Izaiah Hall, a 21-year-old former boyfriend of University of Kentucky cheerleader Laken Snelling, is undergoing a DNA test to ascertain if he is the father of the deceased newborn discovered in Snelling’s closet last month. Hall, who is a quarterback at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, provided a DNA sample to the police to determine if it matches the infant boy. Snelling is accused of concealing the baby in a garbage bag in her off-campus residence in Lexington.
Hall’s father, Justin Smith, confirmed that his son had been asked by the Lexington police to provide a DNA sample. However, he declined to provide further details or comment on whether his son could be the father of the deceased infant. The timeline of Hall’s relationship with Snelling, and when it ended, remains unclear.
Snelling, also 21, had been dating former college basketball player Conner Jordan prior to her arrest on August 31. Jordan, who previously played for King University and Tusculum University in Tennessee, was frequently featured on Snelling’s social media accounts in the months leading up to her arrest. It is unclear when their relationship began, and Jordan has since deleted his social media accounts following Snelling’s arrest.
Snelling was charged with concealing the birth of an infant, tampering with physical evidence, and abuse of a corpse. She has pleaded not guilty to these charges. The police were alerted to the situation after receiving a report of an unresponsive infant at Snelling’s residence. Snelling allegedly admitted to the police that she had concealed the birth by cleaning up all evidence and discarding the supplies in the same garbage bag as the newborn. The cause of the infant’s death remains inconclusive following an autopsy.
Following her arrest, Snelling was released on a $100,000 bond and placed under house arrest at her parents’ home in Tennessee. She is scheduled to appear in court on September 26. Snelling, who was a senior at the University of Kentucky and a member of the STUNT team, has since withdrawn from school and is no longer part of the team. The university has not disclosed when she officially unenrolled.