The indictment against former University of Kentucky competitive cheerleader Laken Snelling revealed disturbing details about the day she allegedly killed her newborn baby.
Snelling, 22, “intentionally treated a corpse in a way that would outrage ordinary family sensibilities,” said the indictment, which was obtained by Us Weekly on Friday, March 13.
The ex student-athlete was arrested on Thursday, March 12, after being indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant.
Snelling allegedly gave birth to a baby and concealed the body in a trash bag in the closet of her Lexington, Kentucky, home in August 2025.
The manslaughter charge was issued after testing determined the baby was alive at the time of birth.
Snelling was released from the Fayette County Detention Center on Thursday after her father posted a $10,000 bond, according to court records.
She is due in court for an arraignment hearing on April 10. First-degree manslaughter is a Class B felony in Kentucky, punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison. The three other charges against Snelling all carry separate sentences.
Snelling waived her right to a preliminary trial in September 2025, instead opting to have her case heard by a grand jury.
Per the indictment, Snelling “intentionally abused the infant and thereby caused death to a person twelve (12) years of age or less, or who is physically helpless or mentally helpless.”
After being made aware that she could face punishment for her crime, Snelling allegedly “destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed or altered physical evidence which she believed was about to be produced or used in the official proceeding with intent to impair its verity or availability in the official proceeding.”
Police were called to Snelling’s home on August 27, 2025, after her roommates discovered a “blood-soaked towel on the floor and a plastic bag containing evidence of childbirth.”
Snelling “admitted to giving birth” and to “concealing the birth by cleaning any evidence, placing all cleaning items used inside of a black trash bag, including the infant, who was wrapped in a towel,” when she was questioned by authorities.
After she gave birth, Snelling claimed she passed out and fell on top of the infant, waking up to find the baby “blue and purple.”
At the time of her arrest, Snelling was majoring in Interdisciplinary Disability Studies at the University of Kentucky and a three-year member of the school’s STUNT cheerleading team. The school has since confirmed to Us that she is no longer enrolled.
