Ex-Kentucky Cheerleader Sentenced to 10 Years for Newborn's Death
Laken Snelling pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other charges after her baby was found in her dorm room closet.
Laken Snelling, a 22-year-old former University of Kentucky cheerleader, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant. The sentence was recommended by prosecutors as part of a plea agreement.
Snelling was arrested in August 2025 when investigators discovered the body of her newborn son in her college dorm room, wrapped in a blood-soaked towel and a trash bag. Initially, she faced charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant, to which she pleaded not guilty in September 2025.
In March 2026, Snelling was indicted again on first-degree manslaughter charges. This followed a determination by the Kentucky Medical Examiner's Office that the baby boy had been born alive and died from asphyxia. In August, Snelling admitted to the charges in court, stating, "I deprived him of oxygen."