Family Demands Arrest After Florida Cheerleader Anna Kepner, 18, Found Strangled on Carnival Cruise; Aunt Says Teen ‘Fought for Her Life’ as Stepfamily Scrutiny Intensifies

The family of 18-year-old Florida cheerleader, Anna Kepner, is demanding answers — and an arrest — after the teen was found strangled aboard the Carnival Horizon earlier this month. Loved ones say the young woman “fought for her life,” while investigators continue to scrutinize her 16-year-old stepbrother, who has not been charged despite being identified as a potential suspect.

“I know Anna fought. I know she fought for her life… it’s rough,”
said Anna’s aunt, Krystal Wright, in a heartbreaking interview with FOX 35.

Though Anna’s death has been officially ruled a homicide caused by mechanical asphyxiation, the FBI and Miami-Dade detectives have yet to file charges. Frustration grew after Anna’s stepmother, Shauntel Hudson, 36, filed a court motion declining to speak in an unrelated family matter — acknowledging investigators are looking at her teenage son, Timothy “Tim” Hudson, 16, as a suspect in Anna’s killing.

“If the boy is a suspect, why has he not been charged yet? What’s happening there?”
Wright asked. “We’re just sitting here waiting.”

Found Hidden Under a Bed
Anna was discovered dead on November 7, her body hidden beneath a cabin bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered with life vests. She had been sharing the room with her 14-year-old biological brother and her 16-year-old stepbrother, Tim, during the family cruise.

The 14-year-old has reportedly told Anna’s ex-boyfriend that he heard a violent struggle inside the cabin — screaming, banging, and furniture moving — shortly before Anna died. The ex-boyfriend also claimed that during a FaceTime call, he saw the stepbrother laying “inappropriately” on top of Anna, fueling concerns that Tim had developed an unhealthy fixation on his stepsister after his mother’s 2023 marriage to Anna’s father, Christopher Kepner, 41.

A Ship Full of Witnesses, but No Arrest
Passengers and relatives onboard the cruise remain shaken and angered that more than three weeks later, no one has been named as a suspect or person of interest. Investigators have not confirmed the circumstances surrounding Anna’s final moments, and the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office has not released full details on the manner of her death beyond confirming it was homicide by strangulation.

The uncertainty has left the Kepner family devastated and desperate.

“We’re in turmoil,” Wright said. “We just want answers. We want justice for Anna.”

Authorities say the investigation is ongoing.