Court documents recently accessed by local media outlets in central Florida reveal that a teenager repeatedly insisted he couldn’t remember anything when questioned by his mother, according to statements she made to her ex-husband.

The tragic death of Anna Kepner has been classified as a homicide, attracting global attention and fueling widespread speculation across social media platforms.

ABC News obtained Kepner’s death certificate, which states that the 18-year-old died from “mechanical asphyxia,” indicating she was suffocated by another individual.

Mechanical asphyxia occurs when breathing is obstructed by an object or physical force.

Kepner, a high school cheerleader from Florida’s Space Coast poised to graduate next year, was on a cruise aboard the Carnival Horizon with her father, grandparents, stepmother, and her stepmother’s two children, including a 16-year-old boy.

Kepner’s death aboard the ship that sailed from Miami has remained shrouded in mystery with the FBI and medical examiner’s office in South Florida refusing to disclose any information about the case for weeks.

The teen’s 16-year-old stepbrother has been identified as a suspect in her death, according to court documents filed by his divorced parents over custody of their youngest child in Brevard County, along Florida’s Space Coast.

The disclosures offer the clearest public indication that federal investigators are scrutinising a member of the victim’s own blended family.

An attorney for the 16-year-old’s mother, Shauntel Hudson, who was Kepner’s stepmother, didn’t respond to an emailed inquiry on Wednesday, and neither did an attorney for the boy’s father, Thomas Hudson.

Their youngest child currently lives with Shauntel Hudson, and Thomas Hudson has accused his ex-wife of violating time-sharing agreements. The 16-year-old boy was sent to live with a relative of Shauntel Hudson after returning from the cruise.

In the most recent court documents, the ex-spouses discussed via text the news of Kepner’s death going viral on social media and how to protect their 16-year-old son from public scrutiny. Thomas Hudson also said he wanted his son to know that he was loved despite what had happened.