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

[MickeysVoice]

Cheerleader's ex-boyfriend reveals her stepbrother's disturbing act

Tragic teen Anna Kepner's ex-boyfriend has claimed her 16-year-old stepbrother tried to climb on top of her against her will months before she died on a cruise. .

www.dailymail.co.uk

And to top it off her father booked a cabin for his daughter to stay in with her stepbrother after warning signs had been evident but HE DIDN’T WANT TO BELIEVE IT!

From the article you posted:

Westin went on to claim that his son tried to warn Kepner's parents, but they 'didn't want to believe me.'

 

[drsleuth]

Insane that Anna's father was okay with her being in a room with a 16 year old boy who they've only known for a year. Absolutely, insane.

I mean, something like what apparently happened is not something you're thinking about as possibly happening, but there's plenty of other things well short of that, that you would not want to have your kid go through.

There's just a very basic and easy minimum floor of common sense, decency & care that far too many "parents" fail to meet and unfortunately it's the innocent children who pay the price.

It seems he is the problem IMO

If you goggle him you'll see he has a bit of history on how he got with Wife # 2 Tabitha

 

[Snoopster]

I’m going to need a family tree to follow this - poor Anna …
JMO

Here's a screen grab from the CourtTV video:

 

[soap mama]

I’m going to need a family tree to follow this - poor Anna …
JMO

 

[Arkay]

There's three kinds of people that book inside cabins
1) Those that just can't afford anything nicer.
2) Those that plan to spend most of their time partying, and the cabin is just a place to crash at night and then sleep in without the sun waking them up.
3) As a second cabin to stick the kids in.

If you like to hang out in your cabin all day relaxing, you book a balcony cabin, so it wouldn't surprise me if no one was home next door to heat anything. Or if they did if they thought it was just some kids roughousing and goofing around while the parents were down the hall in their balcony cabin.

I can’t really 100% agree.

I always take a balcony stateroom because I love watching the water and the sunsets over the ocean.

Whereas my parents take an inside cabin because watching the ocean makes my mother feel seasick.

They’ve been to all seven continents; money is not a factor, just that my dad will forsake the balcony (which he loves) so that my mother can enjoy herself, too.

That said, I would never put my kid in a room with someone UNrelated of the opposite sex, and just so recently becoming step-siblings.

Especially in this particular family, which is filled with so much commotion and hostility.

JMO and JME.

 

[Arkay]

At this point I don’t truly believe anything except for what we hear from LE.

IMO there are way too many people claiming different versions of what precisely happened, and who knew what when, and who is hiding what.

I believe TH killed her, as that had been said by LE.

I also am having trouble with the lavish obituary from the family.
Naturally they claim that she was so loved and they are grief-stricken.

Maybe they are NOW, but what adults showed her love as she was growing up?

It seems like every adult in her rotating family failed her, on multiple levels over many years.

I do think though that her bio mom, despite being messed up, had the right to attend the funeral. Obviously without her, Anna would never have existed.

The real mom was there at the beginning and deserves to be there at the end, IMO, despite having failed Anna throughout her childhood.

The current crop of family members who were with her on the cruise are the ones who ultimately failed her. She was about to blossom into her own life and appears to have had more sense than any adult in her family/families.

Again JMO

 

[OneLove]

If the 16 year old was hospitalized "immediately" after the incident, does that mean while on the cruise ship? Was that Carniva'ls way of taking a minor into custody since law enforcement on board withoit formal charges would be terribly murky?

 

[mickey2942]

That is SO sick that her father made her share a room with a 16 year old not even a relative on a ship. Those rooms are TINY! Zero privacy.

That poor girl.

 

[Aycheff]

I don't want to dox myself but I will say we went to Anna's Celebration of Life at The Grove today, and it was beautiful but at the same time I am absolutely shattered for her family. We have very close connections and I am absolutely sick to my stomach over everything. I've been crying all day and I am of course watching her case very, very closely.

 

[Stunned]

JMO but... "Either you share a room or you're not going".

I'm not going and I'll tell you again why.

 

[Stunned]

JMO but... "Either you share a room or you're not going".

Is the supposed boyfriend Josh the only one we've heard say that the parents knew?

 

[Arkay]

If the 16 year old was hospitalized "immediately" after the incident, does that mean while on the cruise ship? Was that Carniva'ls way of taking a minor into custody since law enforcement on board withoit formal charges would be terribly murky?

They do have medical on every ship, and I believe a brig as well.
They have him on surveillance going into the room and then out so I’m certain they wouldn’t let him just roam free.

 

[sunspun]

FWIW I think 11:17 isn't when her heart stopped. IMO this article makes it clear (to me) that 11:17 is when she was declared dead by cruise medical staff. Her actual time of death, to be determined.

JMO

So will they continue to try to determine the actual time of death, even though they've used that 11:17 time so far? And I agree that sounds like the time declared, not actual time of death.

 

[TristanP]

If the 16 year old was hospitalized "immediately" after the incident, does that mean while on the cruise ship? Was that Carniva'ls way of taking a minor into custody since law enforcement on board withoit formal charges would be terribly murky?

I'm not saying it's what happened here, but hospitalization means a person is protected by HIPAA laws and, while cooperating with law enforcement is an exception, there are certain circumstances under which that cooperation is allowed. Otherwise, medical facilities are not permitted to acknowledge the presence of any person without a release of information.

Considering that it appears this precious golden boy was protected every step of the way along this path that led to him allegedly murdering his step-sister, it seems reasonable to think placing him behind some HIPAA protection would be consistent with the parent and step-parent's actions.

 

[Bernie54]

That is SO sick that her father made her share a room with a 16 year old not even a relative on a ship. Those rooms are TINY! Zero privacy.

That poor girl.

I am heartbroken that a young woman who had dreams, aspirations, and plans for a better future for herself was cut down so heartlessly. May her killer Rot.

So many people failed Anna. It seems she was a sweet caring person. Why was she treated so thoughtlessly by her father. A young lady does Not share a tiny cubicle with two teen boys! I’m not even mentioning the alarming behavior her killer exhibited before they even went on the cruise! I’ve been on quite a few cruises. The bathrooms are hardly large enough to change in. No privacy whatsoever!

I have not seen mention of her 14 yr old brother, but my heart aches for him. For what he now knows happened to his sister in that room before he went to bed. The memories he has to endure. He must be haunted by so many things. May he get good counseling and may God bless him and watch over him. The “adults” who are unfortunately his caretakers are not only immature, they seems to lack any common sense. So the video upthread where stepmom and judge were hearing her ex - he stated the 16 yr was allowed to drink alcohol on the cruise. She had no reaction! I really hope, if a responsible relative steps up for Anna’s 14 yr old brother, that “dad” would think of the young man’s future and not his own ego. The boy needs actual carers!!! I’m so sad for all ( almost all) the kids.

 

[Hexe]

It is becoming very obvious, to me at least, who wears the pants in that family. Why the heck haven't we heard anything from Anna's dad?

I suspect there is not much he can say without making himself look like a selfish..., uh, person.

 

[mickey2942]

We have not yet seen the full autopsy yet. I wonder if she was raped as well.

 

[Megnut]

So will they continue to try to determine the actual time of death, even though they've used that 11:17 time so far? And I agree that sounds like the time declared, not actual time of death.

That is the domain of the ME.

Her last meal, stomach contents, degree of digestion... if she was wearing a Fit Bit, that will most certainly come into play. Steps, heart rate, and when it stopped.

This is all so very sad.

And maddening.

Saddening, maddening.

JMO

 

[kuromiiiilove]

DBM

 

[mickey2942]

So hard, to have a forced "choice" go on a cruise and have to share room with creepy step brother, or not go at all. I wonder if she had a choice? I probably wouldn't have gone.