Laken Snelling sentenced to 10 years in infant son's death

Laken Snelling was sentenced to 10 years in prison on October 16 for the death of her newborn son, after pleading guilty to four offenses. Judge Diane Minnifield ordered the sentences to run concurrently, making the total prison term 10 years. Snelling, 22, pleaded guilty in August 2026 to first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant. She was sentenced in Fayette Circuit Court. The sentences were 10 years for manslaughter and one year for each of the other three offenses, served at the same time. The reports differ on the prosecution’s position at sentencing. One account said prosecutors sought 13 years in total, while another said they recommended a 10-year term under the plea agreement. The available reporting does not resolve that difference. The case followed the discovery of the infant’s body in a closet at Snelling’s off-campus home in Lexington on August 27, 2025. Police had been called after her roommates found the baby wrapped in a towel and placed in bags. Snelling was arrested three days later. The Kentucky medical examiner determined the baby was born alive and died of asphyxia. Police said the...