Anna Kepner’s stepbrother has been indicted on federal charges months after the 18-year-old cheerleader was found dead during a family vacation on a Carnival cruise ship.
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The 16-year-old stepbrother is facing federal charges of murder and aggravated sexual abuse, according to a statement Monday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Court documents show the motion in the case was initially filed Feb. 2 under seal, but the case was transferred to adult prosecution and unsealed Friday.
The press release refers to him only as T.H., and that is also how he is referred to in the court documents. He has been released into the custody of a guardian, but not his parents, according to court documents.
Lawyers for T.H. did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Anna Kepner was found dead Nov. 7 while vacationing with her family on a Carnival Horizon cruise ship. The cruise ship returned to the Port of Miami the next day, as planned, Carnival said in a statement at the time.
The press release says that while in international waters en route to Miami, “T.H. allegedly sexually assaulted and intentionally killed Kepner.” The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office determined Kepner’s cause of death was “mechanical asphyxiation.”
“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family during this unimaginable loss,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones, who represents the Southern District of Florida. “A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging serious offenses that allegedly occurred aboard a vessel in international waters
Chris Kepner, Anna Kepner’s father and T.H.’s stepfather, told NBC News on Monday that “justice needs to be served.”
“That is where the family stands,” he continued, noting that T.H. should be in custody.
He previously said in a statement to NBC News that the loss of his daughter is “a pain that will never fully heal” and that his family believes in “accountability and in the importance of justice being carried out.”
“Our daughter’s life matters, and we will continue to speak out to honor her, to seek accountability, and to ensure that her case is not forgotten,” Chris Kepner said, adding that he is grateful to the FBI, which is leading the investigation, and that the family was advised by the agency “to remain quiet” about the case.
An attorney for T.H.’s mother, Shauntel Hudson Kepner, declined to comment. An attorney for T.H.’s father did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Anna Kepner’s mother did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Court filings in the custody battle of the stepbrother’s parents revealed in November that he was being investigated as a suspect in the case. Shauntel Hudson Kepner said in a court appearance related to the case that their son was hospitalized shortly after the cruise ship’s Nov. 8 return to Miami.
Chris Kepner and Shauntel Hudson Kepner were married in December 2024.
In an obituary, Anna Kepner was remembered as a bubbly high school senior who dreamed of continuing cheerleading at the University of Georgia. She was described as an outgoing and reliable teenager who “loved her siblings deeply.”
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