Former UK Student Pleads Guilty In Baby’s Death

A former University of Kentucky student has pled guilty in connection with her baby’s death.

Laken Snelling pleaded guilty Friday to charges connected to her baby’s death, telling a judge, “Instead of helping him, I ended his life.”

Snelling admitted to manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and concealing the birth of an infant. The plea came during what was scheduled to be a status hearing.

The charges stem from an August 2025 discovery by Lexington Police. Officers were called to a home on Park Avenue for an unresponsive infant. Inside a closet, police say they found a baby boy wrapped in a towel, inside a trash bag. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and Snelling was arrested four days later.

The Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office said the baby was born alive and ruled his cause of death asphyxia by undetermined means.

Snelling was indicted on a manslaughter charge and briefly held at the Fayette County Detention Center before bonding out. She has been on house arrest in Tennessee since bonding out of jail last September.

When asked by the judge what she did, Snelling said, “I was under a lot of emotional stress, and my baby came unexpectedly.”

The judge asked Snelling what she did with evidence that could have been collected. Snelling responded, “I put the towels in a plastic bag.” When the judge asked about the concealing the birth charge, Snelling said, “I didn’t tell anyone.”

The judge accepted Snelling’s guilty plea.

The Commonwealth recommended Snelling face 10 years on her manslaughter charge, 1 year each for the abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence charges, and 12 months on her concealing the birth of an infant charge.

While the Commonwealth laid out a recommended sentence for each charge, the decision on how long Snelling will spend behind bars ultimately lies with the judge. If the judge decides to increase Snelling’s sentence beyond the Commonwealth’s recommendations, Snelling has the option to withdraw her guilty plea.

Snelling will learn how long she will spend behind bars at a hearing on October 16.
Source: WBKO