Former University of Kentucky cheerleader Laken Snelling has learned her fate after admitting to ending her newborn son’s life and hiding his body in a trash bag.
The 22-year-old initially denied the charges but later pleaded guilty, admitting that she had deprived the baby of oxygen after giving birth alone in her off-campus home.
Highlights
- Kentucky cheerleader Laken Snelling has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
- The case began in August 2025 when Snelling’s roommates discovered her newborn son inside a black plastic bag.
- A family member spoke in court about the future the baby would never experience.
The case began in August 2025, when her roommates discovered the newborn’s baby inside a closet and called the police.
Nearly a year later, Snelling has faced the consequences of her actions.
A Kentucky cheerleader has learned her tragic fate after admitting to slaying her newborn
Snelling was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday, October 16, after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter, ab*se of a cor*se, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.
The former cheerleader entered her guilty plea in August at Fayette Circuit Court. Prosecutors recommended a 10-year sentence for manslaughter, along with one year for each of the three remaining charges.
Before Judge Diane Minnifield announced the sentence, the court heard about the baby boy’s name and the loss his family had suffered.
The child was named McCoy Cade Hall, and his passing left his relatives grieving the future they had imagined for him.
One family member spoke about the moments they had hoped to share with the child.
“As a grandparent, you imagine the memories you’ll make with your grandchildren,” the relative told the court. She added that she had looked forward to his “first words, kisses, and all the little moments that become lifelong memories.”
“You look forward to watching them grow and seeing the person they become,” she continued. “For Cade, those possibilities were taken away before he ever had the chance to experience them.”
According to Fox 56, Snelling will be eligible for parole after serving 85% of her sentence. She is not eligible for probation.
During her August plea hearing, Snelling also spoke about what happened after she gave birth.
“I was under a lot of emotional stress, and my baby came unexpectedly,” she said through tears.
“Instead of helping him, I ended his life,” she admitted, according to WLEX. She also told the court that she cleaned up afterward and did not tell anyone about the birth.
The case began after Snelling’s roommates found her newborn son hidden in a closet
The case began on August 27, 2025, when Lexington police responded to Snelling’s off-campus home near the University of Kentucky.
Her roommates had heard unusual noises coming from her bedroom earlier that morning. One roommate said the sounds seemed like something had fallen, while another reported that they continued for about an hour.
Around 9 a.m., Snelling reportedly told her roommates that she had passed out and was feeling unwell.
According to court documents, she wrapped the newborn in towels and placed him inside the black plastic bag. Police also reported that she put the placenta and other material connected to the birth into bags.
After giving birth, Snelling cleaned the blood from her room, showered, and left the home. She reportedly skipped her morning classes and a planned clinic visit before going to McDonald’s.
Her roommates had suspected that she might be pregnant, but they had not directly asked her about it.
Before changing her plea, Snelling initially pleaded not guilty
After she left the home, they entered her bedroom and found a blood-soaked towel on the floor, along with a plastic bag containing what appeared to be evidence of childbirth.
They then discovered the newborn boy wrapped in a towel inside a black plastic bag in a closet. According to the information they gave the 911 operator, the baby was cold to the touch.
The roommates immediately contacted the police, setting off an investigation into what had happened.
The Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office later determined that the baby had been born alive and died from “asphyxia by undetermined means.” This finding became central to the case and led to the manslaughter charge.
After authorities questioned Snelling, she gave different explanations about the baby’s passing
Snelling initially told police that the newborn had fallen onto the floor after she gave birth and that she did not believe he was “breathing or alive.”
She later claimed that she had passed out on top of the baby and woke up to find him “turning blue and purple.”
However, court documents revealed that Snelling had also told medical staff the newborn showed “a little bit of fetal movement” and made a “whimper” after birth.
During her guilty plea in August, she finally admitted that she had deprived the baby of oxygen.
Snelling also acknowledged hiding the birth and cleaning up afterward. Investigators said she had taken several photographs while in labor but deleted them in an attempt to hide what had happened.
Snelling initially pleaded not guilty to the charges in April 2026. She was later indicted on first-degree manslaughter in March, after the medical examiner’s findings established that the baby had been born alive.
The additional charge exposed her to a possible 20-year prison sentence for manslaughter, along with further penalties for the other offenses.
She remained under house arrest after being released on a $100,000 bond and later withdrew from the University of Kentucky. She was also no longer part of the university’s competitive STUNT cheerleading team.
Her guilty plea in August marked a major change in the case, as she admitted responsibility for the baby’s passing rather than continuing to contest the charges.
"Should have been life," wrote one netizen
