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

[Warwick7]

To my knowledge, A loud violent altercation hasn't been proven. So far it is basically a rumor set fourth by the boy friend.

He's an ex boyfriend.
I'm not ready to call the ex or her little brother a "rumor spreader." It is written in approved MSM so we can discuss it.

 

[Warwick7]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1992030263459635415

Thank you @Dotta !
Here's a quote from the article. The stepmother is calling the ex boyfriends statements as "confidential comments."

 

[RobertCatesby]

I do not think it was an attempted SA, I feel like there would at least have been some evidence of that from initial reports. I think the stepbrother just got extremely angry over something, and that combined with his previous feelings put him over the top. I'd also say it could have been accidental and he just meant to make her unconscious with the chokehold, but that wouldn't explain the stuff afterward with using the life vests to try to cover it up.

 

[MistyWaters]

Thank you @Dotta !
Here's a quote from the article. The stepmother is calling the ex boyfriends statements as "confidential comments."

I believe the stepmother is referring to her ex-husband, not Anna’s ex-boyfriend. The motion refers to ongoing custody proceedings between the two parents. I have no idea what ‘confidential comments’ it refers to other than the 18 year old son leaving to go live with T, his dad.

Murder suspect identified during investigation into Anna Kepner death

It is the first time the word has been used in the case of the school cheerleader who was found under a bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered with life vests in her cabin.

www.dailymail.co.uk

“Shauntel also criticizes her ex Thomas in the motion, saying he may have ‘impeded the active criminal investigation’ with ‘confidential’ comments she understands he has made.”

 

[OneLove]

I believe the stepmother is referring to her ex-husband, not Anna’s ex-boyfriend. The motion refers to ongoing custody proceedings between the two parents. I have no idea what ‘confidential comments’ it refers to other than the 18 year old son leaving to go live with T, his dad.

Murder suspect identified during investigation into Anna Kepner death

It is the first time the word has been used in the case of the school cheerleader who was found under a bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered with life vests in her cabin.

www.dailymail.co.uk

“Shauntel also criticizes her ex Thomas in the motion, saying he may have ‘impeded the active criminal investigation’ with ‘confidential’ comments she understands he has made.”

This filing was in regards to custody so every statement is geared toward painting the father in as bad a light as possible. I'd lean towards her statement that the father "Impeded the criminal investigation" by his "confidential" info to mean he hurt his son's defense by comments meant to disparage her parenting. She's just trying to buy time and retain custody by using whatever leverage she can.

Hope that troubled homicidal son of their's is NOT merely staying with yet another relative, and a relative of that reality-denying mother at that. He needs to be in an accelerated mental and behavioral setting attended by both medical professionals and interventional security if it becomes necessary. He can cry "sorry" all he wants but death by strangulation takes a long time and thats why its always counted as "premeditated" in indictments.

 

[HoneyBunOne]

Im trying to figure out how the cabins next door didn't hear anything? The walls are very thin. I can always here everything going on in cabins next to me. Last cruise i could hear a couple talking most of the night. I could understand every word! You can hear when people are walking down the halls. Unless she was drugged and didn't fight back i find it hard to believe no one heard anything.

Pretty easily really. I've only been on one cruise, but it looked like most people were out and about and only really used their cabins for sleep. If something happened the evening before she was found, it's likely almost everyone was at dinner or enjoying the nightlife. It's a bit of a stretch, but if these were the budget rooms, maybe other people in budget rooms were out making the most of their potentially hard saved for vacation, and not cramped in a small room without windows.

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

I would think an 18 year old may find it hard to turn down a cruise, even if it meant sharing a room with her alleged killer. She would likely think the fun and good times would outweigh having to deal with him for part of the time. She may be an adult, but we all know it takes time and experience to be able to make good judgement calls, and besides, who would ever have thought this would be the outcome? She likely thought the worst that could happen would be some words exchanged, and having her brother in the room too would make it safer again.

 

[maiarainearcadia]

I have the same question about the FT call while she was asleep. That didn’t make sense.

Just speaking anecdotally but when I was in high school plenty of people (including myself) would stay on phone calls or FaceTime with their friends or partners all night and just fall asleep talking. It doesn’t seem weird to me.

 

[bajaflash]

Also, 18 may be a legal adult...please remember. They are still teenagers. Not much difference between a 17 year old and 18 year old, except legality.

 

[LetsSolvIt]

Those are some serious allegations the father of her ex-BF made about the step-brother. Like... HUGE! And after that they shared a cabin??? You don't mix teen boys and girls unchaperoned together! At least I wouldn't recommend it. It's asking for trouble, and I wasn't talking about the kind of trouble that came out of this shared room situation. JMO

I know I’m late to the table here. MOO. MOO.
Teen girl in her bed, dozing or sound asleep if feeling unwell, may have even taken Dramamine and is effectively doped. Teen boy left alone with girl, already harboring fantasies, can’t control temptation. Struggle with or w/o SA ensues. Threats are made to report boy and/or he’s enraged over rejection. We know the rest in our subject case. Only conjecture — not accusing anyone — OMO.

EDITED: Since my scenario could sound similar to our subject case, I deleted what came from ME report in our subject case.

 

[LetsSolvIt]

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.

The ex- boyfriend said he was supposed to go on cruise, too, but then he and Anna broke up. Wonder where boyfriend was going to be sleeping? Just my musings.

 

[BreakingNews]

To my knowledge, A loud violent altercation hasn't been proven. So far it is basically a rumor set fourth by the boy friend.

And has it been confirmed that Anna was sexually assaulted?

 

[LetsSolvIt]

Do you know how easy it is to walk up to a bar (over 21), order a drink, bring it back to stateroom to the underage drinker? Very.

Teenagers can also take a water bottle off ship during an excursion. Buy vodka or gin at ports of call where drinking age is different or nonexistent. Empty water and refill the bottle only to reboard the ship with their beverage of choice looking like water. This was once my reality on a cruise.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I'm shocked by some of the comments. Saying maybe he got carried away, maybe he "only" meant to make her unconcious (as if possibly causing someone brain damage isn't absolutely heinous), can't control temptations, etc.

16 is old enough to operate a car, to work, and to have huge responsibilities. They aren't little kids who don't understand reality.

 

[Hexe]

Teen boy left alone with girl, already harboring fantasies, can’t control temptation

Hate that kind of narrative. Teenage boys can control temptations. Men can control temptations. Male humans, at least these without severe brain damage are not slaves of their sexual urges. When they commit a sexual assault it's their CHOICE to do so. It's basically "boys will be boys" all over again.

 

[Elley Mae]

Anna Kepner’s younger brother reportedly heard “yelling” and “chairs being thrown” inside her cruise stateroom the night before the 18-year-old Florida cheerleader was found dead, her devastated ex-boyfriend said.

The commotion went down as Kepner was in the locked cabin alone with her 16-year-old stepbrother – a “suspect” in her killing, Joshua Westin told “Inside Edition” outside her Orlando, Florida, funeral Thursday night.

Anna Kepner’s brother heard ‘yelling,’ commotion in her cruise cabin while she was locked in alone with her stepbrother: report

Anna Kepner’s young brother reportedly heard “yelling” and “chairs being thrown” inside her locked stateroom where her stepbrother — a “suspect” in h…

nypost.com

 

[Florida_marlin]

Hate that kind of narrative. Teenage boys can control temptations. Men can control temptations. Male humans, at least these without severe brain damage are not slaves of their sexual urges. When they commit a sexual assault it's their CHOICE to do so. It's basically "boys will be boys" all over again.

Me too! I was 16 once. I can still remember the day. Walked around highly infatuated with multiple teen girls and young women too. Never, ever once did I choke one to death. No excuses. And , this circling the wagon is ridiculous. Under 18 or not, someone in that family gotta step up and call it like it is. Anna’s father? Step up, man!

 

[LetsSolvIt]

Hate that kind of narrative. Teenage boys can control temptations. Men can control temptations. Male humans, at least these without severe brain damage are not slaves of their sexual urges. When they commit a sexual assault it's their CHOICE to do so. It's basically "boys will be boys" all over again.

Totally agree with you — not best wording on my part. Apologize because I didn’t for a minute mean to sound like I was making excuses for this guy or any men who abuse women.
It is wrong, wrong, wrong! In NO world is it excusable!

 

[Silverstorm]

I agree it was wrong to make her share a room with the 16-yr old who was already obsessed with her. I would not put my daughter in that position. I would say to my husband I'm sharing a room with her and you boys will have the other room.

The more I hear of the preexisting problems the 16 year old stepbrother had, the more reason I can't believe the mother didn't do this.

 

[303gmf]

Hate that kind of narrative. Teenage boys can control temptations. Men can control temptations. Male humans, at least these without severe brain damage are not slaves of their sexual urges. When they commit a sexual assault it's their CHOICE to do so. It's basically "boys will be boys" all over again.

In my world of being a teen/ young woman, long in the past of course, it’s alcohol and male lust that’s a deadly and destructive combination IMO

 

[su5ie]

In my world of being a teen/ young woman, long in the past of course, it’s alcohol and male lust that’s a deadly and destructive combination IMO

lust and alcohol although can be a deadly combination is no excuse no matter which way you butter the bread otherwise murder by DV or rape would never go to trial because this would be a get out clause . Imo it is uncontrollable impulse that is the cause of every crime don't mean its not murder .

He had a choice to release his grip he chose to continue. When someone is being choked or strangled there is a lot of involuntary and voluntary struggle, a tapping out for want of a better phrase . At some point the step brother would have known he was killing her imo

He also made a decision to conceal her body in the hope no one would notice imo that is a conscious decision so it kind of takes the involuntary and diminished culpability out of it for me .

If he thought he only knocked her unconscious he would have left her on the floor or lifted her into the bed thinking she would come around ,he knew he killed her and whether panic set in or not he still was controlled enough to not say anything a whole 12 hours or more after killing her which imo shows the behaviour of a sociopathic personality.