Anna Kepner’s stepbrother has been indicted on federal costs months after the 18-year-old cheerleader was discovered useless throughout a household trip on a Carnival cruise ship.
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The 16-year-old stepbrother is dealing with federal costs of homicide and aggravated sexual abuse, in accordance with a press release Monday by the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Southern District of Florida. Court docket paperwork present the movement within the case was initially filed Feb. 2 beneath seal, however the case was transferred to grownup prosecution and unsealed Friday.
The press launch refers to him solely as T.H., and that’s additionally how he’s referred to within the court docket paperwork. He has been launched into the custody of a guardian, however not his mother and father, in accordance with court docket paperwork.
Attorneys for T.H. didn’t instantly reply to NBC Information’ request for remark.
Anna Kepner was discovered useless Nov. 7 whereas vacationing along with her household on a Carnival Horizon cruise ship. The cruise ship returned to the Port of Miami the following day, as deliberate, Carnival mentioned in a press release on the time.
The press launch says that whereas in worldwide waters en path to Miami, “T.H. allegedly sexually assaulted and deliberately killed Kepner.” The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Workplace decided Kepner’s reason for demise was “mechanical asphyxiation.”
“Our hearts exit to the sufferer’s household throughout this unimaginable loss,” mentioned U.S. Lawyer Jason A. Reding Quiñones, who represents the Southern District of Florida. “A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging critical offenses that allegedly occurred aboard a vessel in worldwide waters
Chris Kepner, Anna Kepner’s father and T.H.’s stepfather, instructed NBC Information on Monday that “justice must be served.”
“That’s the place the household stands,” he continued, noting that T.H. must be in custody.
He beforehand mentioned in a press release to NBC Information that the lack of his daughter is “a ache that may by no means absolutely heal” and that his household believes in “accountability and within the significance of justice being carried out.”
“Our daughter’s life issues, and we’ll proceed to talk out to honor her, to hunt accountability, and to make sure that her case will not be forgotten,” Chris Kepner mentioned, including that he’s grateful to the FBI, which is main the investigation, and that the household was suggested by the company “to stay quiet” in regards to the case.
An legal professional for T.H.’s mom, Shauntel Hudson Kepner, declined to remark. An legal professional for T.H.’s father didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. Anna Kepner’s mom didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Court docket filings within the custody battle of the stepbrother’s mother and father revealed in November that he was being investigated as a suspect within the case. Shauntel Hudson Kepner mentioned in a court docket look associated to the case that their son was hospitalized shortly after the cruise ship’s Nov. 8 return to Miami.
Chris Kepner and Shauntel Hudson Kepner have been married in December 2024.
In an obituary, Anna Kepner was remembered as a bubbly highschool senior who dreamed of continuous cheerleading on the College of Georgia. She was described as an outgoing and dependable teenager who “cherished her siblings deeply.”
