Anna Kepner’s 16-year-old stepbrother has been charged with her murder, according to a new report.
Florida cheerleader Kepner, 18, died after being strangled in a bar hold and a cleaning crew found her lifeless body under the bed in the room she was sharing with her stepbrother on board the Carnival Horizon vessel in November last year.
The boy, who reportedly had a twisted obsession with the high school senior, was eyed as a suspect and he has now been charged, according to court documents filed by lawyers representing his biological dad Thomas Hudson, first seen by WESH.
The court docs are linked to a custody dispute between Hudson and – his ex-wife Shauntel Kepner.
In the papers, Hudson asks for sole custody of Kepner’s step-sibling – who has been living with her dad, Chris, and Shauntel, since the cruise ship death.
“According to social media from the Kepner family, on Feb. 3, 2026, the petitioner/father’s son was charged by the United States Attorney in the Southern District for Florida for… and homicide of Anna Kepner,” the doc filed last Friday says.
“Immediately after the cruise, the respondent/mother and Chris Kepner expelled [the minor ] from their household and neither has seen [the minor] since then.
“Social media from the Kepner family has indicated that they want the ‘nails in the coffin’ of [the minor] and that both the Kepner family and the Respondent ‘want him buried,” according to the document.
The FBI hasn’t formally named Kepner’s stepbrother a suspect and there is a case against the boy under seal, according to CBS News.
Earlier this month, he appeared before a federal judge in Miami and was seen donning a camouflage zip-up as he walked to another courthouse. He was then processed for pre-trial release.
Kepner’s body was found wrapped in a blanket and covered with life vests after she was killed.
Krystal Wright, her aunt, said she “fought for her life” in her final moments, as reported by the Fox affiliate WOFL.
Kepner’s younger biological brother reportedly heard yelling and chairs being thrown in the room she was sharing with her stepbrother.
“He heard [the stepbrother] yelling at her in a harmful way of like ‘shut the hell up’ and stuff like that and that’s when [the brother] knew there was something going on,” Kepner’s ex-boyfriend Joshua Tew told Inside Edition last year, recalling the harrowing moments.
Kepner’s younger brother ended up sleeping just feet away from his sister’s lifeless body before she was found.
Kepner, who was set to graduate high school this year and had aspirations of joining the Navy, was last seen alive at a family dinner on Nov. 6 – the day before she died in international waters – and went back to her room because she was feeling unwell.
Carnival Cruise Line previously said it is cooperating in the law enforcement investigation.
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