MIAMI — A 16-year-old Florida boy appeared Friday at a closed-door federal court hearing in Miami on charges related to the death of his teenage stepsister on a Carnival cruise ship in November.

But his case and the proceedings will remain sealed from public view because the defendant is a juvenile, unless prosecutors seek and obtain a judge’s approval to try him as an adult. That designation would open the case.

The unidentified teenage boy, who appeared alongside a federal public defender before Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres, was later taken to the court’s probation office and processed for pretrial release, according to NBC 6 South Florida. The federal charges were unknown because his case remained under seal, with no visible docket record.

His stepsister, Anna Marie Kepner, 18, was found dead at 11:17 a.m Nov. 7 on board the Carnival Horizon as it was heading back to PortMiami from a Caribbean cruise, according to Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office records. The cause of death was asphyxiation. The Carnival ship arrived in Miami on Nov. 8.

Divorce documents revealed teen was a suspect

Kepner, a high school cheerleader from Brevard County on Florida’s Space Coast, was traveling with her father, her stepmother and two step-siblings — one 16, the other 11. The 16-year-old stepbrother’s role as a suspect was revealed in a state court document related to his parents’ ongoing custody arrangement after their divorce. The document confirmed the FBI was focusing its investigation on him and also said Kepner was found asphyxiated under a bed inside the room that she was sharing with the 16-year-old stepbrother on the Carnival ship.

“As a matter of policy, the FBI does not provide operational updates on open investigations except in rare circumstances,” FBI spokesman, Special Agent Willie Creech, said in a statement on Monday. The FBI has jurisdiction over the suspected killing because it happened in international waters.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.

The court document filed in the divorce proceeding stated that the stepmother, Shauntel Hudson, could not attend a Dec. 17 hearing because FBI agents and her attorneys told her “a criminal case may have been initiated against one of the minor children” with the group on the Carnival cruise ship. A counter motion filed by her ex-husband’s attorney said the couple’s “sixteen-year-old child is now a suspect in the death of [Kepner] during the cruise.”

Shauntel Hudson’s attorney argued she should not attend the hearing, citing her “privilege against self incrimination.” The attorney’s motion said that the 16-year-old, who was not named, was released from custody and living with “a third party.”

The couple divorced in February 2023 in Lee County, according to state court records. The couple also share an 18-year-old son, who was not on the cruise.

Hudson’s ex-husband’s attorney claimed in the counter motion that she took her two children on the cruise without the consent of their father, Thomas Hudson.

The document claimed Shauntel Hudson failed to properly supervise her son, identified by the initials T.H., and allowed T.H. and Kepner, referred to as “her husband’s 18-year-old daughter,” to share a room together.

“The 18-year-old daughter was found asphyxiated under the bed in the room which she shared with TH,” the counter motion stated. “The actions of the unsupervised TH are currently under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

In November, Doral-based Carnival said in a statement that the case is “an ongoing matter under the jurisdiction of law enforcement” and that the company is “fully cooperating with the Miami office of the FBI.”

‘Laughter, love and light’

An obituary published by her family described Kepner as a bright, joyful presence who “filled the world with laughter, love, and light.” Known affectionately as “Anna Banana,” she was celebrated for her spontaneity, her unfiltered humor, and the warmth she brought to everyone around her.

She is survived by her father, Christopher Kepner, her mother, Heather Wright, her stepmother, Shauntel Hudson and seven siblings, according to the obituary. It was not immediately clear if any of those siblings are step relatives.

According to the obituary, Kepner had big plans for her future. Kepner hoped to join the Navy after graduation and later become a K9 police officer. She attended Titusville High School and Astronaut High School before finding what her family described as her “home” at Temple Christian School, where she was looking forward to graduating with the Class of 2026.

She was also a former member of the Titusville High Varsity Cheer Team. She earned her boater’s license before she could drive, became PADI-certified to dive with her family, and spent her childhood immersed in gymnastics, eventually helping coach younger athletes.

“She loved her siblings deeply and made sure they always felt it whether it be taking them to the park, Halloween Horror Nights, or just out for fun, because that’s who she was: thoughtful, nurturing, and always thinking of others,” the obituary said.

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