Anna Kepner, Florida teen girl found dead on Carnival cruise ship died by asphyxiation after she was strangled to death in ‘bar hold’.
The Florida cheerleader killed on a Carnival cruise earlier this month was allegedly strangled to death in a bar hold, according to a report.
Anna Kepner, 18, of Titusville, FL., died from asphyxiation, the result of an arm across her neck, leaving two bruises on the side of her throat, a source close to the investigation told ABC News Friday.
There were no apparent signs of sexual assault, nor were there drugs or alcohol in her system, the report stated.
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Kepner was found dead aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship on Nov. 8, officials previously said. She was found stuffed under a bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered in life vests according to previous reports.
Both the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office and the FBI declined to comment on the new details.
Yet to be revealed is who the committed the alleged murder with authorities continuing to remain tight lipped amid ongoing investigations.
Nevertheless, the mother of Anna Kepner’s step brother, Shauntel Hudson had filed a motion to plead the fifth and not to implicate herself or her son, Timothy, in an ongoing child custody case against her ex husband, who she admitted was being viewed as a suspect in the cheerleader’s death.
The step mom’s admission coincides with Anna’s step-brother, Timothy ‘Tim’ Hudson, 16, previously being questioned by the FBI.
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Kepner’s blended family had been on a six-day Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Horizon when a maid made came across the deceased girl’s body in a cabin she had shared with her 14 year old brother and 16 year old step-brother, on the morning of November 7th.
Prior to the trip, Kepner’s ex boyfriend, Josh Tew, had warned both Anna’s dad, Christopher Kepner and his new wife, Shauntel Hudson that he had witnessed the stepbrother climbing on top of her while she slept during a FaceTime call.
The concerned ex boyfriend even alleged Anna’s younger brother, overhearing a ruckus outside the cabin room the night before Anna’s death, involving his sibling and that of the 16 year old, with abrupt noises and sounds of a struggle and furniture moving.
‘She was scared of him because he always carried around a big knife,’ Josh’s father said further corroborating his son’s account.
‘He’s like infatuated, attracted to her like crazy. He always wanted to date her.’
Doomed family dynamics
The tragedy comes off the back of unraveling family dynamics including Kepner’s stepmother, Shauntel and her ex-husband, Thomas being engaged in a bitter custody battle over their two kids — who Hudson claimed were physically abused by their father.
Kepner’s own biological mother, Heather Kepner claimed she was barred from entering her daughter’s funeral due to long-standing family tensions.
The high school senior was set to graduate in the spring from Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida.
She had dreams of joining the US Navy and eventually becoming a K-9 police officer, according to her mom.
