FAMILY ‘TURMOIL’ — Anna Kepner’s Final Moments Revealed
Tragic new details emerge about Anna Kepner’s last moments on the Carnival Cruise, as her aunt says she saw the teen “fighting for her life.” Sources confirm tensions with her sixteen-year-old stepbrother had escalated, leaving Anna terrified in her own cabin.
Authorities have now classified her death as a homicide, sparking an urgent hunt for answers. Her aunt is pleading for the stepbrother to be charged, saying Anna Kepner’s cries for help were ignored by adults who should have protected her.
Click the link below to read the full story and see the timeline leading up to the tragedy.👇
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ANNA Kepner’s aunt has said the teen fought for her life moments before she mysteriously died on board a cruise ship.
The 18-year-old died of asphyxiation after being choked, and her body was wrapped in a blanket and stuffed under a bed in her Carnival Cruise Line ship cabin, according to police.
Anna Kepner, 18, died while she was on a cruise shipCredit: Facebook
She and her family were on the Carnival Horizon cruise shipCredit: Alamy
Officials have deemed her death a homicide, but no arrests have been made.
However, a family member is pointing the finger at her 16-year-old stepbrother, who was sharing a cabin with Kepner and is now under investigation by the FBI.
In a recent interview, Kepner’s aunt Krystal Wright opened up about the teen’s final moments before her harrowing death.
“I know Anna fought. I know she fought for her life, so it’s rough. It’s rough,” she told Fox affiliate WOFL.
Kepner’s grieving family has been unable to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday as they desperately wait for answers, Wright said.
“It’s a turmoil. We’re just sitting here waiting,” she told the outlet.
Though Kepner’s stepbrother hasn’t been named a suspect, he was described as being under investigation in unrelated custody documents filed by the family.
Wright said, “We don’t understand why, if the boy is a suspect, why has he not been charged yet?
“What’s happening there?”
Kepner’s body showed no signs of sexual assault, and she didn’t have any traces of drugs or alcohol, the outlet reported.
Kepner was at the end of a six-day trip through the Caribbean when she suddenly died.
She was with her grandparents, her father, Christopher, her stepmom, Shauntel, and four other siblings, including her stepbrother.
The younger children stayed in a room with their parents while Kepner, the stepbrother, and another sibling decided to sleep in a separate room together.
The high school cheerleader’s grandparents said that they had an extra bed, and stressed to the kids that one of them could bunk with them if they weren’t getting along.
Kepner’s grandparents said they’re trying to piece together what happenedCredit: Instagram
Now, the devastated grandparents are trying to piece together what unfolded inside that cabin.
“I know that those two kids cared about each other in the right way,” Barbara Kepner, the grandmother, told ABC News.
Kepner’s stepbrother hasn’t responded to any requests for comment.
Timeline of Anna Kepner’s death
Anna Kepner was a high school senior and cheerleader when she found dead on board a Carnival Cruise ship on November 7.
Timeline:
Nov. 2: Carnival Cruise Line’s Horizon disembarks the Port of Miami to begin its six-day journey through the the Carribean, with stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, Mexico, before sailing back to Florida.
Nov. 6: Anna Kepner’s family said the 18-year-old teen was with them during the evening, but returned to her room early after telling them she was not feeling well.
Nov. 7: Kepner’s relatives grew concerned after the teenager failed to show up when the family gathered for breakfast that morning.
Nov. 7, 11:17 am: A housekeeper reportedly located Kepner’s body under a bed in her cabin as the family searched the enormous vessel.
Nov. 8: The Carnival Cruise’s Horizon returned to the Port of Miami after Kepner’s body was discovered. The ship was enroute to Mexico but rerouted to Miami.
Officials with the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office board the vessel after it docked in Miami and removed Kepner’s body.
The FBI takes over the investigation as Kepner died on international waters.
Nov. 9: Kepner’s family breaks silence in a statement to ABC News, mourning the teen as someone who would light up any room she walked into.
Nov. 17: Kepner’s stepmom filed an emergency motion in an unrelated custody hearing with her ex-husband indicating the FBI is considering a “criminal case” against a young relative.
The ex-husband of Kepner’s stepmom filed a separate emergency motion revealing that a 16-year-old stepsibling is considered “a suspect” in the “death of the step child during the cruise.”
The 16-year-old “suspect” was briefly placed into custody before being released.
The young relative is currently staying with a third party at an unknown location.
Nov. 21: Kepner was suffocated to death from a chokehold, according to ABC News.
Nov. 24: The teenager’s death was reportedly ruled a homicide.
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