A 16-year-old stepbrother of Anna Kepner has been charged with homicide in the death of the 18-year-old Florida teen, who was found dead aboard a Carnival cruise ship last November. The charge emerged from court documents in an ongoing custody dispute. Federal authorities are handling the case under seal.
Anna Kepner, an 18-year-old from Florida, died on November 7 during a family Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Horizon. She was traveling with her father, stepmother, and three stepsiblings. According to family accounts, Kepner had reported feeling unwell the previous evening and returned to her stateroom. When she did not appear for breakfast the next morning, a search ensued, and her body was discovered by a housekeeper under the bed in the room. The ship docked in Miami on November 8.
Law enforcement sources indicated that investigators suspect Kepner was strangled during an altercation, with the stepbrother possibly under the influence of alcohol at the time. The FBI, which has jurisdiction due to the incident occurring in international waters and Kepner being a U.S. citizen, has been probing the stepbrother's involvement.
Court documents obtained in a custody dispute revealed the charge. In a February 20 emergency filing by attorneys for Thomas Hudson, the stepbrother's father, it was noted: "According to social media from the Kepner family, on February 3, 2026, the Petitioner/Father's son, TH, was charged by the United States Attorney in the Southern District of Florida for the [redacted] and homicide of Anna Kepner." The case is under seal and overseen by U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami. The minor stepbrother appeared in federal court there on February 6, though media access was barred.
Former Palm Beach state attorney Dave Aronberg explained that federal charges against juveniles remain sealed to protect minors, potentially unsealing if the individual is charged as an adult. A November 18 filing by Shauntel Hudson in the Brevard County custody case stated: "There is an open investigation regarding [Kepner's] death… and T.H. [a stepbrother] is a suspect regarding this death which occurred recently on a cruise ship."
The U.S. Attorney's Office and FBI have declined comment. Carnival Cruise Line has confirmed its cooperation with the federal investigation.
