An ex-boyfriend of a former University of Kentucky student whose newborn son was reportedly discovered in a closet last month has submitted his DNA as investigators determine the baby’s cause of death.
Lexington police allegedly requested the DNA sample from Laken Riley’s former boyfriend to confirm whether he fathered her deceased baby. The 21-year-old man’s father told the New York Post that he does not know the results of the test.
On August 27, police found Snelling’s baby deceased in a closet, wrapped in a towel in a trash bag. Snelling allegedly confessed to giving birth before putting cleaning supplies and the infant in the trash bag.
An autopsy has not confirmed how the baby died, and it is also unclear whether the baby was born alive.
Riley has pleaded not guilty to concealing the birth of an infant, tampering with physical evidence, and abuse of a corpse. She is currently free on $100,000 bond.
Snelling, who is from Tennessee, is a senior studying interdisciplinary disability at the University of Kentucky. Reports indicated that she is also on the college’s STUNT Team, a competitive sport which incorporates athletic and technical components of cheerleading. The team began competing in 2021, a year after the university adopted the varsity sport.
Reports indicated that Snelling withdrew from the college following her arrest.
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[Feature Photo: Lexington police]
