Skip to content

Crime & Justice

Former Kentucky cheerleader sentenced to 10 years in prison for newborn's death

By

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 5 outlets, mostly right-leaning (80%).

5 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

The New York Post, Daily Mail, Fox News and The Daily Beast report that Laken Snelling, a former University of Kentucky cheerleader, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the death of her newborn son. Fox News, citing a Lexington city statement, says officers found the infant wrapped in a trash bag in Snelling's closet after her roommates heard noises, and that the Kentucky Medical Examiner's Office determined the baby was born alive and died of asphyxiation. Snelling, 22, told the judge she deprived him of oxygen, the outlets say, and that she was under emotional stress when the baby came unexpectedly. Snelling was arrested in August 2025.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Laken Snelling, a former University of Kentucky cheerleader, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

    Reported byFar Left1Right2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail
    Far Right
    Fox News

  2. Snelling pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the death of her newborn son.

    Reported byFar Left1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Right
    Daily Mail
    Far Right
    Fox News

  3. Roommates reported noises from Snelling's closet, and the infant's body was found wrapped in a trash bag there.

    Reported byFar Left1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    Fox News

  4. According to a Lexington city statement, the Kentucky Medical Examiner's Office determined the infant was born alive and died of asphyxiation.

    One outletFox News· Far Right

  5. Snelling told the judge she deprived the infant of oxygen.

    Reported byFar Left1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Far Right
    Fox News

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that former University of Kentucky cheerleader Laken Snelling was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her newborn son's death. The Daily Beast leads with the killing, while right-side headlines stress the cheerleader identity and trash-bag detail, though one uses plainer wording.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    Leads with the defendant's identity as a cheerleader and the killing of her newborn son, with the sentence placed after the act.

    Cheerleader Learns Fate for Killing Newborn Son
    The Daily BeastFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    4 outlets

    Headlines lead with the cheerleader identity and the trash-bag detail in two outlets, while a Fox News headline states the sentence and the infant's death plainly.

    Cheerleader Laken Snelling learns her fate after killing newborn son found stuffed in trash bag
    New York PostRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

Mantle found no loaded language in this coverage. Every headline and opening was checked against Mantle’s published word list, and Mantle’s AI read 4 of the 5 articles in context when it wrote the analysis. Straight reporting often has none.

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the killing of her newborn son
  • the defendant's cheerleader identity
  • her admission of depriving the baby of oxygen
  • the roommates finding the body

Leaves out

  • the medical examiner finding that the infant was born alive
  • Snelling's statement that she was under emotional stress

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    Cheerleader Learns Fate for Killing Newborn Son

    A former University of Kentucky cheerleader who pled guilty to killing her newborn son has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Laken Snelling, a member of her university’s competitive STUNT team, admitted to depriving her baby of oxygen and stuffing his dead body in a trash …

    Read at The Daily Beast (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

4 outlets

Leads with

  • the body stuffed in a trash bag
  • the cheerleader identity
  • the 10-year sentence
  • the infant's death

Leaves out

  • Her membership on the university's competitive STUNT team

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 4 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • Fox NewsFar Right

    Former University of Kentucky cheerleader sentenced to 10 years in prison for infant's death

    Laken Snelling told the court she "deprived him of oxygen" after her baby came unexpectedly, revealing the emotional moment behind her guilty plea.

    Read at Fox News (opens in a new tab)
  • Daily MailRight

    Cheerleader Laken Snelling who killed her newborn then hid body in closet is sentenced to 10 years in prison

    Former University of Kentucky cheerleader Laken Snelling, 22, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter.

    Read at Daily Mail (opens in a new tab)
  • The Daily WireFar Right

    Former Kentucky Cheerleader Learns Her Fate For Killing Newborn, Hiding Body In Closet

    A former University of Kentucky cheerleader was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday after admitting she killed her newborn son and hid his body in a trash bag in her closet. …

    Read at The Daily Wire (opens in a new tab)
  • New York PostRight

    Cheerleader Laken Snelling learns her fate after killing newborn son found stuffed in trash bag

    A former University of Kentucky cheerleader who admitted to killing her newborn son, whose lifeless body was found stuffed in a trash bag, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    3 hr 28 min later

    Its first report, Oct 16, 1:37 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    New York Post, Oct 16, 10:09 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. New York PostRightOct 16, 10:09 AM EDT
  2. The Daily WireFar RightOct 16, 10:54 AM EDT
  3. The Daily BeastFar LeftOct 16, 1:37 PM EDT
  4. Daily MailRightOct 16, 2:14 PM EDT
  5. Fox NewsFar RightOct 16, 2:45 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

Read next

Help someone else find the truth beneath the surface

Most people see one side of a story. Share this one, so they can see how every side is telling it and decide for themselves.

Email it

Seen a mistake? Tell us what is wrong with this page