Federal investigators may be preparing criminal charges against the stepsibling of an 18-year-old cheerleader who was found dead aboard a Carnival cruise ship earlier this month, according to a newly surfaced court filing connected to the family.
Anna Kepner died on November 7 during a six-day Caribbean cruise that departed from Miami. Her death, already the subject of an FBI investigation, drew wider attention after reports suggested her body had been concealed inside the cabin — wrapped in a blanket, covered in life jackets, and pushed beneath a bed before being discovered by a housekeeper.
Now, documents filed in a separate family case hint that the investigation may be turning toward one of the teenager’s own stepsiblings.
CBS News reviewed a motion filed by an attorney representing Kepner’s stepmother, Shauntel Hudson. In it, the attorney writes that a “criminal case may be initiated” by the FBI against one of Hudson’s children. The filing goes on to say that Hudson cannot testify in the unrelated proceeding because doing so “could be prejudicial to her or her adolescent child in this pending criminal investigation.”
The filing does not identify the stepsibling under scrutiny, nor does it specify what potential charges might involve. But the reference signals a significant development in a case that has remained largely opaque since Kepner’s death.
Few official details about how the teenager died have been released. The Miami-Dade medical examiner has completed an autopsy, according to Florida Today, but those findings have not been made public. Carnival Cruises confirmed it is cooperating with federal authorities, who hold jurisdiction because Kepner was a U.S. citizen and died in international waters.
Kepner was last seen alive the night before her body was found. According to the Daily Mail, she left a family dinner early, telling relatives she felt sick, and returned alone to her cabin. When the family gathered for breakfast the next morning, she did not show. Crew members and family began searching the ship, and a housekeeper eventually found her body around 11 a.m.
Her father, Christopher Kepner, told reporters earlier this month that the family is still trying to process what happened. “I have no idea what is going on right now,” he said. “We are just trying to sit still and wait for answers.”
Those close to the teenager described her as warm and energetic — a varsity cheerleader, gymnast, and devoted classmate at Temple Christian School in Titusville. She hoped to join the military next year and dreamed of one day becoming a K-9 police officer. “She was full of life and loved by everyone in this community,” her father said. “The whole family is lost for words. We miss her and love her more than anything.”
As federal investigators continue to examine what unfolded aboard the Carnival Horizon, the new court filing marks the first indication that a close family member may be implicated. The FBI has not commented publicly on the filing or confirmed whether charges are imminent.
