Charges have been elevated for a former University of Kentucky student who was arrested in August 2025 after her newborn baby was found dead.
Laken Snelling, 21, was originally charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant. In addition to those charges, Snelling was indicted for first-degree manslaughter on Tuesday after the Kentucky Medical Examiner’s office concluded the baby was born alive, WLKY reported.
The autopsy revealed the the baby was born alive and died due to asphyxia by undetermined means, according to the report.
According to previous reporting, court documents allege that Snelling’s roommates discovered the baby boy stuffed inside a black plastic bag in the closet in their off-campus house and called 911.
Snelling first told law enforcement her baby fell on the floor after she gave birth, and she did not believe he was “breathing or alive,” the affidavit reportedly states.
Then, she told police she passed out “on top of the baby” and woke up to find him “turning blue and purple,” documents detail.
Snelling ended up admitting she wrapped “the baby up like a burrito and laid next to [him], which “gave her a little comfort in the moment,” court documents allege.
Authorities said Snelling ended up hiding her baby boy in the closet, showering, and cleaning up the blood from giving birth.
During the investigation, law enforcement learned that Snelling told medical staff that the baby had shown “a little bit of fetal movement” and she had heard a “whimper” following his birth, court documents allege.
She withdrew from college soon after she was arrested and has been on house arrest at her parents’ home in Tennessee, according to the report.
