Tuesday, February 24, 2026-The family of 18‑year‑old Anna Kepner says her 16‑year‑old stepbrother has been charged with homicide in connection with her death aboard a cruise ship last year.
Court documents referenced in an emergency family court filing dated Feb. 20, 2026 indicate the teen was charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida on Feb. 3 in the case, though official details remain sealed. The filing emerged in a separate custody dispute between the stepbrother’s parents.
Kepner was found dead on Nov. 7, 2025, aboard the Carnival Horizon while on a Caribbean cruise with her family. Authorities later ruled her death a homicide by asphyxiation, and her body was discovered under a bed in the cabin she shared with her stepbrother. According to family accounts, she had told relatives the night before she was not feeling well and retired to her room, prompting alarm when she failed to appear for breakfast the next morning.
The stepbrother, who has not been publicly named because of his age, appeared briefly in federal court in Miami earlier this month, but proceedings were closed to the media.
Federal prosecutors and the FBI have not publicly confirmed the charges, and the case remains under seal as investigators continue to probe the circumstances of Kepner’s death. Her family has expressed deep grief and a desire for justice as the legal process unfolds.
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