LEXINGTON, Ky. (Court TV) — A former college cheerleader has been indicted on a new charge of manslaughter in the death of her newborn infant, which was found wrapped in trash bags in her closet.
Laken Snelling (Fayette County Detention Center)
Laken Snelling, 22, was indicted on charges of first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant. An arrest warrant was issued for Snelling’s arrest after the March 10 indictment was handed down. Snelling had been living with her parents in Tennessee while out on bond.
The indictment, reviewed by Court TV, accuses Snelling of causing the death of the infant “under circumstances which do not constitute murder because she acted under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance, or through circumstances not otherwise constituting the offense of murder, she intentionally abused the infant and thereby caused death.”
Investigators say on Aug. 27, 2025, Snelling’s roommates heard loud noises for approximately an hour — noises so loud, they said, that they knocked a picture off a wall. Snelling told her roommates that she passed out from not eating and would be seen by a doctor. The roommates went into Snelling’s room after she left, looking for the source of the noises, and “found a blood-soaked towel on the floor and a plastic bag containing evidence of childbirth. They looked in Ms. Snelling’s closet and located the deceased newborn baby placed in bags.”
When Snelling spoke to the police, she allegedly admitted to giving birth to the child, which she said fell to the floor of her bedroom; describing what happened to officers, she suggested the infant wasn’t breathing or alive. Snelling said she was awake for approximately 30 minutes after giving birth, “before falling on top of the baby.” When she woke up, she “observed the baby turning blue and purple.” Believing the child to be dead, Snelling allegedly told investigators that she “wrapped the baby up like a burrito and laid next to it (on) the floor because it gave her a little comfort in the moment.”
Snelling’s arraignment is scheduled for April 10. Snelling was a member of the cheer STUNT team at the University of Kentucky at the time of the incident.
