Former University of Kentucky cheerleader sentenced to 10 years in prison for infant's death

Laken Snelling, a former University of Kentucky cheerleader, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday, according to local media, after being convicted of first-degree manslaughter for the death of her infant child.

Snelling, who was indicted for manslaughter and three other charges in March, pleaded guilty in August.

Officers from the Lexington Police Department arrested Snelling in August 2025 after her roommates heard loud noises coming from her closet. When officers arrived on scene, they found the infant cold to the touch and wrapped in a trash bag placed in the closet, the city of Lexington announced in a statement.

Laken Snelling, 22, a former University of Kentucky student, has pleaded guilty in connection with the death of her newborn, who was found dead inside a trash bag in a closet. (Laken Snelling/Facebook and Fayette County Detention Center)

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The infant was born alive and died from asphyxiation, the Kentucky Medical Examiner's Office determined, according to the Lexington statement. When Judge Diane Minnifield asked Snelling how she ended the infant's life, she replied, "I deprived him of oxygen."

"I was under a lot of emotional stress and my baby came unexpectedly," Snelling said through tears while in court. "And instead of helping him, I ended his life and afterward I cleaned up and didn’t tell anyone."

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In addition to the manslaughter charge, Snelling pleaded guilty to charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant.

University of Kentucky student Laken Snelling was arrested on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (Getty Images; UK Athletics)

Snelling, who was a senior at the time, told investigators that she was awake for 30 minutes after giving birth, but then passed out on top of the baby.

When she woke up, she saw the infant "turning blue and purple," according to court documents.

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School officials confirmed Laken Snelling was a senior at the University of Kentucky. (Getty Images)

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Investigators also found that Snelling had deleted photos of her labor from her phone and other evidence of her pregnancy, according to court documents.

Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano, Michael Dorgan and Adam Sabes contributed to this report.