Fayette County Circuit Court Judge Diane Minnifield sentenced 22-year-old Laken Snelling to 10 years in prison Friday for the death of her infant son, ruling she is ineligible for probation due to committing a “crime of violence.”
According to court records, Snelling admitted during August hearings that she ended her newborn’s life by depriving him of oxygen. “I was under a lot of emotional stress, and my baby came unexpectedly,” Snelling told Minnifield. “And instead of helping him, I ended his life. And afterwards, I cleaned up and didn’t tell anyone.”
Police were dispatched on August 27, 2025, after an unresponsive infant was found deceased at the scene. Snelling pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth in August 2025. She received 415 days of credit for time spent under house arrest.
The baby’s father, Izaiah Hall, named their son McCoy Cade Hall. “I don’t wish the worst on Laken. What happened is, it is what it is,” Hall stated in court. Hall’s mother described her grandson as “a perfectly healthy, beautiful baby boy” who “had barely begun its life.” She added: “Instead of watching him grow, I’m left wondering who he would have been.”
Minnifield noted the emotional impact of Snelling’s actions, stating: “This loneliness, this just now in the pit of your stomach, it’s never going to go away. You’re going to have to find ways to live with it.”
