What happened between Anna Kepner and her stepbrother the night before her death on Carnival Cruise? Deceased teen’s ex-boyfriend’s claims explored

Anna Kepner’s ex-boyfriend recently claimed that her stepbrother “screamed at her & threw chairs in violent row” the night before she died on the Carnival Horizon ship.

What happened between Anna Kepner and her stepbrother the night before her death on Carnival Cruise? (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Anna Kepner’s ex-boyfriend recently claimed that the high school cheerleader had a dispute with her stepbrother on the night of November 7, the day before her body was found on the Carnival Horizon ship.

For those unversed, Anna’s body was found by a housekeeper on November 8, under the bed in her stateroom, wrapped in a blanket and covered in vests as her family’s six-day cruise was ending, per The U.S. Sun.

Speaking to Inside Edition following Anna’s funeral on Thursday, Anna’s ex-boyfriend, Joshua Tew, claimed that she would often sleep over at her friend’s home because she was afraid of her stepbrother, who is under suspicion for her death, according to NBC News.

“She told me that she was uncomfortable with them being at the house because she didn’t fully know who they were,” he added.

Tew, who had broken up with Anna six months before her death, also claimed that the youngest sibling on the crew allegedly heard Anna’s stepbrother “yelling at her in a harmful way, like, ‘Shut the hell up.'”

The same sibling allegedly told Tew that he heard “yelling and chairs being thrown in the cabin” and felt that “something was going on.”

“Something was banging around, like chairs were getting thrown around in the room,” Tew said.

Tew also alleged that Anna’s 16-year-old stepbrother had been sexually harassing her, claiming that once during a FaceTime call, the stepbrother attempted to climb into bed with Anna. He also alleged that Anna was “scared to tell anybody because she was scared that he would do something to her.” Describing Anna as a “great woman,” Tew further revealed that they met in school.

“It’s been pretty hard. She was my first love. She was the greatest thing ever,” he added.

Anna’s death is under investigation by the FBI.

Anna Kepner’s cause of death revealed

According to sources close to the investigation, ABC News reported on November 22, 2025, that Anna Kepner’s cause of death was asphyxiation, resulting from a bar hold. The sources further stated that investigators found two bruises on the side of her neck. Preliminary findings also indicated there were no signs of sexual assault, and it appeared that there were no drugs or alcohol in Kepner’s system at the time of her death.

According to sources cited by the outlet, preliminary findings also indicated that there were no signs of sexual assault and that there were no traces of drugs and alcohol in the 18-year-old cheerleader’s system at the time of her death.

However, Anna’s full autopsy and toxicology reports have not been made public.

According to CBS News, Anna, who was present on the cruise ship with her father, his wife and two step-siblings, went to bed early the night before her death, telling her family she was tired.