The tragic death of 18-year-old cheerleader Anna Kepner, who passed away under suspicious circumstances aboard a Carnival cruise ship, has led to a heated exchange between her parents. Anna’s mother, Heather Wright, has publicly criticized her former husband, Christopher Kepner, regarding the circumstances that may have contributed to their daughter’s untimely demise.

Heather Wright has expressed her frustration with Christopher Kepner for the decision to have Anna share a cabin with her stepbrother during the cruise. This arrangement has come under scrutiny as the stepbrother is currently a suspect in the investigation into Anna’s death.

In a conversation with Fox News, Wright questioned why she is being portrayed negatively, stating, “Why am I the bad guy? He put them in a room together,” pointing fingers at her ex-husband for the arrangements.

Anna was on the cruise alongside her father, stepmother Shauntel Hudson, and her stepsiblings. The vacation, which was meant to be a time of relaxation between Mexico and Florida, turned tragic on November 7 when Anna was discovered dead.

The young woman was found wrapped in a blanket and hidden beneath a bed in the cabin she shared with her stepbrother. An investigation revealed her cause of death to be asphyxiation via a bar hold, a maneuver involving an arm across the neck, as reported by ABC News.

Her cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation via a bar hold, which is an arm across the neck, ABC News first reported. 

Wright, who had been estranged from her daughter and ex-husband for years, found out that her daughter had died on Google and went to her funeral in disguise after being barred by Anna’s father. 

Anna Kepner, 18, was found dead on November 7 while on a cruise vacation between Mexico and Florida with her father, stepmother and stepsiblings

Heather Wright, Anna’s biological mother, slammed her ex-husband for allowing their daughter to share a room with her stepbrother – who has been investigated in relation to the teen’s death

Anna was found wrapped in a blanket and stuffed under a bed in her cabin, which she shared with her stepbrother. Her cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation via a bar hold

She told NewsNation that her youngest son was informed of Anna’s death by a school peer, who then texted Wright with the news. 

The frantic mother tried to get in touch with her daughter, but after she never heard back she Googled ’18-year-old died on cruise ship.’

‘And that’s when my daughter’s face popped up all over Google,’ Wright revealed. 

Wright said her relationship with her ex-husband had kept her from being involved in her daughter’s life. 

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 her ex-husband 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 confessed that she only called Anna on her birthday and holidays and said she didn’t even know Anna was living with stepsiblings at the time of her death

The investigation into Anna’s death remains ongoing, with no official charges having been made yet

Wright, who had been estranged from her daughter and ex-husband for years, found out that Anna died on Google and went to her funeral in disguise after being barred by Anna’s father

Her fraught relationship with her ex-husband forced the grieving mother to disguise herself so she could attend Kepner’s funeral. 

Christopher Kepner had banned Wright from the service, threatening to have her arrested over unpaid child support. 

‘They said I never went, but I did,’ she told Fox News. ‘I didn’t want to be seen, so I made sure no one seen me – plus they can’t stop me from going anyway.’

Wright, who now lives in Oklahoma, added: ‘She was my daughter, and I loved her with all of my heart and soul.’

The investigation into Anna’s death remains ongoing, with no official charges having been made yet. 

Barbara Kepner, Anna’s grandmother, told ABC News that the two step-siblings were ‘just like brother and sister.’ 

‘I know that those two kids cared about each other in the right way,’ she added. 

Anna’s stepbrother was said to be the only person seen going in and out of the cabin before her body was discovered, the outlet reported. 

Barbara Kepner, Anna’s grandmother, said that the 16-year-old stepbrother ‘in his own words’ didn’t remember what happened on the ship and was ‘an emotional mess’

Anna’s ex-boyfriend, Josh Tew, 15, said that her little brother heard yelling and chairs being thrown in the cabin before she was found dead

‘The two younger girls stayed with the parents, and then the three teenagers – they decided amongst themselves they wanted to stay in the room together,’ Barbara Kepner claimed.

‘But we had a larger room, and we made it very clear that at any time if they weren’t getting along, they didn’t want to be together, we had an extra bed in our room that they could come to.’

However, she said she couldn’t accuse Anna’s stepbrother of anything ‘because I don’t know what happened in that room.’

Barbara said that the 16-year-old boy ‘in his own words’ didn’t remember what happened on the ship and was ‘an emotional mess.’

‘He couldn’t even speak. He couldn’t believe what had happened,’ she said.  

However, 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.

Anna’s ex-boyfriend claimed that her stepbrother was ‘obsessed with Anna’ 

‘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.’

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 on FaceTime together.

‘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.

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.