A status hearing in the manslaughter case involving former University of Kentucky competitive cheerleader Laken Snelling has been delayed.
The hearing, scheduled for Friday, June 12, has been pushed to August due to “evidentiary issues.”
The delay was agreed to in a filing by both parties, according to Lexington’s Fox 56.
Us Weekly has reached out to the prosecutor’s office and Snelling’s defense team for comment.
Snelling, 22, was indicted on charges of first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant on March 10.
During a court appearance on April 10, Snelling pleaded not guilty. She is currently out on bond.
The manslaughter charge was issued against Snelling after it was determined her baby was alive when she gave birth in August 2025 before she allegedly hid the body in the bedroom closet of her Lexington home.
The Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office determined the baby’s cause of death was “asphyxia by undetermined means.”
According to an indictment obtained by Us Weekly in March, Snelling was not charged with murder because she acted under “extreme emotional disturbance.”
The indictment said the former cheerleader “intentionally abused the infant and thereby caused death to a person twelve (12) years of age or less, or who is physically helpless or mentally helpless.”
First-degree manslaughter is a Class B felony in Kentucky, punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison.
Snelling was arrested in August 2025 after her roommates discovered a “blood-soaked towel on the floor and a plastic bag containing evidence of childbirth” in her closet.
When she was questioned by police, Snelling “admitted to giving birth” and to “concealing the birth by cleaning any evidence, placing all cleaning items used inside of a black trash bag, including the infant, who was wrapped in a towel.”
Snelling told authorities she passed out on top of the baby after giving birth, later waking up to find it “blue and purple.”
At the time of her arrest, Snelling was a three-year member of the University of Kentucky’s STUNT cheerleading team. She was also majoring in Interdisciplinary Disability Studies. She was also a three-year member of the university’s STUNT cheerleading team.
A university spokesperson confirmed to Us Weekly in September 2025 that Snelling was no longer enrolled at the school or a squad member on the cheerleading team.
Snelling is due in court for the rescheduled update hearing on August 21.
