The Cheerleader’s Secret: Laken Snelling's Story
Serial Napper | True Crime for the Chronically TiredShow Notes
When I first covered the case of Laken Snelling, it was a Patreon-exclusive, and one of the biggest questions surrounding the case remained unanswered: what really happened to her newborn baby in the hours after she secretly gave birth? Now, we finally have an answer.
In August 2025, 21-year-old University of Kentucky student and STUNT athlete Laken Snelling gave birth alone inside her off-campus bedroom while her roommates were just feet away. They later told investigators they had heard loud crashing and thudding noises coming from her room in the early morning hours.
By the next morning, Laken had left the house. Her suspicious roommates entered her bedroom and discovered evidence of childbirth. Inside her closet, they found her newborn son wrapped in a towel and concealed inside a trash bag.
Laken initially gave investigators an explanation for what happened after the birth. But an autopsy would later determine that the baby had been born alive and died from asphyxia by undetermined means.
Laken was eventually indicted for first-degree manslaughter, along with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant.
For months, the question remained: was her baby's death the result of a catastrophic accident, or had something else happened inside that bedroom? Then, on August 21, 2026, Laken walked into court and changed her plea.
Sources:
https://www.wkyt.com/2026/03/13/laken-snelling-case-file-reveals-snapchat-warrant-roommate-accounts/
https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/crime/article312308957.html
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/laken-snelling-5-things-know-210515476.html
https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/crime/article315012906.html
https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/crime/article315014043.html
https://www.the-messenger.com/news/article_483939ec-f175-5fc9-8f16-8f7af6862ed3.html
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