Crime & Justice
CROSS-SPECTRUM
Former UK cheerleader sentenced to ten years for newborn's death
Laken Snelling, a 22-year-old former University of Kentucky cheerleader, received a ten-year prison term after pleading guilty to killing her newborn son.
Snelling admitted to first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and concealing the infant’s birth. The plea was entered in Fayette Circuit Court, where prosecutors had asked for a ten-year sentence on the manslaughter charge and additional one-year terms for the other offenses. The judge imposed a total of ten years in prison, matching the prosecution’s recommendation for the primary charge.
Why it matters
The sentencing highlights legal consequences for newborn homicide and reinforces Kentucky's strict infant-death statutes.
In this story
newborn homicidefirst-degree manslaughterabuse of a corpsetampering with evidenceconcealing birthprison sentenceKentucky court
