The investigation into Anna Kepner’s death has moved into federal court in South Florida, but much of what happens next remains obscured from public view because the person at the center of the inquiry is a juvenile.
According to reporting from the case materials and court appearance described by the Associated Press, a 16-year-old boy who is under investigation in the death of his 18-year-old stepsister appeared in federal court late last week. The court appearance did not come with publicly available details explaining why he was on the docket at the Miami courthouse, or whether any criminal charges have been filed. The AP said it is not naming the teenager because of his age and because any charges have not been made public.
Kepner’s death has been the focus of intense attention since it was ruled a homicide. The AP said her body was found concealed under a bed in a room she was sharing with two other teens, including the younger stepbrother, before the Carnival Horizon was scheduled to return to Florida. The cause of death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, which refers to a situation in which an object or physical force stops someone from breathing.
The victim and the family context
Anna Kepner was a high school cheerleader at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Orlando on the Space Coast, the AP reported. Friends described her as someone who loved spending time on the water, and at her memorial service in November, family members encouraged people to wear bright colors rather than the traditional black “in honor of Anna’s bright and beautiful soul,” the report said.
Kepner became part of a blended family after her father, Chris, married Shauntel Hudson, who had three children, including the 16-year-old boy, with ex-husband Thomas Hudson. Much of what is known about the investigation, including the identity of the 16-year-old as a suspect, has come from court documents connected to a custody dispute between the exes, the AP said. The report described that Kepner was traveling aboard Carnival Horizon in November with her father, stepmother, stepmother’s two children and her grandparents, and with her stepmother’s oldest son identified as an adult living with his ex-husband.
Why so much is closed in federal juvenile cases
The AP reported that juvenile federal cases are rare and that a key factor in this case being handled in federal court was that Kepner died in international waters. Fritz Scheller, a defense attorney in Orlando, told the AP that he has practiced in federal court for 27 years and has never seen a juvenile case there.
Scheller said the “bottom line” is that federal prosecutors and courts do not have “the facilities for juveniles,” and he questioned how the federal system would handle custody or placement given its approach, according to the AP. He also said the federal criminal justice system is not focused on rehabilitation in the way he described as central to juvenile law, the report said.
Carla Barrett, an associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, also described why secrecy is part of the juvenile justice approach. In comments to the AP, she said the idea is that “kids are malleable” and are “worthy of some sort of attempt at rehabilitation,” and she tied confidentiality to protecting a child’s future so mistakes do not “haunt them for life.”
What the family has said
After the teenager’s court appearance, Kepner’s father Chris and stepmother Shauntel issued a statement to ABC News, which the AP summarized. They said they were disturbed “that the person responsible is able to walk freely,” and they added: “This reality adds to our grief and outrage.” They said it is “devastating to know that while we live every day with the loss of our child, the individual responsible has not yet been fully held accountable,” and the statement said it “only strengthens our resolve to continue seeking justice for our daughter.”
The couple also said Kepner deserved justice “and her life deserves to be honored through a full and fair legal process,” the AP reported. Kepner’s biological mother, Heather Wright, told the AP that she hoped for “a full resolution of the case” in a message posted on social media, using the words “Pray for justice for my daughter.”
The AP said it reached out to multiple family members, the FBI and federal prosecutors, but received no responses.
What happens next
Because juvenile proceedings in federal court are closed to the public, the AP said the federal case has not clarified whether the teenager has been formally charged or what, specifically, led to his appearance at the Miami courthouse. For families and the wider public, that lack of access has left room for speculation online, while the case moves through a system in which the juvenile’s age, and the rules around juvenile records, limit what authorities can make public.