Overview
- New family-court filings and testimony state the 18-year-old was found under a bed in the cabin she shared with her stepbrother, and her death certificate cites homicide by mechanical asphyxia.
- The Brevard County judge said in open court that the 16-year-old stepbrother is a suspect, and the teen has been relocated to live with relatives after the ship returned to Miami.
- The judge declined an emergency request to remove another child from the stepmother’s custody, setting a separate contempt hearing for Dec. 17.
- The stepmother’s attorney told the court the FBI is considering whether any case would proceed at the federal level or be referred to state prosecutors, and noted pending toxicology and psychological evaluations; the FBI declined comment.
- Authorities have not filed charges or released full autopsy and toxicology results, and most public details continue to come from custody filings rather than official investigative statements.