Snelling, 22, pleaded guilty Friday, Aug. 21 to first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant
Credit: Laken Snelling/Facebook; Lexington Police Department
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- Laken Snelling, a 22-year-old former University of Kentucky cheerleader, admitted Friday, Aug. 21 to committing manslaughter against her newborn after giving birth at her off-campus home
- Police discovered the baby inside a trash bag after her roommates found blood and heard strange noises in her room last August
- “I was under a lot of emotional stress and my baby came unexpectedly. And instead of helping him….afterwards I cleaned up and didn’t tell anyone,” Snelling tearfully admitted in court
Laken Snelling, the former University of Kentucky cheerleader accused of killing her newborn after giving birth on the bedroom floor of her off-campus home, has pleaded guilty to related charges.
Snelling, 22, pleaded guilty Friday, Aug. 21 to first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant, according to reports from NBC affiliate WLEX, WKYT and the Lexington Herald-Leader.
In court, Snelling tearfully admitted to her role in the newborn’s death, saying: “I was under a lot of emotional stress and my baby came unexpectedly. And instead of helping him….afterwards I cleaned up and didn’t tell anyone,” according to a video of the hearing shared by Court TV.
She added that she “ended his life” by telling the judge, “I deprived him of oxygen.”
Snelling was initially arrested on Aug. 31, 2025, four days after her newborn baby was discovered wrapped in a towel inside a trash bag stashed in the closet of her room. She was released days later after posting a $100,000 surety bond and had been staying with her parents in her home state of Tennessee.
PEOPLE previously reported, citing the arrest report, that Snelling’s concerned roommates called police after finding blood in her room and hearing her make strange noises.
The medical examiner’s office determined the infant’s cause of death to be “asphyxia by undetermined means,” the Lexington Police Department previously said in a press release.
Snelling was not home when police arrived but was later located and detained. She agreed to speak with police while receiving treatment at University of Kentucky Hospital.
During that interview, she told investigators that on at 4 a.m. on Aug. 27, 2025, she gave birth “to a baby which fell onto the floor of her bedroom,” according to an affidavit previously obtained by PEOPLE.
She explained she remained awake for another 30 minutes after giving birth before “falling on top of the baby and going back to sleep,” the affidavit stated. When Snelling woke up again, she said her newborn was “turning blue and purple.”
Snelling also told investigators she wrapped the baby in a towel “like a burrito” and laid lay beside the newborn on the bedroom floor, which she said “gave her a little comfort in the moment,” according to the affidavit.
She then went back to sleep until her 7:30 a.m. alarm, after which she cleaned up the blood and afterbirth, placed the towel-wrapped baby and her placenta “inside of a zip lock bag” into a trash bag, the affidavit stated.
She then left home intending to attend class but instead sat in her vehicle in the parking lot and ordered McDonald’s because she wasn’t feeling well, per the affidavit. She then returned home, where police took her into custody.
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According to a court filing previously obtained by PEOPLE, Snelling also searched a number of pregnancy-related topics on her phone prior to giving birth. Additionally, she took pictures of herself in labor, with authorities saying they “were deleted in an attempt to hide the birth.”
Snelling was indicted by a grand jury in Fayette County, Ky., in March 2026. She previously pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.
A school spokesperson previously told PEOPLE that Snelling withdrew from the university days after her arrest. In addition to competing on the school’s competitive cheer STUNT team for three years, Snelling was also a decorated beauty queen who competed in pageants.
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