Teen's cruise homicide: 75 days with no arrests

On November 7, 2025, Anna Kepner, an 18-year-old, was found under a bed in her stateroom on the Carnival Horizon.

A probe was quickly initiated, with FBI agents awaiting the ship's arrival in Miami, Florida, two days later following a week-long trip at sea.

It has been 75 days since the inquiry started, yet no arrests or charges have materialized.

No info or updates about the investigation have been provided by local authorities, federal officials, or prosecutors at any level.

The little that is known about the case mostly comes from court records acquired by PEOPLE, filed by the parents of Anna's 16-year-old stepbrother who shared the room with her on the voyage.

Anna returned to her room on the night of November 6, 2025, and shortly after 11 a.m. the following day, she "was discovered asphyxiated beneath the bed," as reported in one court filing.

In another document, Thomas Hudson, the father of the boy, mentioned that his son is "presently under investigation by the FBI for a federal offense."

At a court hearing on December 5, 2025, the attorney for the boy's mom, Shauntel Kepner, provided a brief update about the investigation.

Millicent Athanason informed the judge that Shauntel had arranged for her teenage son to stay with a relative to eliminate "any threat to other children in the home."

Both parents agreed to this, according to legal documents, although Hudson, in a stern message to Shauntel, remarked, "I kept my silence when you informed me that you cannot risk your marriage to aid [redacted] your son."

Even the custody battle between Shauntel and her former husband is unresolved after both parties' attorneys could not present their cases before the court within the scheduled timeframe.