The 16-year-old stepbrother of a Florida teenager found dead aboard a Carnival cruise ship this month has been identified as a suspect in her death.
Anna Kepner, an 18-year-old from Titusville, was found dead under a bed on the Carnival Horizon on 8 November, wrapped in a blanket and covered by life vests, ABC News reported. Preliminary findings indicate she died of asphyxiation from a bar hold – an arm across the neck – with investigators noting two bruises on the side of her neck. A final autopsy and toxicology report are still pending.
The high school cheerleader had reportedly been sharing a stateroom with her stepbrother during the family trip, which included her father, stepmother and two step-siblings. The boy was allegedly allowed to drink while the ship was in international waters, according to an attorney involved in a separate custody dispute.
He was taken to the hospital after the ship docked in Miami.
Neither the FBI nor Carnival has said publicly how Kepner died, whether a crime occurred or what led agents to focus on the teen.
Carnival Cruise Line is cooperating with the Miami office of the FBI on an investigation of the death of a guest on the Carnival Horizon ship, a statement to CBS News Miami said.
“Our focus is on supporting the family of our guest and cooperating with the FBI,” Carnival Cruise Line said.
The disclosures about the teen’s possible involvement surfaced during a family court hearing involving his parents, Shauntel Hudson and her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, according to News 6 WKMG. Both parents acknowledged in court filings that their middle child, identified only as “TH”, is under FBI investigation in connection with Kepner’s death.
Shauntel Hudson has since asked the court to delay a custody hearing. The parents also agreed to have the boy temporarily live with a relative.
The case has drawn further attention after Kepner’s biological mother, Heather Wright, said she learned of her daughter’s death only through Google searches.
“I ended up Googling it, because the only information I had was that my daughter was on a cruise,” Wright said, according to CNN.
Kepner, who was expected to graduate high school next year, was memorialized Thursday at a church in Titusville, where the hundreds of mourners who attended were encouraged to wear bright colors “in honor of Anna’s bright and beautiful soul”.
