The events leading to the arrest of former University of Kentucky competitive cheerleader Laken Snelling could have been prevented, according to a leading infant safety activist.
Snelling, 21, was arrested in Lexington, Kentucky on August 30, and charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant.
According to Fox 56 News, Lexington unveiled its first Safe Haven Baby Box earlier this year just 10 minutes away from Snelling’s home.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes are “designed with innovative safety features and installed on the exterior walls of fire stations and hospitals,” according to the organization’s website.
“Each box ensures the safe and anonymous surrender of infants,” the website explains. “The exterior door locks automatically when a newborn is placed inside, and an interior door allows medical personnel to promptly and securely retrieve the baby, ensuring immediate care and protection.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Snelling’s attorney for comment.
After a third party called the police about an unresponsive infant at Snelling’s home in Lexington, Kentucky on August 27, described as being “cold to the touch,” authorities found the baby in a closet.
During an interview with authorities, Snelling “admitted to giving birth” and to “concealing the birth by cleaning any evidence, placing all cleaning items used inside of a black trash bag, including the infant, who was wrapped in a towel.”
Safe Haven Baby Box founder, Monica Kelsey, told Fox 56, “What’s frustrating to me is that she didn’t choose something safe for her and her child because now we have a dead infant, and now we also have a mother that’s probably going to spend the rest of her life in prison, which both of those could have been avoided.”
Snelling pleaded not guilty to all charges during a court appearance on September 2. She was released on $100,000 bond and is now living on house arrest with her parents in Tennessee.
There’s a good chance Snelling didn’t even know the Safe Haven Baby Box was an option so close to her home, according to Kelsey.
“We’re being reactive to a dead infant,” she said. “And I hate that, because I want to be proactive. I want people to know that these boxes exist. These boxes are working throughout the country. We just need to make sure that everyone knows about it.”
To learn more about the locations of Safe Haven Baby Boxes throughout the United States, click here.
Snelling is due back in court for her preliminary hearing on September 26.
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