Key Elements:
- Anna Kepner’s loss of life has formally been dominated a murder on her loss of life certificates.
- It lists the reason for loss of life as “mechanical asphyxia.”
- Kepner’s step-brother is at the moment a suspect, however her grandparents have spoken out to say that the step-sibling was devastated by her loss of life.
Following weeks of investigating and ready for solutions, Anna Kepner’s latest loss of life onboard Carnival Horizon is formally labeled as a murder.
The 18-year-old’s loss of life certificates, which was issued on Monday, November 24, 2025, and supplied to ABC Information by the household, lists the way of loss of life as “mechanical asphyxia.”
Simply days in the past, a supply near the investigation had shared that the Florida teen had died attributable to asphyxiation from a bar maintain.
This aligns with the trigger on the formal loss of life certificates, which states that Kepner “was mechanically asphyxiated by different individual(s).”
Moreover, the date of harm is now listed as November 6, 2025, with the time of loss of life unknown.
Beforehand, the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner had listed the time of loss of life as 11:17 a.m. on Friday, November 7, 2025. It will seemingly now be revised, if it hasn’t been already.
Kepner’s physique was discovered on November 7, hidden below a mattress in her cruise cabin, coated with a sheet and life jackets.
When the Carnival ship arrived in PortMiami, FBI brokers have been ready to start their investigation.
Even now, that is nonetheless a growing state of affairs. Further components just like the post-mortem and toxicology reviews haven’t but been launched.
No Arrests Have Been Made
Though Kepner’s loss of life has formally been dominated a murder, her killer has not but been arrested.
As of the time of this publication, no prices have been filed.
That mentioned, courtroom filings present that authorities have been Kepner’s 16-year-old step-brother as a potential suspect, who was sharing a cruise cabin with the deceased.
Kepner’s stepmom, Shauntel Hudson, had requested to delay custody proceedings together with her ex-husband as a result of “a felony case could also be initiated” in opposition to one among her youngsters.
At the least within the public eye, suspicion across the step-sibling has elevated in response to safety footage.
Though the footage has not been publicly launched, it supposedly exhibits that the step-brother entered the cruise cabin shortly after Kepner was final seen alive and didn’t emerge once more that evening.
In the meantime, Kepner’s different sibling was captured coming into the room briefly, and venturing again out to discover the ship and take photos.
Kepner’s Grandparents Communicate Out
The step-sibling has acquired fairly a little bit of backlash from the media and public, and understandably so.
Nevertheless, Kepner’s grandparents, who have been additionally on the cruise, might have a special perspective.
In an unique interview with ABC Information, Jeffrey and Barbara Kepner painted the image of a blended, however tight-knit household.
Barbara mentioned that Anna and her step-brother have been shut and acquired alongside effectively, describing the duo as having been “two peas in a pod.”
The grandparents mentioned that the step-siblings volunteered to remain in the identical cabin collectively, however knew that they’d the choice to stick with the remainder of the household if any disagreements occurred.
“The 2 youthful women stayed with the dad and mom after which the three youngsters, they determined amongst themselves they needed to remain within the room collectively,” Barbara mentioned.
“However we had a bigger room and we made it very clear that at any time in the event that they weren’t getting alongside, they didn’t wish to be collectively, we had an additional mattress in our room that they may come to,” the grandmother continued.
Per the grandparents, the step-brother was devastated upon studying in regards to the cheerleader’s loss of life.
“He was an emotional mess. He couldn’t even converse. He couldn’t imagine what had occurred,” Barbara recounted.
She went on to clarify that the step-brother was so distraught that he needed to be hospitalized for psychiatric commentary after the Carnival ship returned to Miami.
He has since been launched to the care of one other relative at an undisclosed location.
For now, the investigation continues. The household and onlookers alike should proceed to attend for concrete solutions about what actually occurred to poor Anna Kepner.
Household Speaks Out As Cruise Loss of life Formally Dominated a Murder
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