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A 16-year-old has been formally charged in connection with the death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner, whose body was discovered on a Carnival cruise ship in November 2025.
WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury has indicted a 16-year-old on charges of murder and aggravated sexual abuse, following allegations that he killed his stepsister while they were on a cruise last year.
Identified only by the initials T.H. due to his age, the teenager faced the grand jury’s decision as announced by the U.S. Department of Justice. Initially charged as a minor in February with the proceedings sealed, the case has now escalated to adult court following a federal judge’s determination.
The incident occurred aboard the Carnival Horizon, where T.H. was traveling with his stepsister, Anna Kepner, in November 2025. Prosecutors contend that T.H. sexually assaulted and then deliberately took Kepner’s life during the voyage.
Anna Kepner, an 18-year-old cheerleader from Titusville, Florida, was tragically found dead on the ship. According to law enforcement sources cited by multiple media outlets, her body was discovered by a housekeeper beneath the bed in her stateroom when the ship docked back at Port Miami on Saturday, November 8.
ABC News reported that Kepner died by asphyxiation resulting from a bar hold, a term for holding an arm across the neck. The media outlet also reported investigators found two bruises on the side of her neck.
If convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse, T.H. faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
In a 2025 interview with ABC News, Anna Kepner’s grandparents, Barbara Kepner and Jeffrey Kepner, said they couldn’t understand the killing.
“I couldn’t fathom why anyone would hurt my baby,” Barbara told ABC News.
The family, which included the grandparent Kepners, their son and his three children, including Anna, his new wife and her children from a previous marriage, were all “having a great time” on the cruise.
“We were looking forward to see her grow,” Jeffrey said. “The cruise itself wasn’t what made me excited. It was the fact that I was gonna get to spend another week with my youngest son and his family and all the grandkids.”
16-year-old suspect was close to Anna
“In his own words, he says he does not remember what happened,” Barbara told ABC News. “I believe, to him, that is his truth. He was an emotional mess. He couldn’t even speak. He couldn’t believe what had happened.”
Following Anna’s death, the stepbrother was hospitalized for psychiatric observation after returning to Miami, before being released to stay with a family member, Barbara told ABC News.
The Kepners said the two teens were like “two peas in a pod” and “brother and sister.”
“I know that those two kids cared about each other in the right way,” Barbara said. “I can’t accuse him because I don’t know what happened in that room. That will be for the courts to decide.”
In a November filing for an unrelated custody battle, attorneys for Shauntel Hudson, Anna Kepner’s stepmother, wrote that she had been told by FBI investigators that “a criminal case may be initiated” against one of her minor children related to Kepner’s death.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.