In a heart-wrenching saga, court documents from an ongoing custody dispute are revealing unsettling details about the untimely demise of 18-year-old Anna Kepner. The tragedy deepens with revelations of a 32-hour delay before her family was informed of her death.
The information, obtained by People magazine, outlines the chronology of events leading up to the discovery of Anna’s body. She was found lifeless in her cabin aboard the Carnival Horizon on November 7, discovered by a room steward.
In a previous court hearing in Brevard County, Florida, it emerged that Anna’s 16-year-old stepbrother is considered a suspect in her death. However, the FBI has not officially confirmed this suspicion, leaving a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the case.
The latest court proceedings in the custody dispute revealed that it took nearly a day and a half for Shauntel Kepner, Anna’s stepmother, to inform Thomas Hudson, the 16-year-old’s father, about the tragic event.
Hudson is currently embroiled in a custody battle for his 9-year-old daughter, who remains under Shauntel’s care. This custody fight has now been further complicated by the tragic circumstances surrounding Anna’s death.
The court documents indicate that it was not until around 7:30 p.m. on November 8—approximately 32 hours after Anna was discovered—that Shauntel reached out to Hudson with the grim news.
The subject line read, “Emergency.”
“I need you to call me asap it’s an emergency,” the message stated.
The significant delay has raised questions.
Documents revealed an exchange between the former couple regarding their son’s legal and personal welfare. Hudson submitted evidence of a heated argument triggered by Shauntel’s decision to cancel a scheduled visit between Hudson and his youngest daughter.
In a response to his ex-wife, Hudson suggested that Shauntel had been distancing herself from the investigation to protect her current marriage.
“I kept my mouth shut when you told me that you can’t jeopardize your marriage for helping [redacted] your son,” Hudson wrote.
During a December 5 custody hearing, a Brevard County judge had been told that their teenage son is now living with a relative.
He is at an undisclosed location that only Shauntel Kepner, Hudson, and law enforcement know. They did this to remove “any risk of any danger to any of the other children in the home.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Anna died by asphyxiation after someone held an arm across her neck, known as a bar hold or choke hold.
The room steward reportedly discovered Anna’s body at around 11 a.m. The ship then detoured and stopped at Port Miami on November 8.
Anna Kepner died on November 7, according to the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner.
The custody dispute remains active, according to People magazine, as authorities continue to investigate the circumstances of Anna Kepner’s death.
[Feature Photo: Anna Kepner/Instagram]
