Former Kentucky Cheerleader Laken Snelling Pleads Guilty in Newborn’s Death, Faces 13 Years

A University of Kentucky cheerleader pleaded guilty on Friday to the murder of her baby, whom she disposed of in a trash bag inside her bedroom closet. The accused claimed before the judge that she killed the newborn because she felt stressed and depressed.

The 22-year-old Laken Snelling pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealment of the birth of an infant. The accused previously entered a not guilty plea in April.

“I was under a lot of emotional stresses, and my baby came unexpectedly,” Snelling explained to the judge in court, as cited by WKYT. “And instead of helping him I ended his life and afterwards I cleaned up and didn’t tell anyone.”

According to Snelling’s admission, she cut off oxygen to her child, wrapped him in a towel, put him in a black plastic bag with cleaning supplies, and disposed of the bag in the bedroom closet. The suspect waived trial and witnesses.

On August 27th, 2025, police got a report of the death of a baby in a house in Snelling, who studies at a university nearby. According to the Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office, the full-term baby was alive during the birth but died of asphyxiation from an unknown cause, NBC News reported.

Police officers discovered that Snelling at first lied to them, claiming that the newborn was dead. Later she told the authorities that she gave birth to a baby, was awake for about half an hour, and after falling asleep on the infant, she woke up to find him turning blue and purple. It turned out that some photos related to the baby and Snelling’s pregnancy had been deleted from her phone.

After disposing of the body, Snelling reported to her roommates that she was going to see a doctor as she had not eaten for some time and felt bad. On that day, she missed an early lecture.

The Fayette County grand jury indicted Snelling in March. She was taken into custody on August 31st, 2025, paid a $100,000 bond, and was on home incarceration in Tennessee with an ankle monitor.

Under the plea agreement, prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 10 years for the manslaughter and 12 months for each of the other three counts, making 13 years in total.

Laken Snelling is a senior at the University of Kentucky and is a member of its STUNT team, a competitive cheerleading squad. Sentencing will take place on October 16th.