Anna Kepner, an 18-year-old from Florida who recently passed away on a Carnival cruise ship, has been cremated, according to her death certificate acquired by Fox News.
The publicly accessible document does not specify her cause or manner of death, details that are only available to her immediate family as per Florida law. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office has refrained from making any comments, citing the ongoing investigation.
The FBI’s Miami division is currently investigating Kepner’s death. Her family disclosed to ABC News that the death has been classified as a homicide caused by mechanical asphyxiation.
Kepner’s family has identified her as the passenger who lost her life aboard the Carnival Horizon.
Dr. Priya Banerjee, a forensic pathologist with board certification, previously clarified that “mechanical asphyxia” indicates an external force that obstructs breathing, preventing the chest or abdomen from expanding.
Read the document:
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment and has said little after announcing its investigation two weeks ago.
Kepner’s official time of death is listed as 11:17 a.m. on Nov. 7, a day before the Carnival Horizon cruise liner returned to port in Miami.
North Brevard Funeral Home in Titusville, Florida, Tuesday, November 25, 2025. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)
Anna Kepner, her father, stepmother and several siblings in a family photo. (Shauntel Kepner/Facebook)
Family members have said she was found under her bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered in life jackets in a cabin she shared with her stepbrother.
There have been no publicly announced criminal charges in the case, and the FBI has not identified anyone as a suspect.
Anna Kepner’s family said she had dreams of joining the military. (Instagram/Anna Kepner)
However, according to court documents from a bitter custody battle between the stepbrother’s parents, the 16-year-old is an apparent subject of the FBI’s investigation.
