Former University of Kentucky Student Laken Snelling Pleads Guilty in Death of Newborn

Former University of Kentucky student Laken Snelling has admitted to killing her newborn son and concealing his body after giving birth.

According to a report from WKYT published on Friday, August 21, Snelling pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter along with charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant.

During her plea hearing, Snelling, 22, said that “instead of helping him” she ended his life. She also admitted to placing the baby’s body inside a plastic bag and hiding it in a closet.

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors recommended Snelling receive 10 years behind bars on the manslaughter charge. They also recommended one year each for abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence as well as 12 months for concealing the birth.

As the National Enquirer previously reported, Lexington police were called to a home on August 20, 2025, after receiving a report of an unresponsive infant. The newborn boy was pronounced dead at the scene with court records later revealing that his body had been found wrapped in a towel inside a trash bag in a closet.

Snelling was arrested four days later and initially charged with the abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant, according to WKYT. The Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office later determined that the baby had been born alive and died from asphyxiation by undetermined means. A grand jury added the first-degree manslaughter charge in March 2026.