‘There were signs’: FBI probing 18-year-old’s death on cruise as friends gather for memorial
A memorial was held for Anna Kepner as family and friends are seeking answers in the death of the 18-year-old Florida woman.
The parking lot at Grove Church was packed for Thursday’s memorial.
After the loss of the 18-year-old, who was found dead earlier this month on a Carnival cruise ship, family and friends filed into the church to remember her.
Many wore blue in Kepner’s honor.
“It was just filled with love,” Jim Tew described.
Jim Tew said his nephew, Josh Tew, once dated Kepner.
“I mean, you can tell everybody really cared and, of course, people missed her,” Jim Tew added.
Kepner was a student at Temple Christian School in Titusville.
Anna Kepner, 18, was reported dead while aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship.(Kepner family)
People remembered Kepner as someone that loved to make people laugh and had a great sense of style.
“She definitely knew how to throw on her outfit. She was great,” Josh Tew said.
But among the happy memories shared of Kepner on Thursday, there seemed to be some anger and frustration.
No one has been arrested in connection with Kepner’s death.
Although the FBI has not officially named any suspects, court documents related to the divorce case for Kepner’s stepmother allege that her 16-year-old stepbrother is a suspect.
More details surrounding an 18-year-old’s death on a cruise ship were revealed in a court hearing on Thursday. (WESH, FAMILY PHOTOS, CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE, FL 18
“The truth needs to come out. There were signs before this,” Jim Tew added.
According to Jim Tew, his feelings are based on what he’s heard from his nephew.
“That was my first love. She was the best that ever happened to me,” Josh Tew remembered. “I’d even walk to her work to see her for five, 10 minutes.”
Josh Tew said he was supposed to go on the cruise with Kepner and her family until the two broke up several months ago. He spoke about the relationship between Kepner and her stepbrother.
“She complained about him being uncomfortable or her being uncomfortable around him,” Josh Tew claimed.
Josh Tew said he shared his information with authorities.
With no charges filed or no arrests made, Jim Tew and his family hope they’ll see justice for Kepner.
“I’m praying and hoping that this will come out so that they will have a solid case and justice will be done for why she’s not with us today,” Jim Tew said.
The high school student who was found dead aboard a Carnival Horizon cruise ship in the Caribbean may have died as a result of foul play, according to multiple reports.
Anna Kepner, 18, was pronounced dead in international waters on Friday, November 7 while on trip with her family. The FBI, who began their investigation when the ship docked in Miami the next day, had not released any details about what happened.
But an unrelated legal document obtained by the Daily Mail indicates a shocking twist. Shauntel Hudson – who recently married Anna’s dad, Chris Kepner – filed a motion on Monday, November 17 asking for more time to respond to filings related to her 2024 divorce, citing an “extremely sensitive and severe circumstance,” the outlet reported.
“’Currently there is an investigation being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (F.B.I.) arising out of the sudden death of eighteen-year-old Anna Kepner,” the filing reads, adding that Hudson had been advised “that a criminal case may be initiated against one” of her minor children.
“Any testimony the Respondent may give, either written or oral, could be prejudicial to her or her adolescent child in this pending criminal investigation, therefore the Respondent cannot be compelled to testify,” the filing continued.
According to NBC News, another filing on Tuesday, November 18 identifies her teenage son as a suspect.
Instagram/Anna Kepner
As the Daily Mail had previously reported, sources said Anna complained of illness and returned to her cabin on the evening of Thursday, November 6. The next morning, a housekeeper found her body under her bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered in life jackets.
The Titusville, Florida, high school senior was vacationing with her dad, stepmother and three stepsiblings.
“Everybody was questioned. Everybody came off that ship. I don’t know who they are looking at or what their investigation is,” Chris told the Daily Mail on Wednesday, November 12. “Anna was an 18-year-old, beautiful young girl; she had a whole life ahead of her.”
“Anna was pure energy: bubbly, funny, outgoing, and completely herself,” her obituary reads. “She loved her siblings deeply.”
Carnival Cruise Line confirmed her passing in a statement to ABC News: “Our focus is on supporting the family of our guest and cooperating with the FBI.”
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