The mystery surrounding 18-year-old cruise ship death victim Anna Kepner has now collided head-on with a bitter Florida custody battle — and her stepmother is refusing to say a word.

Shauntel Hudson, who was aboard the Carnival Horizon when Anna’s body was discovered stuffed under a bed on Nov. 8, has told a Florida court she intends to invoke the Fifth Amendment rather than testify in a hearing involving her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson.

And the reason she gives is explosive:
One of the minor children — Anna’s own stepsibling — could face criminal charges in her death.

The revelation landed in a Brevard County courtroom this week, where Thomas filed an emergency motion accusing his ex-wife of placing their 16-year-old “in jeopardy” through her decisions leading up to and during the cruise.

“The sixteen-year-old child is now a suspect in the death of the stepchild during the cruise,” Thomas wrote in filings. He argued Shauntel’s judgment — and the environment she provided — had left the teen staring down the possibility of life-altering criminal exposure.

In her response, Shauntel didn’t dispute that investigators are circling around one of the children. Instead, she warned that a criminal case “may be initiated” and asked the court to postpone the custody hearing entirely, saying it would be reckless to require testimony while the FBI probe is underway.

Most notably, she stated outright that she will invoke her constitutional right against self-incrimination, arguing that anything she says could harm either herself or her child as federal agents continue digging.

Her message to the court was clear:
There is more to this story — and she’s not talking.

Kepner’s death has haunted investigators since early November, when she vanished after telling relatives she wasn’t feeling well. Hours later, the 18-year-old was discovered dead under a bed in her cabin as the ship sailed in international waters. The FBI — the agency with jurisdiction over crimes committed at sea — immediately launched a criminal investigation.

Anna had been traveling with her father, stepmother, and her three step-siblings, according to CBS News. No arrests have been made, and federal agents have not publicly named a suspect. But the disclosure in the custody dispute marks the first time anyone connected to the case has acknowledged that suspicion is pointed at someone inside the family circle.

For Thomas Hudson, the silence is unacceptable.

He told the court the circumstances aboard the ship — and Shauntel’s decision-making — have placed his teenage child’s future in peril. Shauntel, meanwhile, insists that speaking now would only jeopardize the ongoing investigation.