Former University of Kentucky student indicted on new manslaughter charge in death of newborn baby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A Fayette County grand jury indicted former University of Kentucky student Laken Snelling on a first-degree manslaughter charge in the death of her newborn, according to a news release from the Lexington Police Department.

The indictment also includes charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant.

Court documents said Snelling told investigators she gave birth in the home and later placed the infant in the bag. But police said the manslaughter charge was added by the grand jury after the Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office determined the baby was born alive and died from "asphyxia by undetermined means."

Snelling was arrested in August 2025 after Lexington police responded to a report of an unresponsive infant at a home in the 400 block of Park Avenue, near the UK campus. Officers said they found a newborn wrapped in a towel inside a trash bag in a closet. The baby was pronounced dead at the scene.