Overview
- FBI Miami is leading the inquiry into the 18-year-old’s death in international waters after the Carnival Horizon returned to PortMiami.
- The Miami-Dade medical examiner set the time of death at 11:17 a.m., with cause and manner still pending.
- Multiple outlets citing a security source report Kepner was found under her cabin bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered by life vests, a detail officials have not publicly confirmed.
- Court records say the stepmother was told a criminal case may be brought against one of her minor children; a separate filing by the children’s father states the 16-year-old stepbrother is a suspect and has been released to a third party, with no public charges filed.
- Investigators are reviewing ship surveillance, key-card swipes, and cellphone records; Carnival says it is cooperating, and the FBI has indicated no safety threat to the ship’s current voyage.