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

[tara83]

I fear Anna had no one in her corner.

It's heartbreaking. Stepmom just cared about protecting her son,Dad seemed to go from woman to woman,Bio mom doesn't seem to have been if her life much,Grandma is living in fantasy land that they were the brady bunch. If stepbro was making advances she had zero people putting her first to trust enough to tell.

 

[Leilei]

How is a death certificate issued before tox results are completed.

It's obvious Anna is dead but does the medical examiner not need a full report before completing a death cert .

Honest question

My sister-in-law passed from an overdose in March, and the death certificate was available way before the tox results came back, which were months later. IIRC, it was needed in order to transfer her body from a different state for burial. I think the coroner put down that it was "pending" or something like that.
IMO.

 

[Lisbeth_S]

I have been reading and following, and I am not liking the whole situation at all.

An 18 yo is dead, murdered, maybe by a family member, maybe not.
The main POI is a minor.

The media are feasting on this tragedy, and some of the family members seem to have jumped on the media wagon too.

There has been so much info put out and so few verifiable facts, it's making me uncomfortable.

I fear that LE's silence is making the speculations and innuendos even worse.
I just wish they gave at least a few straight facts to stop this circus.

JMO

 

[Vegoia]

when they start selling info, you can have no doubts what they are.

 

[JudyBolton]

I found it sad that when her dad married the latest step-mom she apparently lost her bedroom to someone - maybe a step-sibling? (I can't find the article now where that was stated but it was posted earlier in the thread.). It was stated that she had to move into the dining room as her bedroom. Most dining rooms are not built for privacy and I assume she had to share a bathroom. She seems to be a girl who succeeded in spite of her family and living situation. I believe she would have excelled in her military and law enforcement career if given the opportunity. All these little tidbits of information sort of pile up, don't they?

 

[patty24]

How is a death certificate issued before tox results are completed.

It's obvious Anna is dead but does the medical examiner not need a full report before completing a death cert .

Honest question

I believe that death certificates are completed, but will say “pending” and upon additional testing, it gets finalized by the funeral home. This is how it was for a family member of mine….

 

[acutename]

I'm not seeing any beds here but the room looks larger than I had imagined.

View attachment 626790

Family of 18-year-old who died on cruise speaks out as stepbrother is named 'suspect'

The young woman's body was discovered by a room attendant, “concealed under the bed,” and there were bruises on the side of her neck, according to the Kepners.

abcnews.go.com

I just wonder who took this picture. The room was probably OK, and they were all fine for 6 days...so what happened?

 

[Leilei]

I found it sad that when her dad married the latest step-mom she apparently lost her bedroom to someone - maybe a step-sibling? (I can't find the article now where that was stated but it was posted earlier in the thread.). It was stated that she had to move into the dining room as her bedroom. Most dining rooms are not built for privacy and I assume she had to share a bathroom. She seems to be a girl who succeeded in spite of her family and living situation. I believe she would have excelled in her military and law enforcement career if given the opportunity. All these little tidbits of information sort of pile up, don't they?

She was so damned close to getting out of there, joining the Navy, all of the experiences she could have had. The places she could have gone to.
I'm so angry at these people.
IMO.

 

[alexwood]

I'm not seeing any beds here but the room looks larger than I had imagined.

View attachment 626790

Family of 18-year-old who died on cruise speaks out as stepbrother is named 'suspect'

The young woman's body was discovered by a room attendant, “concealed under the bed,” and there were bruises on the side of her neck, according to the Kepners.

abcnews.go.com

Barbara Kepner (paternal grandmother of Anna): "Whatever happened in that room, the only person responsible is the person that was in the room with Anna."
At 3:35 of video.

 

[ch_13]

"He was in a room with her. He was the only one seen coming and going," Barbara Kepner said. "I can't accuse him because I don't know what happened in that room."

Well, there's the facts and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened! He's alive and she's murdered and stuffed under a bed.

It's important to note that a lot of media sources didn't print the complete quote. What the grandma actually said was "I mean he was in a room with her, he was the only one seen coming and going. So, I can't accuse him because I don't know what happened in that room, but the summation would be that he did something."

Some news organizations have omitted that last clause. In the actual quote, it's clear she acknowledges that the stepbrother killed Anna, even if she's hesitating to state it outright.

And to be clear, I'm not making excuses for the grandma, she said plenty of other questionable stuff in that interview. But I felt it important to set the record straight, especially when the omitted phrase completely changes the context.

Here's the actual interview, cued up to 2:02 where she makes the statement.

 

[BlaiseFinlay]

It's important to note that a lot of media sources didn't print the complete quote. What the grandma actually said was "I mean he was in a room with her, he was the only one seen coming and going. So, I can't accuse him because I don't know what happened in that room, but the summation would be that he did something."

Some news organizations have omitted that last clause. In the actual quote, it's clear she acknowledges that the stepbrother killed Anna, even if she's hesitating to state it outright.

And to be clear, I'm not making excuses for the grandma, she said plenty of other questionable stuff in that interview. But I felt it important to set the record straight, especially when the omitted phrase completely changes the context.

Here's the actual interview, cued up to 2:02 where she makes the statement.

Thank you for clarifying! I’m side eyeing the news organizations that felt that last clause was appropriate to omit under journalistic standards.

 

[steeltowngirl]

Screenshot of the family on the cruise from :14 in the video

https://twitter.com/x/status/1993065131526263250

 

[tara83]

Thank you for clarifying! I’m side eyeing the news organizations that felt that last clause was appropriate to omit under journalistic standards.

But she still felt she couldn't accuse him. How does that make sense?

 

[Warwick7]

It's important to note that a lot of media sources didn't print the complete quote. What the grandma actually said was "I mean he was in a room with her, he was the only one seen coming and going. So, I can't accuse him because I don't know what happened in that room, but the summation would be that he did something."

Some news organizations have omitted that last clause. In the actual quote, it's clear she acknowledges that the stepbrother killed Anna, even if she's hesitating to state it outright.

And to be clear, I'm not making excuses for the grandma, she said plenty of other questionable stuff in that interview. But I felt it important to set the record straight, especially when the omitted phrase completely changes the context.

Here's the actual interview, cued up to 2:02 where she makes the statement.

I agree with you.

I still can not get past "I can't accuse him..."

Even if she did say: "but the summation would be that he did something" it was still prefaced by "I can't accuse him..."

That seriously makes me sick.

 

[Gemmie]

Screenshot of the family on the cruise from :14 in the video

https://twitter.com/x/status/1993065131526263250

View attachment 626811

Look who's over her shoulder. Assigned placement? Did he pick that spot himself?

From your link:

Source:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1993065131526263250

 

[Luna20]

Demons in his past, eh? And they were still okay with him sharing a room with Anna? How sure were they that those demons were exorcised? MOO

“Like brother and sister, a good student, a very quiet young man and played soccer”

These don’t make him immune from bad behavior. Demons come in all forms and characteristics.

 

[Emerald1328]

Did I read somewhere the stepbrother had been drinking alcohol? Obvious where this is headed…

Family of 18-year-old who died on cruise speaks out as stepbrother is named 'suspect'

The young woman's body was discovered by a room attendant, “concealed under the bed,” and there were bruises on the side of her neck, according to the Kepners.

abcnews.go.com

“She said on the ship, the stepbrother told her, “In his own words, say he does not remember what happened.” She added, “I believe, to him, that is his truth.”

The stepbrother was questioned along with other family members by law enforcement -- who also pored over the ship’s security camera footage and access-card swipes to get a picture of who was where at the various times prior to the death, according to the Kepner family and a security source briefed on the investigation.

“He was an emotional mess. He couldn't even speak. He couldn't believe what had happened,” Mrs. Kepner said of the stepbrother. After the boat docked in Miami, the stepbrother was hospitalized for psychiatric observation and then released to stay with a family member, Kepner said.”

In the article, a quote from April’s grandma:

“I know that those two kids cared about each other in the right way,” Barbara Kepner said. “I can't accuse him because I don't know what happened in that room."

Excuse me, but if you even have to think of using the caveat of “in the right way” when it comes to talking about how teen step-siblings “care about each other”, then there should be alarm bells going off in your head grandma.

 

[Luna20]

In the article, a quote from April’s grandma:

“I know that those two kids cared about each other in the right way,” Barbara Kepner said. “I can't accuse him because I don't know what happened in that room."

Excuse me, but if you even have to think of using the caveat of “in the right way” when it comes to talking about how teen step-siblings “care about each other”, then there should be alarm bells going off in your head grandma.

“In the right way” is subjective, especially in this family.

When she said that she didn’t feel well I wonder if he slipped something in her drink. From what I’ve read the daterape pill can make you feel lightheaded and dizzy.

 

[Kemug]

What kind of lawsuit could they file against Carnival Cruises? None of this is the fault of Carnival.

They'ĺl think of something.

 

[Kemug]

³I didn't think the poster was saying they SHOULD file a lawsuit, rather that that is often the way these things go. People love to sueŕ, so the poster would not be surprised, given the family's response, that a lawsuit would come next.

They're probably hoping to get at last a free cruise out of this tragedy.