The mother of a Florida teenager who tragically passed away on a Carnival cruise ship has spoken out, revealing she was not informed of the incident until much later.
Eighteen-year-old Anna Kepner was discovered dead on November 7 during a family vacation in international waters between Mexico and Florida.
Accompanied by her father, Christopher Kepner, stepmother Shauntel Hudson, and stepsiblings, Anna’s death has drawn attention, especially as her stepbrother is under investigation regarding the incident.
In a recent interview, Anna’s biological mother, Heather Wright, expressed her distress over not being notified by Kepner about their daughter’s death. She learned of the tragedy through an online search.
Adding to her anguish, Wright shared that her youngest son was informed by a friend at school that his sister had been murdered, a revelation she described during a heart-wrenching interview with NewsNation.
A text message urging her to confirm if her daughter was on a cruise prompted Wright into a frantic search for answers about Anna’s whereabouts.
After failing to get in touch with her daughter or her ex-husband, Wright searched online for an ’18-year-old died on cruise ship’.
‘And that’s when my daughter’s face popped up all over Google,’ she revealed.
Anna Kepner, 18, was found dead, wrapped in a blanket and covered with life vests, in her cabin on board a Carnival cruise on November 7
Anna’s mom, Heather Wright, revealed in a recent interview that she wasn’t notified about her daughter’s death and found out by Googling ’18-year-old died on cruise ship’
The Florida teen was traveling with her father, stepmother, siblings, and stepsiblings on the Carnival cruise and was found dead in international waters between Mexico and Florida (file photo)
Wright explained that her fraught relationship with her ex-husband kept her from being close to her daughter.
She confessed that she only called Anna on her birthday and holidays. Wright said she didn’t even know Anna was living with stepsiblings at the time of her death.
Wright told NewsNation that Kepner had remarried a woman named Tabitha after their divorce.
She added that Tabitha had primarily raised her daughter. Wright had no idea that they were divorced, and that Kepner had remarried again to Hudson.
‘Christopher and I do not talk whatsoever, and he made it extremely difficult for me to even have a relationship with my daughter,’ she told NewsNation.
Wright, who now lives in Oklahoma, claimed that she wasn’t allowed to attend Anna’s memorial and was told by Kepner that she’d be arrested ‘immediately for back child support’ if she set foot in Florida.
However, Wright told the outlet that the threat didn’t stop her, and she showed up to the service in disguise.
Anna’s biological mother added that she also wasn’t notified by the authorities of her daughter’s death.
Wright also told NewsNation that she wasn’t allowed to attend her daughter’s memorial, but snuck in disguised
The teen’s cause of death was found to be from asphyxiation via a bar hold, which is an arm across the neck, ABC News first reported.
She was found wrapped in a blanket and stuffed under a bed in her cabin.
Anna’s ex-boyfriend, Josh Tew, 15, previously told the Daily Mail that her little brother heard yelling and chairs being thrown in the cabin before she was found dead.
Josh added that Anna had been in the cabin with her 16-year-old stepbrother, who Daily Mail previously reported was being investigated in connection with her death.
‘And that’s when he knew something was going on. There was screaming going on. Something was banging around, like chairs were getting thrown around in the room,’ Josh said.
‘But he wouldn’t talk to me any more. He said the FBI told them that if they talk they’ll get arrested because it’s tampering with an investigation or something.’
Anna was living with her father in Florida at the time of her death. Her new stepmom and stepsiblings had recently moved into their home
Anna’s ex-boyfriend previously told the Daily Mail that her 16-year-old stepbrother had tried to get on top of her one night while they were FaceTiming
Josh said he called the Federal Bureau of Investigation to report what he was told.
He added that the 16-year-old stepbrother was obsessed with Anna, and he even caught him trying to get on top of her one night while they were FaceTiming.
‘He [the stepbrother] walked in there and tried to get on top of her … but he got caught by me in the process of it. I was like, “What the hell are you doing in her room?” Then he got scared and ran away. And I heard his footsteps running through the house because he got caught.’
‘She told me that she was uncomfortable with them [his step relatives] being at the house because she didn’t fully know who they were,’ Josh said.
He added that Anna’s father met her stepmother less than a year before the two families began living together.
Hudson is currently in a dispute with her ex-husband, who has filed for custody of their other child, a nine-year-old girl.
Wright admitted that she wasn’t close to her daughter because of the estranged relationship she had with her ex, Christopher Kepner
‘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.’
Hudson filed a response to the allegations, denying any abuse or neglect in the home, but confirming that there was an investigation into her 16-year-old son.
The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner lists Anna’s time of death at 11.17am on November 7, but has not revealed its findings.
Police haven’t filed charges against Anna’s stepbrother or publicly named him as the suspect in her death.
