Former Cheerleader Laken Snelling Sentenced for Infant’s Death

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: I have got an opportunity to review the PSI report. Are there any additional corrections or changes, Mr. Chair, any additional comments you'd like to make on behalf of your clients? [00:00:33] Speaker 2: Judge, if you could, we'd like to be really brief. Obviously, in the recommendation of this case, she's not eligible for probation, and with respect for that, we chose not to submit to the statements from her and all the other people who wanted to support her and what was concerned about. In this case, it's ex-imediated, and she just didn't want to feel like prior to the board and I don't know if she supported her. So the fact that he did not submit anything, we don't take that. She doesn't care about that. She's incredibly saddened by what happened. She's got a complete responsibility for it. I will tell the court that when Mr. Marshall might have a law in this case, we have worked closely with Commonwealth through the presenter of the committee. We deal with the recommendation that is consistent with the facts in place and what is a fair recommendation. We would ask the court that's consistent with the public family. It's eight and a half a year since she's going to have to serve. She doesn't have to ask any credit. But we think that that is a great sentence. And I'll tell you again, she's totally devastated. She's got lost herself at the family. It was incredibly difficult for her to hear what she was doing. She's been a successful in it but knows that she's going to have to do that for a long time. So other than that, we just have to ask you to follow the recommendation. We don't have to go to the plan and let her start. So we don't have to go to the next level. [00:02:19] Speaker 1: And I understand from the Commonwealth that the victims' families here might not stand? [00:02:26] Speaker 2: Yes, thank you. [00:02:27] Speaker 1: They can come up. [00:02:29] Speaker 2: Do you want that on that side? [00:02:31] Speaker ?: On that side. On that side. On that side. Okay. Right here for me, please. I'm sorry. Right here. So, first of all, who's Isaiah? Is that you, sir? You're the father? Yes, ma'am. Okay. Tell me what you would like this court to know. I don't really have anything to say to me. [00:02:45] Speaker 1: I don't really have anything to say to the audience. [00:02:57] Speaker 3: I don't wish people are strong like you. But what happened, it is what it is. I can't change it. My family can't change it. My family can't change it. They hired us in a way that is unexplainable. Still a lot of questions. But I agree to come in here and make any sense. Okay. Thank you. And I know your mom is here. Yes, ma'am. [00:03:27] Speaker 1: And Liam, would you like to say something to the court? Yes, ma'am. [00:03:30] Speaker 3: Okay. [00:03:31] Speaker 1: And Liam, would you like to say something to the court? Yes. Okay. [00:03:36] Speaker 4: Your Honor, as I stand before you today, as her grandmother grew me, the boss of my precious grandson, Kate. We're no words strong enough to describe my heartbreak that my family and I have experienced since August 22, 25. Kate was a perfectly healthy, beautiful baby boy. The baby who had barely begun his life. [00:04:26] Speaker ?: The baby who deserved a chance to grow, to be loved, to be capable. You've experienced all the wonderful that makes this world to talk to him. As a grandparent, you imagine the memories you'll make with your grandchildren. As a grandparent, you imagine the memories you'll make with your grandchildren. [00:04:27] Speaker 4: You imagine the memories you'll make with your grandchildren. [00:04:28] Speaker ?: You imagine the memories you'll make with your grandchildren. [00:04:28] Speaker 4: You imagine the memories you'll make with your birthdays. You imagine birthdays, holidays. holidays. first steps. first steps. [00:04:33] Speaker ?: First words. [00:04:33] Speaker 4: First words. [00:04:34] Speaker ?: First words. [00:04:34] Speaker 4: You imagine the memories you'll make with your grandchildren. You imagine the memories you'll make with your birthdays. [00:04:36] Speaker ?: You imagine birthdays, holidays, first steps, first words, laughter, hugs, kisses. You imagine the memories you'll make with your grandchildren. [00:04:36] Speaker 4: You imagine birthdays, holidays, first steps, first words, laughter, hugs, kisses. You imagine the memories you'll make with your grandchildren. [00:04:38] Speaker ?: You imagine the memories you'll make with your grandchildren. You imagine birthdays, holidays, first steps, first words, laughter, hugs, kisses. You imagine the memories you'll make with your grandchildren. [00:04:39] Speaker 4: You imagine birthdays, holidays, first steps, first words, laughter, hugs, kisses. You imagine birthdays. You imagine birthdays and birthdays. You imagine birthdays, birthdays, first steps, first words, laughter, hugs, kisses. And all the moments that become lifelong birthdays. [00:04:50] Speaker ?: You look forward to watching them grow and seeing the person they've become. [00:04:50] Speaker 4: For Jay, for K, for K, for you, for you, for your children. You imagine birthdays. You imagine birthdays, holidays, first steps, first words, laughter, hugs, kisses. And all the moments that become lifelong birthdays. You look forward to watching them grow and seeing the person they've become. For Jay, for K, those possibilities were taken away before you ever had the chance to experience your children. You imagine birthdays, holidays, first steps, first words, laughter, hugs, kisses. [00:05:05] Speaker ?: You imagine birthdays, holidays, first steps, first words, laughter, hugs, kisses. [00:05:06] Speaker 4: And all the moments that become lifelong birthdays. You look forward to watching them grow and seeing the person they've become. For Jay, for K, those possibilities were taken away before you ever had the chance to experience them. Instead of celebrating his milestones, we're left mourning the milestones that were never been. Instead of watching him grow, we're left wondering when we were defeated. Instead of making memories with him, we're left holding on to the few moments we had with him before his funeral. He had a special heartbreak. And knowing that a child who should have had an entire lifetime of death, he'll never get a death. The loss in pain that changed our family forever. Grief does not end when the funeral is over. It does not disappear simply because time passes. It follows each of us into our everyday lives. come to face the gatherings. [00:06:05] Speaker ?: And in the moments come to remind him of the precious baby boy who should be here with us. We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. And in the moment come to remind him of the precious baby boy who should be here with us. [00:06:05] Speaker 4: We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. we must live with an infamous that should never have existed. And in the moment come to remind him of the precious baby boy who should be here with us. We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. [00:06:20] Speaker ?: We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. [00:06:20] Speaker 4: We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. [00:06:21] Speaker ?: We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. [00:06:22] Speaker 4: We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. One of the hardest parts of this loss is knowing that Cain cannot speak for himself. We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. [00:06:29] Speaker ?: We must learn to live with an infamous that should never have existed. [00:06:30] Speaker 4: One of the hardest parts of this loss is knowing that Cain cannot speak for himself. He cannot tell this court what happened to him. He cannot ask the justice for the Lord. He cannot ask the justice for the Lord. or explain the life he should have for the last year. That is why I am standing here before you today. I am speaking not only as a grieving grandparent, but as someone who holds Cain's life in the circumstances of his death to be taken with the utmost consideration. I ask that accountability be at the center of this sentencing. No sentence can undo what happened. Take away our pain, forgive him, but life in the future he deserves. But the fact that nothing can bring Cain back does not mean that accountability matters any less. The loss of his life deserves to be recognized with the seriousness that it warrants. Cain deserved a chance at life. He deserved protection, unconditional love, and opportunity to grow and flourish. His life was not insignificant because he was a newborn. His age does not make her grief less painful, and the shortness of his life does not make his loss any less devastating. I know that when I leave this courtroom, I will still be a grandparent grieving the grandson that my family and I should have had more time with him. We will still have a healthy place for him. We will still have questions, heartbreak, and a future that looks different from the one that we've imagined. I cannot change what happened to Cain, but I'm here today to make sure that his name is spoken, his life is acknowledged, and the loss of his life is not reduced. Cain deserves to be remembered. Cain deserves to be remembered. Cain deserves to be remembered. Cain deserves to be remembered. Thank you. Thank you. [00:08:49] Speaker 1: Can I understand you brought the pictures? Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Cain deserves to be remembered. [00:08:53] Speaker ?: Thank you. [00:08:54] Speaker 4: Can I understand you brought the pictures? [00:08:55] Speaker ?: Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. And this is our day. [00:08:57] Speaker 1: Yes, ma'am. And this is our day. You're welcome. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Did anyone else want to say anything? Yes, ma'am. [00:09:06] Speaker 5: I didn't come here with the intent to judge or condemn. I just wanted to kind of explain what this tragic situation has done to me and my family. Cain would have been my firstborn baby. And going through the last year and two months, almost two months, has been devastating. Not only for me, but for my family. Having to wonder, essentially, what's going to become of your son when devastation kicks in. Or when he decides to start a family. If it's going to affect him in ways that he could never imagine. As my son, that worries me. Knowing that other people speak about their grandchildren and the amazing experiences they have. And the only experience that we were able to get from this was burying Cain. Picking out his outfit to bury him in. Giving him a kiss before we buried him. For his first birthday, we didn't celebrate. We had to go have a memorial at his grave site. [00:10:34] Speaker 1: It's hard. I mean, I understand that. There is no, it's just a tragedy. It's just a tragedy. And hopefully, we can start to heal. You know, come to that. I appreciate you all being in the comments you shared. Yes. [00:10:54] Speaker 5: Essentially, I just would like to say this. Despite everything that's happened, not even receiving a sorry has made a big difference. Like Robin said, Cain will always be remembered because he had family that wanted him. Family that loved him. And family that looked forward to taking him in with love and doing things that we should have been able to do. Granted to do. Granted to do. So, this was a, again, it was a tragedy. And it's just, it's not fair. So, saying all that to say, I hope that accountability is taken. And I hope that consequences are rendered. And I hope that, I hope that we can feel that justice has been served to some extent. Thank you. [00:12:01] Speaker 6: And tell me who you are, ma'am. My name is Allison. And I'm Isaiah's sister. Okay. There were no diapers, no wipes, no clothes, no bottles, no passes, and no prenatal care. No plans to keep him. Cain's innocent life taken for selfish reasons. What those may have been, we will never know. Knowing the family that we are, we would have taken him with zero questions. And we could have just went about your life however you planned. Cain's life does exist. His life matters to us. The constant little reminders will be proof of that. We have been so silent for so long. And now it's finally our time to stand up and be a voice for Cain. A lifetime of memories that we should have been making with him. Celebrating his first birthday, his first word, his first smile, and laugh. But no, we do not get that. We will always have questions that we will continue to ask ourselves that we will never get answers to. Instead, we have to go to this grave and continue to grieve this unimaginable loss every single day. Our family has suffered and continues to suffer daily since we got the news about Cain on 8/27/2025. The day he was born alive and perfect and also the day he was murdered. Cain didn't deserve this and he should still be here. We never even knew about Cain until he was already gone, over a year's worth of reading article after article, everyone saying someone's name, but not the most important name of all, which is Cain. The slander of all the things said about my brother and yet he has stayed quiet for his son. The pain he has to live with, that we all have to live without the most beautiful boy here. The impudence without Cain to appear with us is unfathomable. We love Cain and miss him every single day. We will continue to make his grave so incredibly beautiful to show he is loved and cared for. If only we had gotten to show him all the love and care while he was alive. Our family will continue to be together to be a voice for Cain. He was not garbage. He was the most beautiful, perfect, innocent, full-term baby boy. We love and miss him. [00:14:19] Speaker 1: Thank you all so much for expressing your opinions and your grief. It's obvious. It's obvious. Thank you. It's, um, Snowy, you're 22 years old, is that correct? You don't have any trial and you've filled with a contract report. You've got 415 custody credit, that is, at the title of this report, coming from house arrest. Um, you're single, you have worked for one child, but you technically just have never had a child. Um, you completed, or did you complete the third year of college? Or did you end the third year of college? I completed the third year of college. You're completed. You're unemployed. You're still unemployed. Um, you were raised in a pretty stable home. You know, you indicated your mom was strict. You had some expectations to lose. You know, you're so strict. You know, your mother ended up living with her father. You can't get the mom. And that your, um, father, early on, had some substance issues, put some prescriptions. But, you know, that passed, and your parents ultimately divorced. But, you know, a decision that you've made is a decision made by you. It really has nothing to do with the home you were raised in, you know. And sometimes we make choices and decisions, and there's a consequence for each of us. You know what I mean? 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 the case, you know, biological, paternal side. You know, there's a whole lot of people whose lives have been affected and has been turned inside out based on the choice that you made. Um, your, and you named the baby. Is it McCoy? It's McCoy. McCoy. McCoy. Hall? Yes. Father's last name? Yes. Yes. And, um, you have a great relationship with your family. You haven't really had any mental or physical issues. Um, you now have some depression and things like that that you're dealing with. And you're on some medications that you've dealt with that. Um, and some anxiety. You see your therapist. Um, you grew up without any real issues of suicide. But since this whole incident occurred, you indicated that you had some thoughts of suicide yourself. Yes. And, um, you haven't had any issues with substance or anything like that. You're low risk. But based on the nature of this charge, you're not even coagulation eligible to be considered. You know? This is a primal balance. This is a crime that, um, took the life, you know, of a baby innocent. That has no, you know, did nothing. You know? Did nothing but come out and grew. And that's it. And so, um, you pled guilty to the Commonwealth's recommendation. Um, ten years on count one. One year abuse of a corpse on count two. And one year, um, um, count three tampering with fiscal evidence. And twelve months on concerning the birth of the name sentence. Um, I'm gonna run these all concurrently for a total sentence of one year for ten years. In order that you serve the ten years in custody of the Department of Justice. You know? So you will be remanded into custody today to begin your service. And, you know, you're gonna have a lot of time. You know? You're young. You're 22 years old. You're gonna have a lot of life. This family's okay. It's gonna have a lot of life ahead of you. And, um, but this whole thing will never get to go away. This loneliness, this, this, this, this, this, this, just, demand. It's in here. It's pitting your stomach. It's never going to go away. You're gonna have to find ways to live. And all of that's only gonna come back out. You know? To figure out how to go. Move on. And I wish you the best. And I wish you the best. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It's 10 years. [00:18:48] Speaker 2: Thank you. [00:18:49] Speaker 1: Thank you. [00:18:50] Speaker ?: Thank you. [00:18:51] Speaker 2: Thank you. [00:18:52] Speaker ?: All right, let's go now. Thank you.