A former University of Kentucky student-athlete has been charged with first-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of her newborn, whose body was found inside a trash bag in a closet last year, authorities said.
Snelling, 22, was indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on several charges related to the August 2025 incident, including first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of a baby, according to the Lexington Police Department. She was detained at the Fayette County Detention Center on Thursday.
The former member of the university’s STUNT team was previously arrested on the same charges, except for the first-degree murder charge, which was added by the convening grand jury.
Lexington police said Snelling hid her dead baby, found wrapped in a towel, inside a black trash bag in a closet.
His attorney, Brandon Marshall, did not respond to a request for comment.
According to a news release from the city of Lexington, the Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office determined that “infant Snelling was born alive and the cause of death was asphyxiation by undetermined means.”
Snelling was previously released on $100,000 bail, according to court documents shared with NBC News. The documents say she was placed under house arrest at her parents’ home in Jefferson City, Tennessee, about 200 miles from where she was arrested in Kentucky.
Snelling told officers she had tried to hide evidence of the birth from her roommates, according to a police citation. Snelling pleaded not guilty to charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of a baby.
Preliminary autopsy reports on the boy were “inconclusive” at the time of Snelling’s first arrest.
Snelling has withdrawn from the school and is no longer on the STUNT team, according to NBC affiliate LEX 18. His arraignment is scheduled for April 10.
