Laken Snelling, a former University of Kentucky student athlete, 22, stands accused of killing her newborn in her off-campus room.  She has pleaded not guilty to a first-degree manslaughter charge after the Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office determined the infant was born alive and died of “asphyxia by undetermined means”.  She previously told police she did not believe the baby was breathing. 

Snelling has a pretrial hearing set for May 14, 2026, followed by a status hearing  June 12. If convicted of first-degree manslaughter, she faces 10 to 20 years in prison.  

Laken Snelling is arrested after her infant is found dead in a trash bag inside the closet. Authorities allege Snelling gave birth in secret, wrapped her baby in a towel, placed him in a trash bag, and left him in her closet.

According to an arrest report, Lexington police were called to a home on Park Avenue for an unresponsive infant on Wednesday. Police said they found a baby's body in a closet, wrapped in a towel inside a black trash bag.

 Joining Nancy Grace today,

• Josh Kolsrud - Criminal Defense Attorney and Former Assistant U.S. Attorney, Founder of Kolsrud Law Offices, kolsrudlawoffices.com, Facebook and YouTube @KohlsrudLawOffices  
• Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst, Author: "Deal Breaker,” featured in hit show: "Paris in Love" on Peacock, www.drbethanymarshall.com , Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall, Twitter: @DrBethanyLive   
• Dr. Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), Host of NEW Podcast "Mayhem in the Morgue”, Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU (Texas Christian University)   
• Chris Byers - Private investigator and owner of Byers Investigative Services, Former Police Chief Johns Creek Georgia, 25 years Police Officer, website: byersinvestigative.com 
• Germania Rodriguez - Chief US Reporter, DailyMail.com