Anna Kepner, an 18-year-old cheerleader from Florida, was always described as cheerful and complaint-free by her grieving mother after her tragic death on a Carnival cruise ship.
“She was a really good girl. Never complained much, not even as a baby or a teenager. Just always happy,” Heather Kepner shared, expressing her sadness before her daughter’s funeral.
Kepner emphasized how Anna was always eager to lift others’ spirits. “She was a very joyful child,” she said.
The FBI is reportedly looking into her 16-year-old stepbrother as a suspect in Anna’s murder, based on court documents filed by the family.
Though Heather hadn’t seen Anna regularly since moving to Oklahoma, she was proud of her daughter’s aspirations. Anna aimed to join the U.S. Navy and wanted to become a K-12 police officer someday.
Anna attended Titusville High School where she was on the varsity cheer team and was set to graduate from Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida, in the upcoming spring.
She passed away aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship at 11:17 a.m. on Friday, November 7, according to the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office.
Anna was on a six-day cruise with her father, stepmother, and two brothers when the incident occurred.
Her stepbrother has now been labeled a suspect in this tragedy, as stated in court filings made by her stepmother, Shawntel Hudson.
At the time of Anna’s death, the ship was making its way back to Port Miami. Reports indicate that her body was discovered concealed under a bed in the cabin, still wearing a life jacket.
