Laken Snelling pleads guilty to killing her newborn, hiding the body in her closet
08/21/2026 3:25 pm PDT
LEXINGTON, Ky. (TCN) -- A 22-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with the death of her newborn son last year.
According to a press release from the city of Lexington, Kentucky, officers were dispatched to a home on Aug. 27, 2025, after receiving a report of an unresponsive infant. Laken Snelling’s roommates found a baby boy’s body wrapped in a towel in Snelling’s closet, the New York Post reports. They had reportedly suspected Snelling had been pregnant and was hiding it.
The child was pronounced dead at the scene and Snelling was charged Aug. 31, 2025, with abuse of a corpse, evidence tampering, and concealing the birth of an infant, according to the press release.
The medical examiner determined the infant was born alive and his cause of death was asphyxia. According to the press release, Snelling was indicted March 10 by a grand jury on initial charges and the added charge of first-degree manslaughter. According to the Post, Snelling has been free on $100,000 bond since the arrest.
WLEX reports Snelling pleaded not guilty in April and her defense team approached the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney to discuss a possible plea. As part of her plea agreement, Snelling agreed to explain in court what happened to her baby.
Snelling pleaded guilty on Aug. 21 and told the court her child was born alive.
The New York Post reports Snelling said, “I was under a lot of emotional stress and my baby came unexpectedly. … And instead of helping him, I ended his life and afterwards I cleaned up and didn’t tell anyone.”
A 10-year sentence has been recommended for the manslaughter charge, plus an additional three years for the other charges, WLEX reports. Her sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 16.
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