Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Homicide Ruled in Carnival Cruise Death of 18-Year-Old Anna Kepner

The homicide ruling on a family-shared death certificate coincides with an ongoing FBI review of ship evidence.

Overview

  • A death certificate provided to ABC News lists mechanical asphyxia and states Anna Kepner was mechanically asphyxiated by other person(s), with formal autopsy and toxicology reports still pending.
  • Court filings in an unrelated custody case identify a 16-year-old stepbrother who shared the stateroom as the subject of the FBI inquiry, though no one has been publicly charged.
  • Family members say the teen stepbrother told them he does not remember what happened and that authorities told them ship cameras showed only him entering and exiting the room.
  • Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage and key-card records from the Carnival Horizon; the stepbrother was hospitalized after the ship docked and later released to a relative.
  • A public death certificate obtained by Fox News confirms Kepner was cremated, and a new filing orders her father to appear Dec. 5 in the separate custody case that has surfaced investigative details.