(NewsNation) — A judge ruled there is sufficient evidence for the case against former University of Kentucky cheerleader Laken Snelling to go to a grand jury for an indictment.
Snelling, 21, appeared in court Friday morning for a preliminary hearing after being arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant.
A grand jury could add to or change the charges after hearing evidence and testimony.
Snelling was not home when an unknown individual placed a 911 call about a dead newborn found in a closet of her off-campus home.
Investigators determined the infant had been dead for at least three to four hours before it was discovered based on the temperature of the body.
When questioned by officers, Snelling admitted to giving birth and putting all the evidence in a trash bag, some of which she wrapped in a towel.
A preliminary autopsy could not determine the infant’s cause of death, and an investigation is ongoing to determine if it was born alive or stillborn or whether she could have suffered a miscarriage.
Snelling pleaded not guilty to all charges on Sept. 2. She withdrew from the university and was placed on in-home incarceration at her parents’ home after posting a $100,000 bond.