The mother of Anna Kepner, an 18-year-old cheerleader whose mysterious death occurred aboard a Carnival cruise ship, has expressed her deep distress. The relationship between Anna and her mother had been strained, but the loss is no less devastating for her.

Heather Wright shared with Fox News that she and Anna’s father, Christopher Kepner, parted ways when Anna was just four. While Wright moved to Oklahoma, Anna stayed in Titusville, Florida, with her dad.

Despite the distance, Wright attempted to maintain a bond with Anna over the years. “I am not OK,” she lamented, “She was my daughter, and I loved her with all of my heart and soul.”

In early November, Anna was vacationing on a cruise with her father, stepmother, three step-siblings, and grandparents. Tragically, on November 7, while the ship sailed between Mexico and Florida, Anna’s lifeless body was discovered.

Her remains were found in her cabin, tucked beneath her bed, wrapped in a blanket, and covered with life vests, adding a layer of perplexity to the circumstances surrounding her death.

Her body was found in her cabin underneath her bed. She was wrapped in a blanket and covered with life vests.

The Daily Mail was the first to report that her 16-year-old stepbrother was under investigation and was being considered a ‘suspect’ in the death of the teen.

It was revealed earlier Friday that asphyxiation via a bar hold – an arm across the neck – was her official cause of death.

The estranged mother of Anna Kepner, the 18-year-old cheerleader who died under mysterious circumstances on a Carnival cruise ship, said she is ‘not okay’

Heather Wright told Fox News that her ex-husband, Christopher Kepner, tried to keep her away from Anna’s funeral. She showed up anyway, she said

Wright told Fox that she was kept out of her daughter’s life after she moved away. After she died, she was left off the online obituary but was later added in.

She also said she was told not to attend her Anna’s memorial service last week, something she did not abide by.

‘They said I never went, but I did,’ she said. ‘I didn’t want to be seen, so I made sure no one seen me — plus they can’t stop me from going anyway, even though Chris said he would have me arrested for back child support.’

Anna was expected to graduate high school in May and join the US Navy, according to her grandparents.

Another twist in the case came last week when court filings came to light showing that Shauntel Hudson, Anna’s 36-year-old stepmother, and her ex-husband Thomas Hudson are currently engaged in a custody battle over their children.

In one motion filed with Brevard County Court in Florida, Thomas demands clarity on Shauntel, who was on the cruise, on what is going with his son that is being investigated by the FBI. He claimed he was in the care of a ‘third party’. 

Thomas is also seeking immediate custody of the other minor child from his marriage to 36-year-old Shauntel, a nine-year-old girl living in Titusville with her and Anna’s father.

‘The respondent took the remaining minor children on a cruise with a stepchild of her paramour,’ his filing says.

‘The sixteen-year-old child is now a suspect in the death of the stepchild during the cruise. While released from custody, the sixteen-year-old child is residing with a third party.’

Anna is pictured with her 16-year-old stepbrother who has been named as a suspect in her death, which was ruled a homicide

A family photo of Anna (pictured lower right), with her stepmother, father, stepbrother (pictured left), stepsister and half-sister

The filing adds: ‘The sixteen-year-old’s future has been put in jeopardy because of the choices made by the respondent… the youngest child is at immediate risk of abuse, abandonment, or neglect in the care of the respondent.’

Shauntel hit back in a court filing denying allegations that she ‘abused, neglected or abandoned’ her children.

She added: ‘It is true that there is an open investigation regarding the death of the biological daughter of the stepfather and [boy’s initials] is a suspect regarding this death which occurred recently on a cruise ship.’

Shauntel’s filing said the boy was staying with one of her relatives and she is providing counseling for all of her children.

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.

The motion calls for a Non-Dissemination Order, preventing ‘both parties’ from discussing or giving out information – and to seal the case ‘where the court documents are not available to the public’.

Specifically, she demands the shutdown of information about the FBI probe, her custody battle, any law enforcement activity and the passing on of documents, photographs or texts relating to her ‘suspect’ son.

She also wants ‘sensitive information’ redacted from public court records.

Anna’s death was ruled a homicide after her cause of death was reported. Investigators are still going through the ship’s surveillance cameras to build a timeline of a possible crime.