A minor may face criminal charges tied to a mysterious death aboard the Carnival Horizon earlier this month, according to a new family court filing cited by ABC News.
The document, filed Monday in an unrelated custody case, says federal investigators are examining the sudden death of 18-year-old cheerleader Anna Kepner and have warned that one of her step-siblings could be implicated.
Kepner, of Titusville, Florida, was found dead on November 8 during a Miami-to-Caribbean cruise. The ship returned to Miami the same day. The Miami-Dade medical examiner has not released a cause or manner of death. According to the filing, the FBI is conducting an investigation “arising out of the sudden death of 18 year old Anna Kepner.”
The filing came from Shauntel Hudson, Kepner’s stepmother, who was on the trip with her children and Kepner’s father. Hudson asked the court to postpone a custody hearing because, she said, one of her minor children could face prosecution.
“The Respondent has been advised through discussions with FBI investigators and her attorneys, that a criminal case may be initiated against one of the minor children of this instant action,” the filing reads.
It adds that testifying could be “prejudicial to her or her adolescent child in this pending criminal investigation.”
In a statement after the death, Carnival Cruise Line said, “Our focus is on supporting the family of our guest and cooperating with the FBI.”
Kepner’s father, Christopher Kepner, previously told the Daily Mail, “We were there as a family. Everybody was questioned.” He said Anna told relatives she felt sick the night before and returned to her cabin during dinner. By morning, she was missing from the 4,000-passenger ship.
Sources who spoke to the Daily Mail said the straight-A student was allegedly found under her bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered with life jackets. A maid reportedly discovered her while servicing the cabin.
The post Step-Sibling of Cheerleader, 18, May Face Charges After Mysterious Cruise Ship Death appeared first on The Daily Beast.
