A new development has emerged in the case involving former University of Kentucky cheerleader Laken Snelling. Court records show that an arrest warrant was issued for Snelling after a grand jury indicted her on a manslaughter charge connected to the death of her newborn baby. The warrant was issued on Tuesday, March 10, according to local television station WKYT, which reported on the court filings.The case has drawn attention across Kentucky since the initial arrest in 2025. Investigators say Snelling admitted she gave birth at her home in Lexington and later hid the infant’s body inside a trash bag placed in a closet. Officials later determined that the baby had been alive when the birth occurred. The medical examiner ruled that the cause of death was “asphyxia by undetermined means.” The case is now moving forward after a grand jury decided that the evidence supported a manslaughter charge.
Laken Snelling indictment details emerge as Kentucky officials explain manslaughter charge in newborn death case
According to court records reviewed by WKYT, the new manslaughter charge was issued after a grand jury looked at the medical findings and other evidence. Fayette Commonwealth’s Attorney Kimberly Baird explained how the grand jury reached its decision.“They were given the information about homicide, the four levels of homicide and then deliberated and decided that manslaughter first degree was the charge that should come out of the grand jury,” Baird told WKYT.Snelling was first arrested in August 2025 after authorities began investigating the death of the newborn. Police say she admitted that she had given birth and then tried to hide what happened. According to investigators, Snelling cleaned the area and placed the items used during the birth into a black trash bag along with the infant’s body.Authorities said the baby had been wrapped in a towel before being placed inside the bag and stored in a closet at her home in Lexington. Along with manslaughter, prosecutors also indicted Snelling on other charges. These include abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.Court documents show that Snelling has been living under strict conditions while the case moved through the legal process. In September 2025, she was released from custody after posting a $100,000 bond and was placed on house arrest.Later, a judge ordered her to live at her father’s home in Jefferson City, Tennessee. She was also required to wear a GPS ankle monitoring device while under home confinement.Before that decision, Snelling had been staying at both of her parents’ homes under a joint arrangement. Court records obtained by People magazine say she spent her daytime hours at her mother’s house in Morristown, Tennessee, and her nights at her father’s home about 15 miles away.Snelling later waived her right to a preliminary hearing and asked for the case to go directly before a grand jury.The former cheerleader was once part of the University of Kentucky’s STUNT cheerleading team. She is no longer enrolled at the university and is not currently part of the program.
