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A 911 call reported a newborn’s body that was “cold.”
Three days later, authorities arrested Lakin Snelling.
Now, a grand jury has indicted the University of Kentucky cheerleader.
She faces multiple charges, including first-degree manslaughter.
Man 1 serious charge
On Tuesday, March 10, a grand jury indicted Snelling on charges of first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of a child.
The alleged birth and murder occurred in August 2025.
There was initially some uncertainty about the level of murder charge the former competitive cheerleader at the University of Kentucky would receive.
However, after the medical examiner determined that Snelling’s newborn was alive at the time she allegedly hid the infant in a garbage bag in her closet, this information was apparently sufficient for the grand jury.
“They got information about the murder, the four levels of murder and then deliberated and decided first-degree manslaughter was the charge,” prosecutor Kimberly Byrd explained.
Snelling is scheduled to return to court in the next two to three weeks.
As you can see in the video above, she has waived her right to a preliminary trial in September 2025.
Snelling was arrested on August 30 of that year — just three days after someone discovered an infant “cold to the touch” inside a trash bag inside Snelling’s closet.
The coroner concluded that the infant’s cause of death was “asphyxia by unspecified means.”
Sometimes, choking leaves clues — tissue residue in the lungs, or a pattern or debris on the mouth and nose. Not in this case, apparently.
How did the newborn die?
According to at least one statement Snelling allegedly gave to police, she lost consciousness after giving birth in her room.
She said she lost consciousness on top of the newborn.
When she woke up, the baby was “blue and purple,” Snelling told police.
She appears to have laid next to the newborn for some time before packing up everything from the birth – including the baby – and hiding it in the closet.
Snelling allegedly admitted he heard a “moaning” during the packing process.
In September 2025, Snelling pleaded not guilty to all charges.
She was released on $100,000 bail.
The court ordered Snelling to live under house arrest.
She is no longer enrolled at the University of Kentucky, where she was part of the school’s STUNT cheerleading team.
Additionally, she is no longer part of the STUNT team.
Every incident like this is nothing short of horror.
The killing of children has a long and brutal history. Accidental infant deaths are also a grim reality – especially for a young woman going through the unimaginable trauma of giving birth alone.
Notably, Kentucky has banned almost all forms of abortion.
Had Snelling, who was said to have been unaware she was pregnant for most of her pregnancy, had learned of her pregnancy in time, she likely would have had to travel across state lines — perhaps to Illinois — to exercise her human rights.
Killing children is not justified, if that is what happened. But this seems to be an unprofitable position imposed on her by society and the backward laws of our nation.
