Laken Snelling was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for the death of her infant child, according to local media reports cited by Fox News. Snelling, a former University of Kentucky cheerleader, had pleaded guilty in August to first-degree manslaughter and three additional charges.
The charges followed an investigation by Lexington police. Officers arrested Snelling in August 2025 after her roommates reported hearing loud sounds from her closet. Police found the infant inside the closet, wrapped in a trash bag and cold to the touch, according to a statement from the city of Lexington.
The Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office determined the infant was born alive and died by asphyxiation, the city statement said. During court proceedings, Judge Diane Minnifield asked Snelling how she had caused the child’s death. Snelling replied that she had deprived him of oxygen.
Snelling addressed the court tearfully, saying she had been under emotional stress and that the baby’s arrival was unexpected. She acknowledged that instead of seeking help, she ended the child’s life and then cleaned up without telling anyone.
In addition to manslaughter, Snelling pleaded guilty to abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant. The case therefore included both the circumstances of the infant’s death and actions investigators said followed it.
According to court documents described in the report, Snelling told investigators she was awake for about 30 minutes after giving birth before passing out on top of the baby. When she awoke, she saw the infant turning blue and purple. Investigators also found that she had deleted photographs of her labor from her phone and removed other evidence of her pregnancy, court documents said.
The sentence followed Snelling’s August guilty pleas. She had been indicted in March on manslaughter and the three other charges. The report does not provide further details about the terms of the sentence or any additional court proceedings.
