PORT MIAMI, FL – A custody battle has taken a dark turn after court documents revealed that a teenage boy’s mother waited more than a day to inform her ex-husband that his 18-year-old daughter had been found dead aboard a Carnival cruise ship, allegedly killed by her own stepbrother.
Anna Kepner was discovered dead in her cabin on the Carnival Horizon on November 7 after a room steward found her body around 11 a.m. The ship diverted to Port Miami the following day. Medical examiners determined she died from asphyxiation caused by a bar hold or choke hold applied across her neck.
According to court filings obtained this week, Shauntel Kepner, the stepmother, did not notify Anna’s biological father Thomas Hudson until approximately 7:30 p.m. on November 8 – roughly 32 hours after the body was discovered. She sent a simple message marked “Emergency” without elaborating on the tragedy.
Hudson’s attorney has filed documents citing a message he sent to his ex-wife that reads: “I kept my mouth shut when you told me that you can’t jeopardize your marriage for helping your son.” The statement suggests the family had been aware of potential problems with the 16-year-old suspect before Anna’s death.
The teenage suspect, whose name has been withheld in court documents due to his age, is now living with a relative at an undisclosed location. Only Shauntel Kepner, Hudson, and law enforcement know where the boy is staying, a precaution officials say is necessary to protect other children in the household.
Investigators have not publicly disclosed what led to the fatal encounter between the stepsiblings aboard the cruise ship. The family had been vacationing together when the tragedy occurred.
The case has sparked an ongoing custody dispute as Hudson seeks answers about his daughter’s final hours and the circumstances that led to her death. His legal team is pushing for full disclosure of what family members knew and when they knew it.
Authorities continue to investigate the killing, though no formal charges have been announced against the teenage suspect. The case remains active as prosecutors weigh their options in what has become a deeply complicated family tragedy.
