The former University of Kentucky cheerleader who killed her newborn baby and hid his body in a closet has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Laken Snelling, 22, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of her newborn son in August, telling the hushed courtroom: ‘I deprived him of oxygen.’
Snelling previously denied manslaughter but ultimately accepted a plea deal that saw her admit to first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant.
She appeared before Fayette County Circuit Court Judge Diane Minnifield this morning and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Snelling was immediately taken into custody after the hearing, WKYT reported.
Prosecutors had recommended a 10-year prison term as part of the plea agreement.
Snelling was arrested in August 2025 after investigators say they found a baby boy wrapped in a blood-soaked towel and a trash bag in her college dorm room.
She was initially charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant, and she pleaded not guilty to those charges in September.
Snelling was then indicted again in March 2026 on first-degree manslaughter charges after the Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office determined the boy was born alive and died from asphyxia.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
Former University of Kentucky cheerleader Laken Snelling, 22, 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
