r/news • u/judgyjudgersen • 22h ago
Former UK student sentenced for baby’s death following earlier guilty plea
https://www.wkyt.com/2026/10/16/former-uk-student-sentenced-following-earlier-guilty-plea/112
u/make_me_breakfast 15h ago edited 13h ago
I’m here to remind anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation that you can take the infant to a firehouse, police station, or hospital no questions asked. Safe haven laws exist in all 50 states and likely whatever country you’re from if you’re not an American. Please do not do what this person did.
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u/Cool_Address_2571 12h ago
Agree with the sentiment, but just FYI to look up safe haven laws (different from safe place laws) if you or anyone you know is in a similar situation. All 24/7 emergency departments are designated as safe haven, only certain fire and police stations have the same legal immunity. Surrendering a child is an incredibly difficult decision, please seek out personnel who are trained to help and understand your legal rights. You can contact the National Safe Haven Alliance or check your state's official department of human services or health website for verified locations, and remember you have until 60 days of age to anonymously surrender your child. And please please please also seek out medical care if needed, safe haven also protects your right to postpartum care
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u/Silent-Act191 14h ago
The court documents say the roommates told police they were “curious” about Snelling’s story and later went into her room to investigate, which is when they found the baby.
Well that is a life-long trauma.
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u/cabbagechicken 20h ago
Another baby murder in an abortion-banned state. Go figure.
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u/CodyWillTurnHeelSoon 14h ago
This baby was presumably killed shortly after birth, based on the article.
So with that being said, morally what’s the difference? Why does getting through birth make this baby matter more than it did six months prior?
I’m pro choice, for the record but I’m curious as to what the perceived moral difference is.
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u/StrengthStarling 14h ago
Maybe not all, but I think the vast majority of pro-choice people don't agree that late-term abortion is ethical outside of severe/fatal medical conditions.
Once the nervous system fully develops and the fetus is capable of feeling pain, the reasoning behind termination becomes much more relevant to whether it's morally acceptable.
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u/dooglegood 14h ago
Are you for real?
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u/StJe1637 14h ago
not an argument
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u/dooglegood 13h ago
What? There’s no way this person is asking in good faith. Abortion is obviously not the same as murdering a newborn.
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u/Great-Trifle2810 9h ago edited 8h ago
Are you just asserting that as a first principle or have you reasoned it from other principles?
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u/dooglegood 8h ago
Genuinely have no idea what you are asking.
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u/Great-Trifle2810 8h ago
First principles are basic assumptions or truths that can’t be deduced from anything else.
I'm asking you if "Abortion is not the same as murdering a newborn." is a first principle for you, or if you have reasoned it based on other principles.
You seem to have made no argument for the position, and just asserted it again in response to it being questioned, so I'm wondering why you thought that was a useful reply and thought it might be because you were declaring it as a first principle
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u/dooglegood 7h ago
You aren’t the type of person I have any interest in arguing with so I’m just going to leave it at that. Go outside have a nice life
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u/baby_catcher168 11h ago edited 10h ago
The difference is that once the baby is born/exits the womb they are now separate from the mother. They are no longer relying on her body and organs to survive. Once born it is no longer an issue of bodily autonomy - a person does not have the legal, ethical, or moral right to kill another person in this context. Before birth, the fetus is reliant on the body and organs of the pregnant person, and therefore the pregnant person has the right to revoke consent for the use of their body to support the fetus - just like one can refuse or revoke consent for their blood, tissues, or organs to be donated.
ETA: The baby doesn't "matter more" now than they did 6 months prior. The "value" of the fetus/baby has nothing to do with the ethics around abortion. We do not have the right to use the bodies/organs of another person without their consent. Full stop. That is what the issue comes down to.
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u/Great-Trifle2810 9h ago
I personally am pro abortion but I don't find the bodily autonomy argument particularly convincing for a variety of reasons. I also think that donation of organs after death should be mandatory (possibly with an exception for religious reasons but that should exclude you from receiving any organs). If you cause a situation that destroys both of someone's kidneys and you are a compatible donor you should be forced to give one of your own.
I also think it is perfectly reasonable to say someone cannot withdraw consent to something they have previously consented to if doing so would lead directly to the death of another. I mean you can't even kick out a tenent who refuses to pay rent in the winter.
Abortion should be legal because it leads to increased positive outcomes and decreased negative outcomes for society.
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u/Great-Trifle2810 9h ago
I see essentially no moral difference between a voluntary, non medically necessary abortion of a healthy full term fetus (which to be clear essentially never occurs) and the killing of a 1 hour old child, but a line needs to be drawn somewhere and birth is a perfectly reasonable place to do so as it is unambiguous without any guess work and is a point where another person could step in to care for the baby.
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u/Milwambur 2m ago
I think you misunderstood what he said, he didn't say just before birth.... He said 6 months before birth. There us a vast difference.
Also late term abortions are never done unless medically necessary in virtually any western country so the point is immaterial.
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u/ducbo 12h ago edited 12h ago
I’m someone who has had two miscarriages of very wanted pregnancies. I was late enough into the pregnancies they had to be medically managed.
To me there’s a big fucking difference between an unborn fetus and a live baby in my arms. When you deal with infertility you know that nothing is for certain, a positive pregnancy test doesn’t mean a baby, no one can for sure say that just because you are pregnant you will 100% bring a new life into this world. Not at 23 weeks, not at 28 weeks, not at 30 weeks. I know enough people who have suffered loss even up until 39 weeks that it literally does not mean a thing until you are holding that baby.
I think it’s pretty fucking presumptuous of people to say a newborn baby is no different than an unborn fetus. That difference has meant a LOT to me and hurt me irreparably.
I’m pro-choice by the way. I was lucky that my surgical miscarriage management was provided cost free at what is usually an abortion clinic. I was happy to give a donation to support other women’s right to choose.
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u/Wadarkhu 13h ago edited 12h ago
Typically in other places the standard maximum limit for getting an abortion is 23 weeks. Any later than that is called a late term abortion and they are not standard, they are rare and only done when there is serious risk to life of the mother or if the fetus already has no possibility of life once born.
This is because until 23+ weeks there are no connections so that it can feel anything yet & the chance of viability outside the womb is extremely low. It is not a "life" yet in a meaningful way it is literally missing the brain connections for it.
The difference of those six months is the development of biological independence and conscious awareness.
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u/In-The-Cloud 12h ago
6 months ago it was a fetus incapable of independent life outside of the womb
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u/Milwambur 14h ago
What in the fuck is this comment? You cannot be pro choice, otherwise you literally consider murder the same as abortion and think both are ok!!!
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u/_SoftRockStar_ 12h ago
Why does murdering a baby who could feel it’s murder matter more than aborting a fetus that is not yet a person? Do you need help understanding that or do you just like posing the ignorant and disgusting questions? You know, morally.
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u/Great-Trifle2810 9h ago
Do we have evidence that a fetus 1 day before birth is incapable of sensations like pain? They seem to respond to stimuli such as sound and light.
Additionally there are many ways to kill something that will not produce a negative sensation in the target.
It seems to me that your argument only works for part of the pregnancy and is poorly considered as it is essentially impossible to draw a firm line on when sensation and thoughts may begin in utero.
I am pro abortion, I just think your argument is weak.
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u/_SoftRockStar_ 8h ago
You are not allowed to abort a fetus one day before birth. That’s called a late term abortion and it is illegal because that is a child able to thrive. But you know that. I didn’t read anything after that.
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u/Great-Trifle2810 7h ago
I live in Canada,where nationally there are no criminal restrictions on abortion based on gestational age. While no province officially provides survival abortion after 25 weeks my understanding from hospital workers is that it is incredibly easy to get a medical approval, and even if you can't as no criminal law exists you could take a pill to cause the fetus to encounter a complication to justify medical necessity.
Even in the US you are simply incorrect, at least based on my basic research on US abortion law.
(source)
There appears to be at least 9 states with no gestational age limit on abortion. Granted this map is about two years old so please point out any states that have changed their laws.
Even if you were correct, there is a point between 1 day before birth and 1 day after conception where it shifts from destroying something that isn't a person and killing a person, regardless of your feelings on the morality of either of those.
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u/_SoftRockStar_ 5h ago
This is Kentucky. Not in Canada. Again, not reading past the first line because you’re already making an argument that doesn’t apply.
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u/Great-Trifle2810 5h ago
Maybe try to read the entire thing, it's not that long my guy and if you have any reading comprehension at all my point is clear. Respond to it, admit you can't, or don't reply.
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u/_SoftRockStar_ 5h ago
😂 I’m a woman. I never have to get past the first line
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u/Great-Trifle2810 4h ago
I don't think the issue is that you are a woman, it seems to be that you are incapable of thought.
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u/moonieshine 10h ago
I'd say it's like the difference between eating a delicious cake vs eating fistfuls of raw flour, sugar, and eggs. One's a cake, and the other isn't.
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u/Great-Trifle2810 9h ago
At some point a cake in the oven becomes edible, and that happens between the point we would consider it to stop being simply ingredients but before it comes out of the oven. There is at least some time where "if I take this out now will it be a cake or a failed attempt to make a cake" is a valid question.
I'm pro abortion, this is a bad argument
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u/moonieshine 6h ago
It's almost like there's a spectrum between when something is or is not "cake", and drawing a line that clearly divides the two is inherently arbitrary. Yet, at the same time, there is also a clear distinction on either end. The man's question was, translated into my metaphor, "what is the difference between eating a cake that's been cooked for 13 minutes vs one that's been cooked for 40 minutes?"
And my answer is that you're not eating a cake at all.
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u/Great-Trifle2810 5h ago
I don't disagree, but they specifically mentioned being shortly before birth, so I think we are talking more about a 35 minute cake, which I would call a cake even if it isn't a great one.
I think the better response to their argument is that there are essentially no people removing a cake from the oven at 35 minutes because they decided they don't want cake, it almost exclusively happens with cakes that have clear defects or if the oven is about to catch fire, and that attempting to restrict it will cause more negative outcomes then it prevents even if we all agree taking a cake out at 35 minutes just because you don't want it is the wrong thing to do.
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u/judgyjudgersen 22h ago
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Laken Snelling was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday morning in connection with the death of her newborn son and was immediately taken into custody.
Snelling, 22, pleaded guilty in August to manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant. In court, she told the judge, “Instead of helping him, I ended his life.”
Fayette County Circuit Court Judge Diane Minnifield told Snelling that she made a decision and that comes with consequences.
“And sometimes those choices and consequences affect our future for the rest of our lives, and you’ve made a decision that has affected not only your future but the future of all of [the baby’s] biological paternal side,” Minnifield said.
Baby found in closet
The charges stem from an August 2025 discovery by Lexington police. Officers were called to a home on Park Avenue for an unresponsive infant. Inside a closet, police say they found a baby boy wrapped in a towel, inside a trash bag. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and Snelling was arrested four days later.
Snelling said in court Friday that she had named the baby McCoy Cade Hall.
Court records obtained by WKYT say Snelling’s roommates discussed hearing unusual noises on the morning of Aug. 27 in a Snapchat group chat that Snelling was part of. According to a search warrant filed for Snelling’s Snapchat account, around 4 a.m. that day, one roommate sent a message saying she heard a loud noise that sounded like something had fallen. A second roommate said she heard it too and that whatever caused it had been forceful enough to knock a picture off the wall. One roommate said the noises lasted about an hour.
Just before 9 a.m. that morning, Snelling sent a message in the group chat saying the noise was her passing out. She added that she had not been feeling well and had not eaten, and said she was going to get checked out by a doctor.
The court documents say the roommates told police they were “curious” about Snelling’s story and later went into her room to investigate, which is when they found the baby. The officer who requested the warrant wrote that all of the roommates told police they had suspicions that Snelling could be pregnant but had never confirmed them with her.
The Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office said the baby was born alive and ruled his cause of death asphyxia by undetermined means.
Baby’s father’s family speaks in court
Baby Hall’s biological father, Izaiah Hall, and his family members addressed the court and Snelling.
“He was not garbage; he was the most beautiful, perfect, innocent, full-term baby boy,” Izaiah Hall’s sister said.
Although the baby’s life was limited, the family made it known in court that their grief is not. “You imagine birthdays, holidays, first steps, first words, laughter, hugs, kisses, and all the little moments that become lifelong memories. For Cade, those possibilities were taken away before he ever had the chance to [experience them],” said a family member identified as Izaiah Hall’s mother or aunt.
Sentencing details
Prosecutors recommended the court sentence Snelling to 10 years for the manslaughter charge, and one year each for the other three charges. Judge Minnifield said she considered Snelling’s age, education, and clean prior record before fulfilling the state’s request for a concurrent sentence.
Fayette County Commonwealth’s Attorney Kimberly Baird said the baby’s family still has questions about why this happened.
“They are so raw right now and so emotional right now, still have questions about why, so I think they are okay with the fact that she got sent to prison. I’m not sure there’s a number big enough that that was going to make this okay for them,” Baird said.
Snelling will receive 415 days of credit for time served while on bond. She is not eligible for probation, but qualifies for parole after serving 85% of her 10-year sentence.
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u/TheFoolman 19h ago
Man sidebar but absolutely fuck being the roommates who entered that room and experiencing seeing a dead baby. Thats horrifying, I hope they get support
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u/Afraid-Bass-5684 14h ago
Surely UoK is a better abbreviation for the University of Kentucky
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u/difmaster 14h ago
maybe on a national news article, but this is a WKYT local news article, UK works just fine
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u/Afraid-Bass-5684 13h ago
True but atleast a clarification by OP this was hella confusing I wondered why the specified he was a student in the uk at one point
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u/_SoftRockStar_ 11h ago
Only a KY publication could think UK is an acceptable way to abbreviate this university in the AP. Literally no one would think of the University of Kentucky first unless, maybe, Kentucky is the only place you’ve ever been.
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u/Loquacious-of-Borg 14h ago
That is usually how it works. You don't just sentence someone right after a not guilty plea. Except in China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Trump's America.
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u/jbee337 21h ago
10 years isn't enough
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u/In-The-Cloud 12h ago
Enough for what? Life in prison isn't bringing the baby back and she isn't a danger to society
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u/cydril 5h ago
Isn't she? Smothering a newborn to get what she wanted seems kinda dangerous. She could have surrendered the child and gone on with her life. It's not like she was an abused child who had no options.
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u/In-The-Cloud 4h ago
She has to live with that guilt, thats punishment enough. I doubt shes about to go around murdering other infants. Prison should be about reform, not punishment
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u/DootingDooterson 22h ago
Presumably 'UK' means 'University of Kentucky' and not the country of 70 million people.