Overview
- A death certificate provided to media shows Kepner, 18, died by homicide due to mechanical asphyxia.
- Court filings state she was found under a bed in the cruise cabin she shared with her younger stepbrother.
- At Friday’s Brevard County custody hearing, the judge referred to the 16-year-old as a suspect in the case.
- The FBI’s Miami office is leading the probe, with the stepmother’s attorney saying investigators are weighing potential state or federal charges and awaiting testing results, including toxicology and psychological evaluations.
- No arrests have been announced; the judge declined an emergency bid to remove a younger child from the stepmother’s custody, and the teen is staying with a relative.