Key Elements:
- New textual content messages between the mother and father of Anna Kepner’s step-brother have been launched.
- The 16-year-old step-sibling is the prime suspect in her loss of life onboard Carnival Horizon, however no arrests have been made.
- The mother and father tried to maintain issues quiet and stop their son from winding up within the highlight.
A custody battle between Anna Kepner’s stepmom and her ex-husband has led to some attention-grabbing revelations about how the household responded within the speedy aftermath of the teenager’s loss of life onboard Carnival Horizon.
The Florida teen’s physique was discovered in her stateroom, below a mattress and hidden by life jackets, on November 7, 2025. Her explanation for loss of life was decided to be asphyxiation.
Launched textual content messages between Shauntel Hudson-Kepner (Anna’s stepmom) and her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, present what was going by means of the household’s minds instantly after her physique was discovered.
Their response was considerably stunning, beginning with the truth that Hudson-Kepner waited 32 hours to really inform her ex-husband that Anna had died.
“I want you to name me asap it’s an emergency,” Hudson-Kepner wrote to Hudson on Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m.
This may have been properly after the household had disembarked from the Carnival ship in Miami that morning, so Wi-Fi points at sea or not having a Wi-Fi package deal can’t be used as an excuse.
Launching Into Harm Management
The textual content messages additionally present that the mother and father’ high precedence wasn’t Anna, however relatively to attempt to stop details about her loss of life from being launched in an effort to defend their 16-year-old son.
The step-sibling was sharing a cruise cabin with Anna, together with one other 14-year-old sibling, and is at the moment the prime suspect within the murder.
“OK, I do know all the pieces is meant to be hush hush for now however ive seen that it’s nonetheless getting out with submit and feedback between fb tiktok and stuff,” Hudson texted on Nov. 9 round 10:35 a.m.
“… I simply wish to be sure till issues are sure that he doesn’t get an(y) pointless feedback in direction of him,” Hudson continued.
Hudson-Kepner’s response means that the mother and father knew attainable fees may very well be coming for his or her son, lengthy earlier than it was revealed publicly that he was a suspect.
“He’s a minor so his identify shouldn’t be wherever and after we discuss to the fbi once more we are going to reiterate that we don’t need his identify on the market and all the pieces that’s been posted on tiktok and social media no one is aware of something and all people’s simply speculating,” Hudson-Kepner responded, partially.
“We all know what I instructed you final evening and we’ll know precisely extra when the post-mortem is completed. As soon as we get the post-mortem right this moment, relying on what it says, depend upon whether or not he’s booked on these fees,” Anna’s step-mother continued.
In extra texts, the mother and father additionally agreed that they’d stand by their son, regardless of issues from Hudson-Kepner that supporting him would “jeopardize” her marriage to Anna’s father.
Hudson-Kepner additionally wrote about chatting with her son whereas he was hospitalized for psychiatric analysis, the place he was positioned instantly after disembarking the cruise.
Per her messages, the step-son repeatedly mentioned that he couldn’t keep in mind something from the evening of Anna’s loss of life.
No Arrests Made But
As of the time of publication, no arrest has been made within the Anna Kepner case.
Per court docket filings, the 16-year-old suspect was launched to a different relative following his hospitalization, the place they’re caring for him at an undisclosed location.
At a December 5 custody listening to, Hudson-Kepner’s lawyer, Millicent Athanason, strongly implied that fees would very seemingly be filed quickly.
The lawyer urged that the delay may very well be associated to a debate on if the FBI will hand over the case to native or state authorities, however the FBI has not confirmed this.
At this charge, any prison proceedings seemingly received’t unfold till after the vacations, however hopefully Anna will get justice within the new yr.
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