Parents of Anna Kepner step brother admit he may now face charges amid ongoing legal wrangling in relation to a separate family court matter alleging abuse.
The parents of Anna Kepner‘s 16-year-old stepbrother have admitted for the first time that he is considered a ‘suspect‘ in her mysterious death onboard a Carnival cruise ship earlier this month.
Anna, 18, was on a six-day Caribbean getaway with her dad, Christopher Kepner, 41, stepmom, Shauntel Hudson, 36, siblings and step-siblings when she was declared dead in international waters between Mexico and Florida on November 7.
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Sources say the cheerleader’s body was found wrapped in a blanket and stuffed under a bed in her cabin, the grim discovery prompting FBI agents to swarm the Carnival Horizon when it returned to Miami a day later.
Sources say the cheerleader’s body was found wrapped in a blanket and stuffed under a bed in her cabin, the grim discovery prompting FBI agents to swarm the Carnival Horizon when it returned to Miami a day later.
Court filings obtained by the Daily Mail confirm that Anna’s stepbrother, now faces possible criminal charges. While no official outlet has identified the minor, social media revealed the teen as being Timothy ‘Tim’ Hudson, 16.
According to sources, Timothy, Anna’s biological brother Connor, and Anna all shared a bedroom on the cruise.
The teen is currently in the care of an unnamed ‘third party,’ according to a motion filed Tuesday by the boy’s father demanding urgent clarification of what is happening to his son.
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Thomas Hudson is also seeking immediate custody of their other minor child, a nine-year-old girl currently living in Titusville, Florida, with Shauntel Hudson and Anna’s dad.
‘The respondent took the remaining minor children on a cruise with a stepchild of her paramour,’ his filing says.
‘The sixteen-year-old child is now a suspect in the death of the stepchild during the cruise. While released from custody, the sixteen-year-old child is residing with a third party,’ the filing states.
The filing adds: ‘The sixteen-year-old’s future has been put in jeopardy because of the choices made by the respondent… the youngest child is at immediate risk of abuse, abandonment, or neglect in the care of the respondent.’
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Shauntel filed a response late Tuesday denying allegations that she ‘abused, neglected or abandoned’ her children.
She added: ‘It is true that there is an open investigation regarding the death of the biological daughter of the stepfather and [boy’s initials] is a suspect regarding this death which occurred recently on a cruise ship.’
Shauntel’s filing said the boy was staying with one of her relatives and she is providing counseling for all of her children.
Anna grew up in Titusville along with Christopher, 41, his ex-wife Tabitha Kepner, 33, and siblings, aged 14 and nine.
Christopher and Tabitha split in 2023 but the crane operator soon met and married Shauntel, who divorced Thomas Hudson last year and relocated to Titusville with their two youngest kids.
Late last year Thomas, 37, accused his ex-wife of ‘willfully violating’ court orders and ‘denying his parenting time’ in a motion for contempt filed in Brevard County.
They were due to square off in court next month, but Shauntel filed an emergency motion Tuesday requesting more time to respond due to an ‘extremely sensitive and severe circumstance.’
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She said the FBI had advised her that one of her minor children faced a potential criminal prosecution related to Anna’s death.
‘Any testimony the respondent may give, either written or oral, could be prejudicial to her or her adolescent child in this pending criminal investigation,’ wrote Shauntel’s lawyer according to the dailymail.
To date the FBI has declined to say how Anna died – or whether she was murdered – on board the Carnival Horizon.
It had been previously revealed on the evening of her death, November 6, that Anna complained of feeling unwell on the evening and went back to her cabin.
When she didn’t appear for breakfast the next day her family members began searching the sprawling, $800 million mega-vessel which carries up to 4,700 guests.
A maid eventually found the teen wrapped in a blanket, covered over with life jackets and stuffed under a bed.
The Miami Dade County Medical Examiner lists Anna’s time of death at 11.17am on November 7 but it has not revealed its findings.
Anna had been set to graduate in May and had plans to join the military.
A gymnast and varsity cheerleader, she attended Temple Christian School in Titusville, where her Kia Forte remained parked up this week, covered in flowers and tributes from heartbroken pals.
She was a ‘bright, kind-hearted young woman whose presence brought warmth and energy into the classroom,’ the school said in a Facebook post.
Anna had been on previous cruises and had raved about her love of travel on TikTok.
One post showed her enjoying a holiday on the very same boat six months earlier. She danced about in a white dress and captioned the haunting clip: ‘I wanna go back.’
Carnival said in a statement: ‘Our focus is on supporting the family of our guest and cooperating with the FBI.’
A spokesman for the FBI recently stated: ‘No further information is being released at this time.’
