World · North America · 2 hrs ago
Laken Snelling sentenced to 10 years over newborn son’s death
Laken Snelling was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Kentucky for her newborn son’s death.
The 22-year-old former University of Kentucky student pleaded guilty to manslaughter and three other charges in August.
Police found the baby boy dead in a trash bag inside a closet at Snelling’s home in Lexington in August 2025.
The Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office determined that he was born alive and died from asphyxiation.
In court, Snelling said she had ended the baby’s life and deprived him of oxygen.
The baby’s father, Izaiah Hall, and relatives described their grief and remembered the boy, whom Snelling had named McCoy Cade Hall.
The judge imposed the 10-year term recommended by prosecutors, with the sentences for the other charges to run at the same time.
Laken Snelling was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday for the death of her newborn son.
The 22-year-old had pleaded guilty to manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and concealing the birth of an infant.
The baby was found dead in a trash bag in a closet at Snelling’s off-campus home in Lexington in August 2025.
Snelling told the court she had ended her son’s life and deprived him of oxygen.
The baby’s father, Izaiah Hall, and members of his family spoke in court about their grief.
- Who
- Laken Snelling, a former University of Kentucky student and cheerleader, was sentenced. The baby’s father was identified as Izaiah Hall.
- What
- Snelling was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter and three other charges in her newborn son’s death.
- When
- Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. The baby was found in August 2025.
- Where
- Fayette Circuit Court in Kentucky. The baby was found at Snelling’s off-campus home in Lexington.
- Why
- The sentence followed Snelling’s guilty plea over the death of her newborn son, who died from asphyxiation.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Lexington police found the baby dead in a trash bag in a closet at Snelling’s home.
Snelling was arrested.
Snelling pleaded guilty to manslaughter and three other charges.
Snelling was sentenced to 10 years in prison and taken into custody.
- Sentence
- 10 years in prison
- Defendant
- Laken Snelling, 22
- Charges
- Manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and concealing the birth of an infant
- Discovery location
- Closet at an off-campus home on Park Avenue in Lexington
- Baby’s name
- McCoy Cade Hall
- Cause of death
- Asphyxiation; the medical examiner described the means as undetermined
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What people are saying
I don’t wish the worst on Laken. What happened...it is what it is. I can’t change it. My family can’t change it. It hurts in a way that’s unexplainable.
Instead of helping him, I ended his life.
And sometimes those choices and consequences affect our future for the rest of our lives, and you’ve made a decision that has affected not only your future but the future of all of [the baby’s] biological paternal side
He was not garbage; he was the most beautiful, perfect, innocent, full-term baby boy.