TITUSVILLE, Fla. — As the FBI investigates the mysterious death of an 18-year-old Florida cheerleader aboard a Carnival cruise ship, her stepmother’s courtroom fight with an ex is exposing new details — and may force her to testify against her son.
Friday marks two weeks since the aspiring Navy sailor Anna Kepner was found dead in her room aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship.
Authorities have not yet announced a cause and manner of death or an arrest, but a court battle between her 16-year-old stepbrother’s parents revealed that he is a suspect.
Krystal Wright, Anna’s aunt, confirms to Fox News Digital that Anna was found “wrapped in a blanket, covered in life jackets and stuffed under the bed.”
“It’s all just so crazy because this is in Florida, and I’m in Oregon,” she said. “Anna’s dad won’t say anything to me. I think it’s bulls— that he says he doesn’t know what’s going on or what happened because he absolutely does know.”
Two vehicles, a Dodge truck and Chevy SUV, were parked in the Kepners’ driveway Thursday, but no one answered the door, and her father and stepmother have not responded to other attempts to reach them.
One of the Kepners’ neighbors told Fox News Digital Thursday that their street has been quiet since Anna’s death. He said the Kepners are a friendly family.
Kepner’s stepmother, Shauntel Kepner, asked a judge overseeing a custody dispute between her and her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, to delay a hearing in that matter until after the criminal investigation comes to a close.
That dispute could put the stepmother in a legal bind, according to Donna Rotunno, a Chicago-based criminal defense lawyer and Fox News contributor. Shauntel’s Fifth Amendment defense could disappear if prosecutors offer her immunity while going after the teen.
“The mother does not have any privilege to not testify against her son,” Rotunno told “FOX & Friends” Thursday morning. “So, a court could compel her to testify, or she could be held in contempt. And if they believe the mother was involved in any way, they could give her immunity in order to get her to speak.”
Hudson accused Shauntel of alienating their two younger children from him, including the 16-year-old. Their oldest son, 18, went to live with his father after an alleged “violent altercation” involving Shauntel and Kepner’s father, Christopher Kepner.
“The [16-year-old]’s future has been put in jeopardy because of the choices made by [Shauntel],” Hudson wrote to the judge Monday.
The teen’s current whereabouts are unclear. According to the filing, he has been released from custody and is staying with an unnamed third party.
Shauntel, in a filing of her own, denied that their oldest son had been involved in any altercation with her new husband but conceded “there is an open FBI investigation involving” the 16-year-old.
STEPMOTHER IN CRUISE SHIP DEATH MYSTERY FEARS CHILD COULD BE INCRIMINATED: COURT DOCS
A law enforcement source told Fox News Digital Wednesday that authorities have recovered surveillance video from the cruise ship showing Kepner with a “suspect” and that the FBI is reviewing hours of additional footage from the cruise before her death. Authorities also have access to records of room key swipes aboard the vessel, the source said.
The FBI’s Miami office is handling the investigation.
Nicole Parker, a former Miami-based FBI agent and Fox News contributor, used to handle maritime cases.
“One thing that I realized as an investigator is that people think, ‘Oh, you know, if I commit a crime out at sea, no one’s ever gonna find out,'” she told “FOX & Friends” Thursday morning. “And little do they know and many times they’re shocked. It’s actually FBI’s jurisdiction.”
Before the ship returned to port, she said, the cruise line’s own security team would have secured the scene after Kepner was found dead Friday at around 11 a.m.
“Our evidence response team would be boarding that ship — in this instance, it would have been that Saturday morning and multiple interviews would be conducted,” she said. “I would be first asking for, I want all the CCTV, I want all the video surveillance footage. I also want the key-lock records, which indicate who went in and out of that ship cabin at the time that the potential crime may have occurred.”
Agents would also interview everyone in the surrounding rooms, she said.
A memorial service for Kepner is scheduled for Thursday evening in her hometown of Titusville, Florida.
