An ex-beauty pageant winner is facing charges of murder for allegedly abandoning her newborn baby in a trash bag while the infant was still alive. A grand jury has decided to charge 22-year-old Laken Snelling with multiple offenses, including first-degree manslaughter, after the lifeless body of her newborn was discovered in a garbage bag hidden in the back of a closet in her room. A post-mortem examination determined that the cause of death was “asphyxia by undetermined means.”
Snelling has been on pre-trial release at her father’s residence since October of the previous year, with no specified date for formal indictment. The Lexington Police Department disclosed that the grand jury’s decision was influenced by reports that Snelling’s child had been born alive. The incident initiated when authorities were alerted to a deceased baby found in a closet at an off-campus residence a few blocks from the University of Kentucky on August 27.
Concerned roommates of Snelling contacted the police after hearing unusual sounds from her room and discovering blood. Upon arrival, officers found Snelling missing, as she had left for classes shortly after giving birth. She was later located at a McDonald’s and outside a clinic before being taken into custody upon her return home. Following her arrest and medical treatment, Snelling waived her rights and provided a statement to law enforcement.
According to an affidavit, Snelling claimed that she delivered the baby in her bedroom at 4 am, inadvertently falling on the infant before falling back asleep, leading to the baby’s distress. Snelling admitted to wrapping the newborn in a towel and lying beside it on the floor for comfort. After her arrest, Snelling was detained at the Fayette County Detention Center until September 2, then placed under house arrest at her father’s residence in Tennessee. She subsequently withdrew from the University of Kentucky, where she was part of the STUNT cheerleading team.
In a separate incident in August 2025, Snelling was charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.
