VIERA, FLORIDA– A 16-year-old boy is being investigated The death of his sister On a Carnival cruise ship last month, he doesn’t remember what happened, according to text messages between his parents filed in a Florida custody case.
The boy’s mother told her ex-husband that the teen kept repeating that he didn’t remember anything when asked, according to court documents obtained by local Central Florida media this week.
Anna Kepner’s death was ruled a homicide. Her death attracted international attention and sparked intense speculation on social media.
Kepner’s cause of death was… “Mechanical asphyxia” According to a copy of her death certificate obtained by ABC News, which said the 18-year-old was “mechanically asphyxiated by another person(s).”
Mechanical asphyxia occurs when an object or physical force prevents a person from breathing.
Kepner, a high school cheerleader from Florida’s Space Coast who was scheduled to graduate next year, was traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship with her father, grandparents, stepmother and her stepmother’s two children, including the 16-year-old boy.
Kepner’s death on the ship that sailed from Miami remained shrouded in mystery, as the FBI and the South Florida Medical Examiner’s Office refused to release any information about the case for weeks.
The teen’s 16-year-old half-brother has been identified as a suspect in her death, according to court documents filed by his divorced parents over custody of their younger child in Brevard County, along Florida’s Space Coast. These disclosures provide the clearest public indication that federal investigators are examining a member of the victim’s blended family.
An attorney for the 16-year-old boy’s mother, Shuntel Hudson, Kepner’s stepmother, did not respond to an email inquiry Wednesday, nor did an attorney for the boy’s father, Thomas Hudson. Their youngest child currently lives with Shauntel Hudson, and Thomas Hudson has accused his ex-wife of violating their time-sharing agreements. The 16-year-old was sent to live with a relative of Shontelle Hudson after returning from the cruise.
In the latest court documents, the former couple discussed via text messages news of Kepner’s death that spread on social media and how to protect their 16-year-old son from public scrutiny. Thomas Hudson also said he wanted his son to know he was loved despite what happened.