Family Speaks Out As Cruise Death Officially Ruled a Homicide

Following weeks of investigating and waiting for answers, Anna Kepner’s recent death onboard Carnival Horizon is officially classified as a homicide.

The 18-year-old’s death certificate, which was issued on Monday, November 24, 2025, and provided to ABC News by the family, lists the manner of death as “mechanical asphyxia.”

Just days ago, a source close to the investigation had shared that the Florida teen had died due to asphyxiation from a bar hold.

This aligns with the cause on the formal death certificate, which states that Kepner “was mechanically asphyxiated by other person(s).”

Additionally, the date of injury is now listed as November 6, 2025, with the time of death unknown.

Previously, the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner had listed the time of death as 11:17 a.m. on Friday, November 7, 2025. This will likely now be revised, if it hasn’t been already.

Kepner’s body was found on November 7, hidden under a bed in her cruise cabin, covered with a sheet and life jackets.

When the Carnival ship arrived in PortMiami, FBI agents were waiting to begin their investigation.

Even now, this is still a developing situation. Additional elements like the autopsy and toxicology reports have not yet been released.

No Arrests Have Been Made

Although Kepner’s death has officially been ruled a homicide, her killer has not yet been arrested.

As of the time of this publication, no charges have been filed.

That said, court filings show that authorities have been looking at Kepner’s 16-year-old step-brother as a possible suspect, who was sharing a cruise cabin with the deceased.

Kepner’s stepmom, Shauntel Hudson, had requested to delay custody proceedings with her ex-husband because “a criminal case may be initiated” against one of her children.

At least in the public eye, suspicion around the step-sibling has increased in response to security footage.

Although the footage has not been publicly released, it supposedly shows that the step-brother entered the cruise cabin shortly after Kepner was last seen alive and did not emerge again that night.

Meanwhile, Kepner’s other sibling was captured coming into the room briefly, and venturing back out to explore the ship and take pictures.

Kepner’s Grandparents Speak Out

The step-sibling has received quite a bit of backlash from the media and public, and understandably so.

However, Kepner’s grandparents, who were also on the cruise, may have a different perspective.

In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Jeffrey and Barbara Kepner painted the picture of a blended, but tight-knit family.

Barbara said that Anna and her step-brother were close and got along well, describing the duo as having been “two peas in a pod.”

The grandparents said that the step-siblings volunteered to stay in the same cabin together, but knew that they had the option to stay with the rest of the family if any disagreements occurred.

“The two younger girls stayed with the parents and then the three teenagers, they decided amongst themselves they wanted to stay in the room together,” Barbara said.

“But we had a larger room and we made it very clear that at any time if they weren’t getting along, they didn’t want to be together, we had an extra bed in our room that they could come to,” the grandmother continued.

Per the grandparents, the step-brother was devastated upon learning about the cheerleader’s death.

“He was an emotional mess. He couldn’t even speak. He couldn’t believe what had happened,” Barbara recounted.

She went on to explain that the step-brother was so distraught that he had to be hospitalized for psychiatric observation after the Carnival ship returned to Miami.

He has since been released to the care of another relative at an undisclosed location.

For now, the investigation continues. The family and onlookers alike will have to continue to wait for concrete answers about what really happened to poor Anna Kepner.