Father Seeks Justice As Stepson Eyed In Cruise Ship Killing: ‘Face the Consequences’

The father of 18-year-old Florida cheerleader Anna Kepner says his stepson should be held accountable if federal investigators determine he was responsible for her death aboard a Carnival cruise ship earlier this month, as reported by The New York Post.

The FBI has not announced any conclusions, but court documents in an unrelated case indicate the 16-year-old stepbrother is being reviewed as a possible suspect.

Kepner died on Nov. 6 while traveling with her father, stepmother, siblings, stepsiblings, and grandparents on the Carnival Horizon.

Anna Kepner’s father will ‘fight’ to make ‘stepson face the consequences’ after cheerleader killed on cruise https://t.co/E96fdPvWg7

— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) November 28, 2025

Her body was discovered the next day by a housekeeper, hidden under a bed in the cabin she shared with two of her siblings and wrapped in a blanket that was covered by life vests.

Her father, Christopher Kepner, 41, told People, “I do not stand behind what my stepson has done,” adding, “I want him to face the consequences … I will be fighting to make sure that does happen.”

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Kepner said he last saw his daughter alive during a family dinner on Nov. 6. A death certificate reviewed by ABC News listed her cause of death as homicide, stating she was “mechanically asphyxiated by other person(s).”

The 16-year-old stepson was reportedly the only other person in the stateroom when Anna was killed. When asked whether he believed the teen was responsible, her father said, “I cannot say that he is responsible, but I can’t decline.”

He added, “He was the only one that was in the room, and the FBI has an ongoing investigation in which they will have to provide the evidence to say that he did do it or did not do this.”

According to her 14-year-old brother, he overheard “yelling” and “chairs being thrown” from the cabin shared by Anna and her stepbrother on the night she died.

He unknowingly slept in the same room afterward, unaware that his sister’s body had been concealed under the bed.

Court documents referenced in media reports suggest that federal authorities are examining the stepbrother’s role, though the FBI has released no public updates.

Additional allegations surfaced from Anna’s ex-boyfriend, Joshua Westin.

According to Westin’s father, Anna said she “didn’t feel safe around” the stepbrother months before the cruise. Westin’s father also alleged the teen had been sexually harassing Anna and had an obsession with her.

“He’s like infatuated, attracted to her like crazy. He always wanted to date her,” he said. He further claimed the stepbrother “always carried around a big knife.”

Anna Kepner was a senior at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida. She had been baptized in May and planned to join the U.S. Navy with the long-term goal of becoming a K9 police officer.

The FBI investigation into her death remains open.

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