FL - Anna Kepner, 18, dies aboard Carnival cruise ship traveling from Miami to Caribbean, FBI launch probe, 7 Nov 2025

[Spectrix]

Whenever I see a case like this, I always wonder what the average parent would really do, if they suspected or knew that their child had committed a heinous crime. Turn their child in and assist the authorities as much as possible, or... something less than that? And if so, how much less than that? It's hard to even imagine being faced with such a nightmare scenario.

I'm not sure about the average parent, but something tells me that this particular parent might be an enabler.
I mean in the case at hand, the body was discovered by cleaning crews and I imagine that the scene was secured immediately. There are keycard logs and CCTV, there is very little that can be manipulated to help (or hinder) the situation aside from putting him straight into a clinic when they got off the boat (setting the wheels in motion for a mental health defence perhaps?).

Now consider for a moment if this kid had killed a non-family member in the home for instance, and the mother had discovered the body. How would she react?

A) Call the police immediately

B) Exclaim "Oh no, my baby has killed again!" and then dispose of the body, clean up with bleach and plan iron-clad aliby for the boy

Or... is it possible that he actually has been arrested and is locked up, and the authorities just aren't announcing it because he's a juvenile?
Have the authorities said he's staying with relatives or has it only been his parents who said that?

I think the FBI is keeping tabs on him and I gather they don't think he's a flight risk.
I was suspicious about the claim that he was staying with family members, at least until the Daily Mail somehow managed to track him down and discovered that he was selling firewood by the side of the road in rural Florida

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[Vaderman]

It seems very strange to me that the authorities would allow this teenager to just go stay with relatives for any length of time, considering the severity of the crime and the strength of the evidence against him.

For one thing, I could see him stopping at nothing to try to escape. It brings to my mind the public warnings they put out when a dangerous inmate escapes from prison. They're extremely dangerous when the alternative to getting away is likely to be many years of incarceration, and they've already shown what they're capable of.

Or... is it possible that he actually has been arrested and is locked up, and the authorities just aren't announcing it because he's a juvenile?

Have the authorities said he's staying with relatives or has it only been his parents who said that?

The Daily Mail tracked him down and seemed to confirm he is in fact "free". Link

 

[SherryLock]

The Daily Mail tracked him down and seemed to confirm he is in fact "free". Link

Good catch, Vaderman and Spectrix.

The Daily Mail is so awful lol but I have to say, they spill it when nobody else will.

Now, assuming the photos really are him, I wonder why it's considered an acceptable risk that another young lady could stop at this remote location to buy some firewood from him, and then... Unbelievable.

ETA: It seems to me that if they're assuming he's not a flight risk (and a very dangerous one too, considering that he probaby has no means to escape on his own) and that he's not a risk as far as doing it again, that would be way too much assuming!

MOO

 

[Spectrix]

ETA: It seems to me that if they're assuming he's not a flight risk (and a very dangerous one too, considering that he probaby has no means to escape on his own) and that he's not a risk as far as doing it again, that would be way too much assuming!

MOO

I sincerely hope that he was taken off public firewood duties after the daily fail published that story, I can see the kid becoming the target of vigilantism.

I mean, I don't think he should have been allowed to leave the property in the first place, for the safety of others as well as himself.
But it doesn't seem like this family are blessed with any sort of ability to make sensible decisions, and until he is arrested/charged, it's unfortunately their call.

 

[SherryLock]

I don't remember everything in this thread so apologies if this has already been stated. It appears that the public is (usually) NOT informed when a juvenile is arrested.

"As a rule, records of a juvenile arrest are not public information and are held in confidence..."

Even if the Daily Mail report was accurate, it was still dated December 17, a week ago. So it seems at least possible that he's been arrested by now.

That whole story about him being allowed to stay with a relative at all sounds super screwy to me in the first place, though.

MOO

Are Juvenile Arrests Considered Public Record?

Understand the legal framework designed to protect a minor’s future by limiting access to arrest records and the options available to secure them.

legalclarity.org

 

[MistyWaters]

I wonder why no proceedings have been announced about whether the 16 yr old will be tried in juvenile or adult court. Just nothing is being said by the FBI or any other agency regarding this investigation. Very unusual, why is the media not asking for updates???

For example, this homicide occurred Nov 30th -

Danika Troy’s alleged teen killers who shot, torched 14-year-old Florida girl to be tried as adults

Being tried as adults, the teens could face life in prison or death if convicted.

nypost.com

 

[AuDHD]

MOO I wonder if the firewood selling gig was part of what he’s doing to help the relative who is keeping him? I doubt they have him enrolled in a new school, maybe FL virtual or something, but I bet he’s suddenly finding himself with some free time & maybe he’s helping out with tasks the relative would normally do while he’s staying there.
It also sounds like he didn’t leave the relative’s property to sell wood:
He accepted a business card to pass along to an adult, then sped off down his relative's dirt driveway without another word.

I don’t agree with him being released to stay with relatives not just for flight risk reasons but bc if he were of age he’d be on a suicide watch for awhile, right? Perhaps that’s what the initial hospitalization was…
but I think that’s a lot to contend with for a 16yo kid: possibility of life in prison or worse, a dead family member everyone (rightfully) blames you for, media reports about how you wanted to date your step sister etc… idk that’s a lot of negative attention and teens have sadly ended their lives over a lot less. He deserves to be tried and sentenced, but I’d hate to see the family endure another loss… even if the suspect’s mom sounds like a real piece of work who cared more about damage control than her stepdaughter. Again only my opinion
and merry christmas to all who celebrate!

 

[Mauritius]

I'm not sure about the average parent, but something tells me that this particular parent might be an enabler.
I mean in the case at hand, the body was discovered by cleaning crews and I imagine that the scene was secured immediately. There are keycard logs and CCTV, there is very little that can be manipulated to help (or hinder) the situation aside from putting him straight into a clinic when they got off the boat (setting the wheels in motion for a mental health defence perhaps?).

Now consider for a moment if this kid had killed a non-family member in the home for instance, and the mother had discovered the body. How would she react?

A) Call the police immediately

B) Exclaim "Oh no, my baby has killed again!" and then dispose of the body, clean up with bleach and plan iron-clad aliby for the boy




I think the FBI is keeping tabs on him and I gather they don't think he's a flight risk.
I was suspicious about the claim that he was staying with family members, at least until the Daily Mail somehow managed to track him down and discovered that he was selling firewood by the side of the road in rural Florida

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Without an adult (the supposed supervising relative) there with him, and driving an off road vehicle of some kind. If the article is accurate, it was very surprising. (I assumed at the very least the agreement here would include definite supervision, and him staying inside the house with the supervisor, and if he left the house it would only be with the supervisor. It appears instead this is just as informal as the mother indicated at the custody hearing - he is literally just staying with a relative so he isn’t a risk to her other child, and she can thus keep custody of the other child.)

 

[Charlot123]

BBM: I feel like there is a backstory here. I wonder if the 18 yr old was put into a choke hold due to something having to do with Anna. Maybe the 16 yr old blamed her for his brother moving into his father's house and took his anger out by doing the very same thing to her.

I think that sadly, violence generates violence. If the 16 y.o. observed it, it might have become the behavior learned from Anna’s father.

 

[mickey2942]

I think that sadly, violence generates violence. If the 16 y.o. observed it, it might have become the behavior learned from Anna’s father.

I think that this kid has a history of incidents. We don't know what occurred prior to moving in with Anna's father.

 

[Charlot123]

I think that this kid has a history of incidents. We don't know what occurred prior to moving in with Anna's father.

No doubt that the kid had tons of “issues” prior to move. But moving into the family with poor control of violence and, might we say, observing the “honeymoon phase” between own mom and Anna’s dad didn’t help. JMO.

 

[AuDHD]

Without an adult (the supposed supervising relative) there with him, and driving an off road vehicle of some kind. If the article is accurate, it was very surprising. (I assumed at the very least the agreement here would include definite supervision, and him staying inside the house with the supervisor, and if he left the house it would only be with the supervisor. It appears instead this is just as informal as the mother indicated at the custody hearing - he is literally just staying with a relative so he isn’t a risk to her other child, and she can thus keep custody of the other child.)

The Daily Mail made it sound like he was just at the edge of the relatives property and drove back up the long driveway. So, it seems (to me) like the adult in question has him doing chores and didn’t think journalists were going to stop by. I don’t think it’s odd (to them) to have a 16yo drive down to the edge of the property and sell firewood to passersby. In rural areas, it seems more common to have teens do work like this. It was ill advised in this scenario, of course. kid shouldn’t be in a position to be giving any quotes to journalists even “no comment” JMO

 

[Hexe]

No doubt that the kid had tons of “issues” prior to move. But moving into the family with poor control of violence and, might we say, observing the “honeymoon phase” between own mom and Anna’s dad didn’t help. JMO.

The last couple of years did not form his mind though. He is sixteen, not six, way past the stage of learning by imitating adults or even thinking they are an authority. Yes, a violent, volatile family life certainly did not help, but the real damage to his psyche was done way earlier.

And the fact that his mother seems to be more interested in shielding him and herself from the consequences, than actually helping him... Now THAT has done a ton of damage. If his behaviour towards Anna was not ignored, that tragedy would never happen.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

What a risk this relative is taking on, because in the event this 16-year-old decides he has little to lose and does something, guess who will be blamed?

Not the 16-year-old. The well-meaning relative.

 

[Spectrix]

What a risk this relative is taking on, because in the event this 16-year-old decides he has little to lose and does something, guess who will be blamed?

Not the 16-year-old. The well-meaning relative.

Yep. I also hope that they're not dragged into the media spotlight.
It was bad enough that the Daily Mail published that story and photos, because any locals in that area who'd purchased firewood or even driven past and seen the roadside stall are going to know exactly where this kid is living and probably who he's living with (assuming it's a rural/small town area, everybody knows everybody).

 

[su5ie]

Good catch, Vaderman and Spectrix.

The Daily Mail is so awful lol but I have to say, they spill it when nobody else will.

Now, assuming the photos really are him, I wonder why it's considered an acceptable risk that another young lady could stop at this remote location to buy some firewood from him, and then... Unbelievable.

ETA: It seems to me that if they're assuming he's not a flight risk (and a very dangerous one too, considering that he probaby has no means to escape on his own) and that he's not a risk as far as doing it again, that would be way too much assuming!

MOO

So if we apply this logic , that he is not a flight risk and not a danger to anyone else in the community, we therefore also have to think logically that his deliberate target was Anna and not that his mental health problems made him a loose cannon and thereby act in a way that was beyond his control .

 

[mickey2942]

How on earth do they let a killer loose in the community? No restrictions on alcohol, as far as we know, a man-child who admitted he "doesn't remember anything" about killing a young woman, but he is fine to be free, wandering around the community without any charges or even an ankle monitor?

Do better Florida.

 

[Mauritius]

I think that this kid has a history of incidents. We don't know what occurred prior to moving in with Anna's father.

There was that quote from Anna’s grandmother about “demons” - whatever that meant - but could be indicative of history of incidents of some nature?

 

[su5ie]

There was that quote from Anna’s grandmother about “demons” - whatever that meant - but could be indicative of history of incidents of some nature?

All the more reason to keep him indoors under house arrest and not allowing him contact with n unsuspecting public buying firewood imo

Do posters feel there will be charges in this case

 

[Megnut]

All the more reason to keep him indoors under house arrest and not allowing him contact with n unsuspecting public buying firewood imo

Do posters feel there will be charges in this case

Given the circumstances, I can't believe he's not under constant supervision.

On a much lighter scale, my own parents told us kids that, if we ever got in trouble at school, they would come to school and pull up a chair right next to us for the remainder of the school year. And they meant it.

On  this scale, it seems preposterously irresponsible not to enforce a measurable amount of house arrest. For his own protection, if nothing else. Shield him from the media, shield themselves from the media, protect him from any occasion of self harm, even protect him from an ambush arrest.

But then, they're not a glut of responsible parties in the mix, far as I can tell.

JMO