A former University of Kentucky cheerleader was sentenced Friday to ten years in prison for killing her newborn son and disposing of his body in a trash bag at her off-campus home in Lexington.
Laken Snelling, 22, pleaded guilty in August to first-degree manslaughter, concealing the birth of an infant, tampering with physical evidence, and abuse of a corpse. She will be eligible for parole after serving 85 percent of her sentence but will not be eligible for probation.
Snelling initially pleaded not guilty in April but later admitted in court that she killed her son by depriving him of oxygen. The baby was identified in court as McCoy Cade Hall.
“I was under a lot of emotional stress and my baby came unexpectedly,” Snelling said tearfully during her August court appearance. “And instead of helping him I ended his life and afterwards I cleaned up and didn’t tell anyone.”
A relative of the infant addressed the court before sentencing, describing the loss felt by the family.
“As a grandparent, you imagine the memories you’ll make with your grandchildren,” the relative said, adding that she had looked forward to “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 said. “For Cade, those possibilities were taken away before he ever had the chance to experience them.”
How the case unfolded
Lexington police were called to Snelling’s off-campus home on August 27, 2025, after her roommates discovered a dead newborn wrapped in a towel, placed in a trash bag and hidden in a closet. Roommates told 911 dispatchers they had also found a blood-soaked towel on the floor and a plastic bag containing evidence of childbirth.
The Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office determined the baby was born alive and died of asphyxia by undetermined means.
Snelling gave investigators shifting accounts of what happened. She first told police the baby fell to the floor after birth and that she did not believe he was breathing or alive. She later said she had passed out on top of her son and woke to find him turning blue and purple. She subsequently told hospital staff the baby had made a whimper after birth and showed some fetal movement.
Police said Snelling took several photos of herself while in labor but later deleted them in what investigators described as an attempt to hide the birth.
