The stepbrother of Anna Kepner, a Florida teenager who wasfound dead aboard a Carnival Cruise Line shipin November, is being charged with first-degree murder, according to the teen's mother.
Kepner, an 18-year-old cheerleader from Titusville, a coastal city near the John F. Kennedy Space Center, died while on a cruise on Carnival Horizon. Her body was found under a bed on Nov. 7 by a person cleaning the cabin she sharedwith her stepbrother and another sibling.
The ship returned to Port Miami on Nov. 8 when Kepner's body was taken to the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's Department. Her death was ruled a homicide and several media outlets, includingABC News and People.com, reported that the medical examiner determined Kepner died as a result of mechanical asphyxiation.
Kepner's mother, Heather Wright, said in a post on TikTok on Friday, Feb. 6, that the teen's stepbrother was being charged with first-degree murder, according to Florida Today, part of the USA TODAY Network. Court documents and family statements previously revealed that the 16-year-old was beinginvestigated as a suspectin connection to Kepner's death.
"They are going to charge ... her 16-year-old stepbrother with first-degree murder and there are going to be some other charges brought, but I'm not sure what they are yet. Until they tell me, I don't know more," Wright said in theTikTok video.
Kepner's father, Chris Kepner, also confirmed toABC Newsthat the teen's stepbrother had been arrested and charged. The stepbrother was released to the custody of a guardian, ABC News reported.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it is investigating the case, however, they have not released any information about potential suspects. The FBI did not return Florida Today's call seeking comment.
A teen died during Carnival cruise.What happens in those cases?
Anna Kepner's stepbrother appears in Miami court
Kepner's stepbrotherappeared before a federal magistrateon Friday, Feb. 6, with public defenders, prosecutors and U.S. Marshals,according to WTVJ-TV.
The docket for the judge was sealed and any charges the teen may face have not been officially released. After the teen appeared before a federal judge, he was seen walking to another courthouse and into a probation office where defendants are processed for pretrial release, according to the local news station.
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Court records connected to a family custody dispute include detailed discussions of the stepbrother's possible involvement with Kepner's death.The boy's stepmother is engaged in a custody disputewith the boy's father, whom she divorced in 2023.
In a court filing, she said she had been warned that her 16-year-old son was being investigated for possibly being involved in the death and charges could be pending.
Court documents also showed that the stepbrother was taken to a facility following the cruise, where he stayed for an undetermined amount of time. He then went to live with a relative in another part of Florida, where his mother said in a court hearing that he was undergoing therapy.
What happened to Anna Kepner?Stepbrother named suspect in cruise ship death.
Who was Anna Kepner?
Kepner, an "A" student at Temple Christian School in Titusville, about 50 miles east of Orlando, was described by family and friends as "pure energy: bubbly, funny, outgoing."
She received her boater's license before she could drive and had plans to join the U.S. Navy after her high school graduation next year, with long-term plans to become a K9 officer. A lifelong gymnast, Kepner was active on her school's cheerleading team.
Hundreds of people showed up for her celebration of life on Nov. 20. In the days after her death, loved ones turned her car into a makeshift memorial with flowers, balloons and messages.
In her obituary, Kepner's family called her"Anna Banana" and "sunshine."They said she loved doing her makeup, making TikTok videos and spending time with her grandparents.
She also spent a lot of time with her siblings, taking them to the park or out for Halloween Horror Nights, her family wrote in the obituary. Kepner was known to send sweet messages, reminding those around her that she loved them, her family said.
Contributing: Saleen Martin, USA TODAY; J.D. Gallop, Florida Today
This article originally appeared on Florida Today:Stepbrother charged after teen's death on Carnival Cruise, family says
