The high schooler’s obituary has now been posted online
THE tragic death of cruise ship victim Anna Kepner has been “unimaginable,” her grief-stricken family has said.
They have paid tribute to the “beautiful big-hearted” girl, 18, after she mysteriously died while on the $800 million Carnival Horizon vessel.
The teen died while on board the Carnival Horizon cruise ship on November 7, 2025Credit: Getty
Shauntel Kepner and Chris Kepner, her dad, have spoken of their heartbreak following the death of Anna Kepner, 18Credit: Facebook/Shauntel Kepner
The family of 18-year-old Anna Kepner said they will remember her as a happy, bubbly, straight-A studentCredit: TikTok/@fl.anna18
The funeral details for Anna Marie Kepner have now been posted online by North Brevard Funeral Home.
One of her distressed relatives, Shauntel Kepner, of Titusville in Florida, shared a heartbreaking link to the poignant obituary.
“This is something I never imagined I’d have to post,” Shauntel said on Facebook.
“Anna Marie, I love you so much. This world will never be the same without you.”
She previously said the family will not comment further to the media, after conducting one interview with ABC News.
The senior year student, who had ambitions to join the military after graduation, was found dead on a Carnival Horizon vessel.
The teen tragically died on board the vessel that departed Miami and was heading to the Caribbean.
In the obituary, Anna was remembered as “our sunshine, our baby girl.”
It added, “At just 18 years old, she filled the world with laughter, love, and light that reached everyone around her.
“Anna was pure energy: bubbly, funny, outgoing, and completely herself.
“She never had a filter, and that was part of her charm.
“Whether she was practicing new makeup looks, making TikToks in front of the mirror, or blasting a perfectly curated playlist on the boat, Anna lived every day with her whole heart.”
The obituary added that Anna “had a big, beautiful heart, often sending random ‘I love you’ messages or little gestures that made someone’s day.
“Anna loved kids, dolphins, butterflies, arts and crafts, and doing puzzles with her Memaw.
Anna Marie Kepner’s heartbreaking obituary
A celebration of the 18-year-old’s life is being held on November 20
Here is more of the poignant obituary, following the tragic death of the teen on November 7 on board the Carnival Horizon.
“Anna loved all kinds of music (except heavy metal) and had a soft spot for Shawn Mendes.
“She was also incredibly determined and hardworking; reliable, responsible, and always willing to help.
“She supported many local businesses when they needed an extra hand and had big dreams for her future.
“She planned to join the U.S. Navy after graduation and later become a K9 police officer.
“Her love for sports and team spirit shone through every part of her life.
“A Georgia Bulldogs fan through and through, just like her family. Anna dreamed of one day becoming a cheerleader for the Bulldogs.”
Source: North Brevard Funeral Home
“She was also incredibly determined and hardworking; reliable, responsible, and always willing to help.
“She supported many local businesses when they needed an extra hand and had big dreams for her future.”
FAVORITE COLOR
A celebration of Anna’s life will be held on Thursday, November 20, at 5 pm at the Grove Church in Titusville.
The family has requested that “no one wears black” to the celebration.
“Please wear colors in honor of Anna’s bright and beautiful soul. Her favorite color was blue,” they said.
The FBI hasn’t shared anything with me yet
The FBI has been leading the investigation into her mysterious death as she passed away in international waters.
Her body was removed from the ship on November 8 during a six-day cruise after the Carnival Horizon docked in Miami, after it changed its course.
The cause of death remains unknown, but Miami-Dade investigators confirmed her date of death as November 7.
The FBI’s probe into her passing is “very complex — it falls under what’s called special maritime jurisdiction laws that mandate this,” ex-special agent Nicole Parker told Fox News Digital.
The ship’s location was between Cozumel, Mexico, and Miami at the time of her death.
MYSTERY
Anna’s dad, Christopher Kepner, 41, said his family is still confused about the cause of death.
“The FBI hasn’t shared anything with me yet,” he told the Daily Mail last Wednesday.
“I would imagine they’re going to be in contact with me about it – but I know as little as everybody else.”
Her father also said that everybody who “came off that ship” had been “questioned.”
“I don’t know who they are looking at or what their investigation is,” Christopher added.
Anna Kepner was declared dead in international watersCredit: facebook/@amber.donohue.842620
Her cause of death remains unknown, but Miami-Dade investigators confirmed her date of death was November 7Credit: Kepner Familya
In the sun-drenched world of Caribbean cruises, where families chase escape and adventure, tragedy can strike like a rogue wave. For the Kepner family, a six-day voyage aboard the Carnival Horizon from Miami to Mexico and back turned into a nightmare on November 7, when 18-year-old Anna Marie Kepner was found dead in her cabin. The bubbly Florida cheerleader, known to her loved ones as “Anna Banana,” was discovered wrapped in a blanket, stuffed under a bed, and partially concealed with life jackets—details that have transformed a heartbreaking loss into a chilling enigma. Now, a family friend has come forward with an emotional new revelation about Anna’s final hour: a calm, even cheerful phone call to her mother at 9:41 a.m., followed by frantic activity on her phone’s Notes app that leaves investigators and loved ones grasping for answers.
The disclosure, shared exclusively with this outlet amid the ongoing FBI probe, paints a portrait of a young woman caught in a fleeting moment of normalcy before something inexplicable pulled her under. Phone logs, obtained through family channels and corroborated by digital forensics experts, show Anna accessing her iPhone’s Notes app three times in the 20 minutes after the call— at 9:47 a.m., 9:52 a.m., and a final entry at 10:01 a.m. The content of those notes remains sealed, but the timestamp on the last one, clocking in at precisely 10:01:17 a.m., defies explanation. It predates the official time of death—11:17 a.m., as recorded by the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner—by over an hour, yet family members insist the device was untouched after Anna retired to her cabin the night before, complaining of nausea during dinner.
“Who writes notes like that when everything seems fine?” the family friend, who asked to remain anonymous out of respect for the grieving relatives, told us in a tearful interview. “She called her mom sounding so light-hearted, talking about the shows she’d watched the night before and how she couldn’t wait for the next port stop. But then… those apps. It’s like she was documenting something urgent, something she knew she might not get to say out loud.” The friend, a longtime confidante of Anna’s mother, Heather Kepner, revealed the call’s details after reviewing call records shared privately within the family circle. Anna’s voice, described as “cheerful, almost giggly,” contrasted sharply with the distress signals emerging from her digital footprint.
Anna’s story begins far from the high seas, in the coastal town of Titusville, Florida, where the 18-year-old senior at Temple Christian School embodied the spirit of youth and ambition. A straight-A student and varsity cheerleader, Anna was the girl who lit up rooms with her infectious energy—flipping through routines with gymnast’s grace and dreaming big about her future. Friends and teachers remember her as “the definition of joyful,” always organizing pep rallies or volunteering at local events. Her obituary, published just days after her death, captured this essence: “At just 18 years old, she filled the world with laughter, love, and light that reached everyone around her.” Anna had her post-graduation path mapped out—enlisting in the U.S. Navy, with aspirations to join a K-9 police unit, where her affinity for animals and sense of justice could shine.
But beneath the sunshine, Anna’s life wasn’t without shadows. Recent TikTok posts, unearthed in the wake of her death, hinted at personal heartaches. In one video from early November, the teen lip-synced to a song about resilience amid breakup woes, captioning it, “When it hurts but you keep smiling anyway.” Another showed her dancing on the cruise deck, but commenters later noted a subtle sadness in her eyes. “She was dealing with a boy stuff, like all of us at that age,” her best friend Genevieve Guerrero told FOX 35 Orlando. “But Anna? She bounced back. She was unbreakable.” Guerrero, who met Anna in eighth grade, described their bond as inseparable—two girls navigating high school drama with cheer flips and late-night chats.
The cruise was meant to be a healing balm, a family outing organized by Anna’s father, Christopher Kepner, 41, and his recent bride, stepmother Shauntel Hudson, 36. The group— including Hudson’s three children, two of whom live with her—boarded the $800 million Carnival Horizon on November 7 for stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya. It was a blended family trip, the kind meant to knit bonds in tropical bliss. But on the evening of November 6, as the ship sliced through international waters, Anna bowed out of dinner early. “She said she felt unwell,” Christopher later recounted to the Daily Mail, his voice cracking. “We thought it was seasickness or something minor. She went back to her cabin to rest.”
The next morning brought panic. At breakfast, the family scanned the dining hall, then the decks, then the entire vessel. “We tore that ship apart,” Christopher said. Hours ticked by until a maid, entering Anna’s private cabin for routine servicing, made the horrific discovery. The teen’s body was not sprawled in distress but deliberately hidden—shoved beneath the bedframe, swaddled in bedding, and obscured with flotation devices that seemed almost mocking in their placement. The scene screamed cover-up, prompting an immediate FBI takeover under the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA), which governs fatalities in international waters and caps family compensation at funeral costs alone.
As the Horizon limped back to Miami a day early, questions mounted. The FBI, tight-lipped as ever, confirmed only that agents boarded the ship and escorted passengers—including the family—for questioning. Surveillance footage and electronic keycard logs are now under scrutiny, tracing every entry to Anna’s cabin. Toxicology reports are pending, but early whispers of foul play have grown louder. A bombshell court filing in an unrelated custody battle involving Hudson has ignited speculation: one of her minor children—a stepsibling to Anna—may face criminal charges tied to the death. Hudson’s attorneys cited the “extremely sensitive and severe circumstance” of the FBI probe as grounds for delaying proceedings, noting the investigation “arises out of the sudden death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner.”
Enter the phone call and the notes—the emotional linchpin in this unfolding drama. At 9:41 a.m. on November 7, Anna dialed her biological mother, Heather, back in Titusville. The conversation, lasting just over four minutes, was a burst of levity amid the ship’s hum. “She was laughing about the cheesy cruise entertainment,” the family friend recounted. “Talking about how she’d binge-watched bad reality TV in her room and was excited for snorkeling later. No hint of trouble. She sounded… happy.” Heather, who shares a close bond with her daughter despite the family’s blended dynamics, later replayed the call for close allies, her voice trembling. “It was our Anna—vibrant, full of life. What changed in those next minutes?”
What indeed. Six minutes later, at 9:47 a.m., Anna’s iPhone pinged open to the Notes app. A second access followed at 9:52 a.m., and then the third at 10:01 a.m.—a timestamp that has baffled the family. “No one went near her phone after she went to bed,” the friend insisted. “It was charging on the nightstand, locked. How does it open three times, with that final note, if she was already… gone?” Digital experts consulted by the family suggest possibilities: an automated reminder, a glitch from poor shipboard Wi-Fi, or—most hauntingly—a deliberate entry by someone else using Anna’s biometrics or passcode. The Notes app, a digital diary for quick thoughts, could hold mundane musings or desperate pleas. Was Anna jotting a symptom list for her illness? A heartfelt message to a friend? Or something darker, a record of confrontation?
The FBI’s examination of Anna’s cellphone records has zeroed in on this window, cross-referencing it with shipboard CCTV and keycard swipes. Christopher Kepner, speaking publicly for the first time since the tragedy, expressed raw frustration. “The FBI hasn’t shared a thing with me. I know as little as anybody else,” he told reporters outside the family’s Titusville home. “We were there as a family. Everybody was questioned. But now this stepsibling talk? It’s tearing us apart.” The elder Kepner, who raised Anna alongside a previous stepmother before marrying Hudson, emphasized the blended family’s unity. Yet online forums buzz with rumors—from Reddit threads alleging a stepbrother’s involvement to TikTok theories of a shipboard altercation.
Titusville mourns deeply. At Temple Christian School, where Anna was set to graduate in May 2026, a makeshift memorial adorns her parked car: balloons, flowers, and cheer pom-poms fluttering in the breeze. Classmates gathered last week for a vigil, releasing red and black balloons—colors of her beloved University of Georgia Bulldogs, a team she dreamed of cheering for. “She brought warmth and energy into every classroom,” one teacher eulogized on Facebook. Guerrero, Anna’s confidante, added, “Anna looked out for everyone. She would’ve fought for us all.”
Broader implications ripple from this case. Cruise ship deaths, often shrouded in jurisdictional fog, highlight systemic gaps. Under DOHSA, families like the Kepners face not just grief but legal straitjackets—limited recourse even if negligence or crime is proven. Advocacy groups decry the opacity: ships as floating cities, with private security and international laws complicating probes. “What happened to this poor girl?” a neighbor wondered aloud in a ClickOrlando interview, echoing the community’s cry.
As the FBI sifts through data—potentially unlocking those Notes for a glimpse into Anna’s mind—the family clings to memories. The cheerful call at 9:41 a.m. endures as a bittersweet anchor, a reminder of the girl who danced through life. But the unexplained timestamp at 10:01 a.m. lingers like a ghost, whispering of secrets yet untold. In the quiet hours, Heather Kepner replays that final conversation, searching for clues in her daughter’s laughter. “She was my light,” Heather confided to the family friend. “I just want to know why it went dark so fast.”
The investigation presses on, with charges possibly looming against a minor stepsibling and digital trails leading investigators deeper into the ship’s labyrinth. For now, Anna’s story is one of joy eclipsed by mystery—a cautionary tale of how, even on vacation, vulnerability can lurk. As her uncle posted on X amid the speculation, “Remember Anna with laughter, color, sunshine, and love.” In Titusville, that love endures, demanding truth from the shadows.
