Laken Snelling Only Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Killing Her Baby
A former University of Kentucky cheerleader who admitted ending the life of her newborn son after he was born alive was sentenced Friday to just 10 years in prison.
Laken Snelling, 22, of White Pine, Tennessee, received concurrent sentences from Fayette Circuit Judge Diane Minnifield: 10 years for first-degree manslaughter and one year each for abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant.
Prosecutors had recommended the concurrent terms as part of a plea agreement. She received credit for 415 days already spent under house arrest and will be eligible for parole after serving 85% of the sentence. She is not eligible for probation.
The full-term infant, named McCoy Cade Hall, was born alive in August 2025 and died of asphyxia, according to the Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office.
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Police found his body wrapped in a towel inside a trash bag in a closet at Snelling’s off-campus home near downtown Lexington on Aug. 27, 2025, after roommates reported blood and unusual noises and called authorities. The baby was cold to the touch and was pronounced dead at the scene.
During her Aug. 21, 2026, guilty plea, Snelling told the court she had been under emotional stress and the birth was unexpected.
“Instead of helping him, I ended his life,” she said. “I deprived him of oxygen.”
She previously told investigators she gave birth alone around 4 a.m., that the baby made a whimper and showed some movement, and that she later cleaned up evidence and placed the infant in the bag.
Judge Minnifield described the offense as a crime of violence that took the life of an innocent baby “that did nothing but come out and breathe.”
She noted Snelling’s lack of prior criminal history and supportive family but said the decision carried lasting consequences for the child and his relatives.
The baby’s father, Izaiah Hall, told the court he did not wish the worst on Snelling. Family members described the infant as a perfectly healthy, beautiful, full-term baby boy who deserved a chance to grow and be loved, saying they were left mourning milestones that would never come.
Snelling, a former member of the university’s STUNT team who later withdrew from school, had initially pleaded not guilty after a March 2026 indictment that included the manslaughter charge. The case resolved without a trial under the plea agreement.
