In a bitter custody dispute, recent court documents are casting new light on the tragic demise of 18-year-old Anna Kepner, highlighting a 32-hour delay in notifying family members after her body was found.

Information acquired by People magazine details the sequence of events following Anna’s death. Her body was discovered by a room steward in her cabin on the Carnival Horizon on November 7.

Previous court proceedings in Brevard County, Florida, have named Anna’s 16-year-old stepbrother as a suspect in her death, though the FBI has yet to confirm this detail.

In the ongoing custody hearings, it was revealed that Anna’s stepmother, Shauntel Kepner, waited nearly a day and a half before informing Thomas Hudson, the father of the 16-year-old suspect, about Anna’s passing.

Hudson is currently seeking custody of his 9-year-old daughter, who remains in the care of Shauntel.

According to evidence submitted in the custody dispute, at around 7:30 p.m. on November 8—roughly 32 hours after the body was found—Shauntel Kepner sent a message to Hudson.

The subject line read, “Emergency.”

“I need you to call me asap it’s an emergency,” the message stated.

The significant delay has raised questions.

Documents revealed an exchange between the former couple regarding their son’s legal and personal welfare. Hudson submitted evidence of a heated argument triggered by Shauntel’s decision to cancel a scheduled visit between Hudson and his youngest daughter.

In a response to his ex-wife, Hudson suggested that Shauntel had been distancing herself from the investigation to protect her current marriage.

“I kept my mouth shut when you told me that you can’t jeopardize your marriage for helping [redacted] your son,” Hudson wrote.

During a December 5 custody hearing, a Brevard County judge had been told that their teenage son is now living with a relative.

He is at an undisclosed location that only Shauntel Kepner, Hudson, and law enforcement know. They did this to remove “any risk of any danger to any of the other children in the home.”

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Anna died by asphyxiation after someone held an arm across her neck, known as a bar hold or choke hold.

The room steward reportedly discovered Anna’s body at around 11 a.m. The ship then detoured and stopped at Port Miami on November 8.

Anna Kepner died on November 7, according to the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner.

The custody dispute remains active, according to People magazine, as authorities continue to investigate the circumstances of Anna Kepner’s death.

[Feature Photo: Anna Kepner/Instagram]