The stepbrother of an 18-year-old woman found dead on a Carnival cruise ship earlier this month is being investigated as a possible suspect in her death, according to a legal document in a separate case.
Anna Kepner, a recent high school graduate, was travelling with her family on the Carnival Horizon cruise from Miami to the Caribbean when she died.
Carnival Cruise Line previously confirmed her death in a statement to Global News, saying, “Our focus is on supporting the family of our guest and cooperating with the FBI.”
“Since this is an ongoing matter under the jurisdiction of law enforcement, it is up to the FBI’s Miami public affairs office to provide further details. Our focus is on supporting the family of our guest,” it continued.
In an emergency motion filed Monday in Brevard County, Fla., in a separate case relating to Kepner’s stepmother’s past marriage, it states that the stepmother, Shauntel Hudson, requested to pause testimony in the divorce hearing due to “an extremely sensitive and severe circumstance.”
“Currently there is an investigation being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (F.B.I) arising out of the sudden death of eighteen (18) year old Anna Kepner, who was found deceased on November 9, 2025, on a Carnival Cruise,” the filing reads.
“Ms. Anna Kepner, the deceased, is the daughter of the Respondent’s paramour and the Respondent and the minor children of this instant action were all on the cruise ship together.”
Hudson was advised by the FBI and her lawyers that “a criminal case may be initiated against one of the minor children of this instant action,” the filing states.
She asked that the proceedings be postponed until the “criminal investigation has concluded.”
In the emergency motion for temporary relief, viewed by Global News, one of the stated grounds includes that a “sixteen year old child is now a suspect in the death of the step child during the cruise.”
A law enforcement source and a person familiar with the matter told CBS News that Kepner and her step-sibling may have had some kind of altercation while on the family vacation in the Caribbean with her father, stepmother and three step-siblings.
The outlet also reports that Kepner’s body was found by a housekeeper under the bed in her stateroom.
Her family told ABC News that Kepner was a bright, straight-A student with a bubbly personality.
“When she walked into a room, she would light it up,” her family told the outlet. “If you were sad, she’d make you laugh. She would joke around and be the funniest little person in school.”
“She was a people person,” her family continued, adding that she loved being by the water and had recently obtained a boating licence and scuba diving certification.
— With files from Global News’ Rachel Goodman