Overview

• Laken Snelling, 21, is charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant, has pleaded not guilty and is on a $100,000 bond under house arrest in Tennessee.
• Unsealed filings say she gave birth around 4 a.m., passed out on the newborn, then wrapped him and placed him in a closet at her off‑campus residence.
• Roommates reported loud noises, later found a blood‑soaked towel and a bag with childbirth evidence, and a caller told police the infant was cold to the touch when found wrapped in a towel inside a black trash bag.
• Police affidavits cite phone searches about pregnancy and deleted images taken during labor as indications of a concealed pregnancy and attempts to hide evidence.
• Affidavits note she ordered McDonald’s, skipped class and visited a student clinic without entering before being detained; she told medical staff she heard a whimper at birth as the coroner reported the infant appeared full‑term and the cause of death remains undetermined.