Ex-Boyfriend Provides DNA in Cheerleader's Baby Death Case

In a tragic turn of events, the ex-boyfriend of Laken Snelling, a former University of Kentucky cheerleader, has provided his DNA to authorities in connection with the case. Snelling, 21, was arrested on August 30, 2025, and charged with Abuse of a Corpse, Tampering with Physical Evidence, and Concealing the Birth of an Infant.

The charges stem from an incident on August 27, 2025, when authorities were dispatched to Snelling's home in Lexington, Kentucky, after receiving a call about an unresponsive infant. According to the arrest citation, the "infant was located wrapped in a towel inside of a black trash bag." During her interview, 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's ex-boyfriend, Izaiah Hall, 21, recently gave the DNA sample to police in connection to the case. Hall, a quarterback at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky, attended Anderson County High School in Clinton, Tennessee, roughly 50 miles away from where Snelling studied at Jefferson County High School in Dandridge, Tennessee. It is unclear how long Hall and Snelling dated or when the couple broke up.

On September 2, 2025, Snelling appeared in a Lexington courtroom and pleaded not guilty to all charges. She was released on $100,000 bond and is now living on "home incarceration with no ankle monitor" with her parents in Tennessee. Snelling's preliminary court hearing is scheduled for September 26, 2025.