TITUSVILLE, Fla. — The untimely death of Anna Kepner, a vibrant high school senior from Florida, has sparked a federal investigation after she was found dead on the Carnival Horizon during a Caribbean cruise in early November. The incident is prompting serious questions among her family and friends.

As the FBI delves into the ship’s records, a complex picture is emerging from a series of court documents and interviews that reveal underlying tensions within Kepner’s blended family. Although the ship has returned to port and the investigation is underway, no criminal charges have been filed at this point.

In a motion filed in Brevard County, Anna’s stepmother, Shauntel Kepner, who was previously known as Shauntel Hudson, requested a delay in a December court hearing related to her divorce proceedings. Her attorney, Millicent Athanason, cited the ongoing FBI investigation into Anna’s death, which occurred on November 7.

Athanason informed a Brevard County judge on November 17 that discussions with FBI investigators suggested the possibility of criminal charges being brought against one of the minor children involved in the case. This development has added another layer of complexity to the situation.

Christopher Kepner (center, red hat) arrives at a memorial service for his daughter, Anna Kepner, at the Grove Church in Titusville, Florida, Thursday, November 20, 2025. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)

Relatives say they have received few official answers since the ship docked. Anna’s birth mother, Heather Wright, told WESH 2 she learned of her daughter’s death through an online search. She has not responded to Fox News Digital’s attempts to reach her.

“I found out through Google. I ended up Googling it, because the only information I had was that my daughter was on a cruise,” she told the local outlet.

Similarly, Anna’s stepgrandfather, Christopher Donahue, 53, told Fox News Digital Wednesday that he too learned about her death through social media.

Anna Kepner’s family said she had dreams of joining the military. (Instagram/Anna Kepner)

“I don’t know why Anna was staying in a room with her stepbrother,” Donahue said. He said he learned about the arrangement from a news article. 

“All I know is that she went on that boat, and she never came back,” he added. “You don’t go 0 to 100, but we weren’t on the boat. Everyone is heartbroken. There are questions. I don’t think we’ll ever know.”

The swirl of public claims around Anna’s death has revived long-simmering disputes. In a March 31, 2023, divorce petition filed in Brevard County and obtained by Fox News Digital, Anna’s former stepmother, Tabitha L. Kepner, alleges that Christopher Purcell Kepner, Anna’s father, had a “history of physical and mental abuse toward the minor children and toward the Petitioner,” and she sought sole parental responsibility for the children she shared with him and supervised time-sharing. 

She was married to Christopher Kepner after he split with Anna’s mother and before he met his third wife, Shauntel.

Anna Kepner was identified by her family as the passenger who died onboard the Carnival Horizon. (Instagram/Anna Kepner)

In 2024, Michelle Johnson filed a small claims suit in Brevard County against Shauntel Hudson seeking the return of several firearms, including a 12-gauge shotgun and two rifles, which she alleged Hudson refused to hand back.

The filings include a series of emails in which Johnson accused Hudson of “manipulating and alienating” her children from their father, describing the situation as “a very sad and heartbreaking ordeal.”

“Prior [sic] to you, manipulating controlling and brainwashing them for the past month,” Johnson wrote to Hudson. “It’s devastating and upsetting. Please step back and look at what’s the best for these kids? They need their family…”

That case was later dismissed after Johnson missed a service of process deadline.

Anna Kepner, her father, stepmother and several siblings in a family photo. (Shauntel Kepner/Facebook)

Together, the records paint a portrait of a fractured family now thrust into the spotlight following Anna’s mysterious death aboard the six-day Carnival cruise.

Anna’s family and friends attended a service at The Grove Church in Titusville, Fla., on Thursday evening. One of the Kepners’ neighbors told Fox News Digital Thursday that their street has been quiet since Anna’s death. He described the Kepners as a friendly family.

Two vehicles, a Dodge truck and Chevy SUV, were parked in the Kepners’ driveway, but no one answered the door. Investigators have not disclosed a cause or manner of death, and prosecutors have not filed charges.