sit there and be bullied.' Others on social media have backed Kite's story. Jennifer Ricker wrote on Facebook: 'I know this girl… she is a bully! Always treated my kids like trash in school and MANY others. 'She attempted to run over one of the students and that student left school and moved schools because of HER! 'She has never been held accountable for anything she does.' Snelling has been released on a $100,000 bond and is serving home incarceration at her parents' house in Jefferson City, Tennessee. She is next scheduled in court on September 26. Meanwhile, college quarterback Izaiah Hall has since taken a DNA test to determine whether he is the father of the deceased infant. Hall had dated Snelling before she moved on to former varsity basketball star Connor, the Daily Mail previously revealed.
