Ex-Kentucky Cheerleader Laken Snelling, 22, Indicted for Manslaughter After Newborn Son Was Found Dead in Closet — And Now Faces Decades Behind Bars
College student Laken Snelling has been charged with manslaughter in the death of her newborn baby.
March 11 2026, Published 1:14 p.m. ET
A former college cheerleader has been charged with manslaughter after allegedly stuffing her just-born baby into a trash bag, hiding it in her closet, and heading to McDonald's, RadarOnline.com can report.
The Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office determined Laken Snelling's baby was born alive and that his cause of death was asphyxia by undetermined means.
Her Roommates 'Heard Strange Noises'
Snelling allegedly gave birth and then shoved her newborn in a closet.
Snelling was a senior at the University of Kentucky in August 2025, when she gave birth to a baby boy at her off-campus house.
According to arrest affidavits, the 22-year-old beauty queen's roommates told police they became concerned after hearing strange noises coming from her room earlier in the day.
After the birth, Snelling allegedly cleaned the scene and stuffed the newborn in her closet before heading out to McDonald's.
When her roommates entered her room, they found a blood-soaked towel on the floor and then discovered the baby inside a black paper bag in the closet. They told 911 operators the child was "cold to the touch."
Snelling's Original Story
She told police the baby had fallen on the floor.
Snelling originally told officers she gave birth to a baby, which "fell onto the floor of her bedroom."
After giving birth, she said she stayed awake for approximately 30 minutes before "falling on top of the baby and going back to sleep," according to the affidavits. When she woke up, she noted the baby was "turning blue and purple."
Snelling allegedly then said she wrapped her baby in a towel "like a burrito" and curled up next to the newborn on the floor, which she said, "gave her a little comfort in the moment."
She later said she cleaned up the blood and afterbirth in her bedroom, placed the towel-wrapped baby in a trash bag, and her placenta "inside of a zip-lock bag," which she also tossed in the trash bag.
Grand Jury Issues New Charges
A grand jury upped the charges.
The initial autopsy to determine the newborn's cause of death proved inconclusive, and Snelling, a member of the university's STUNT cheer team, was originally charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.
A grand jury in Fayette County decided to up the charges to include manslaughter after hearing that the baby had been born alive.
"They were given the information about homicide, the four levels of homicide, and then deliberated and decided that manslaughter, first degree, was the charge that should come out of the grand jury," Fayette Commonwealth’s Attorney Kimberly Baird told WKYT.
In Kentucky, manslaughter in the first degree is punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison. The remaining charges could add another 11 years if she is found guilty.
Formal Indictment Coming Soon
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She now faces up to 30 years in prison.
Following her initial arrest, Snelling withdrew from the University of Kentucky and was placed on house arrest at her father's home in Tennessee after posting a $100,000 surety bond and being ordered to wear a GPS monitoring device.
There is no word yet on when she might be brought back to Lexington to be formally indicted on the charges.
