A Florida cheerleader was found asphyxiated under a bed on a Carnival Cruise ship inside a room she was sharing with her stepbrother, according to a new legal filing in a separate case.
Anna Kepner, 18, died on the Carnival Horizon cruise ship on Nov. 7 while on vacation with her family.
The cruise ship returned to PortMiami the next day, as was planned, Carnival said in a statement at the time, which added that the cruise line was assisting the FBI Miami with the investigation.
A document filed Tuesday in Brevard County, Florida, in a separate case relating to Kepner’s stepmother’s past marriage claims that the stepmother, Shauntel Hudson, took her two children on the cruise without the consent of their father, Thomas Hudson.
The document claims Shauntel Hudson failed to properly supervise her son, identified by the initials T.H., and allowed T.H. and Kepner, referred to as “her husband’s 18-year-old daughter,” to share a room together.
“The 18-year-old daughter was found asphyxiated under the bed in the room which she shared with TH,” the document states. “The actions of the unsupervised TH are currently under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
ANNA KEPNER DEATH
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office hasn’t provided Kepner’s cause and manner of death, but said information related to her death is “part of an ongoing investigation or criminal proceeding.”
The FBI confirmed in a statement at the time that it had responded to the docked cruise ship in Miami and was leading the investigation into Kepner’s death but has released few other details.
Carnival has said it is cooperating with authorities in the investigation and that there is no further threat aboard the Carnival Horizon.
Another court document related to Shauntel Hudson’s past marriage, filed last month, said the 16-year-old stepbrother was a suspect in Kepner’s death.
Court documents revealed that Kepner and her father, as well as at least one of her biological siblings, a brother, were on the cruise, along with Kepner’s stepmother, her son (the suspect), and another of her minor children.
On Friday, Shauntel Hudson testified during a custody hearing in Viera, Florida, where she was asked if Kepner was given the option of staying in another room.
“All three of the kids were,” she responded.
She also confirmed that the 16-year-old is a suspect in the death and is not coming back to their home.
“At this time no. Not with the FBI investigation,” Hudson said.
Kepner, a high school senior from central Florida, was remembered in her obituary as a bubbly, outgoing and reliable teen who was always true to herself. She dreamed of becoming a cheerleader for the University of Georgia and “loved her siblings deeply,” the obituary said.
