Cheerleader Anna Kepner’s death probe will be stalled for WEEKS as FBI battle major crime scene issue, expert says

THE probe into Anna Kepner’s death could be stalled for weeks as federal investigators face complex issues with the crime scene, an expert has said.

Kepner, a beloved senior cheerleader at a high school in central Florida, was discovered dead in her cabin on board a Carnival Cruise Line ship, with her body concealed under a bed.

The 18-year-old’s shocking death rocked her tight-knit community in Titusville, about 40 miles east of Orlando, where mourners remembered Kepner as a warm, bubbly, and kind-hearted girl.

But despite the widespread reporting of the disturbing details surrounding Kepner’s death, the FBI has not publicly commented on the case.

The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office has also not disclosed Kepner’s cause or manner of death.

Kepner’s cause of death was reported as “mechanical asphyxia,” ABC News reported, citing a copy of her death certificate provided by the family.

Joseph Scott Morgan, a forensic science expert at Jacksonville State University, said that the investigation into Kepner’s death could face additional delays due to the complexity of the crime scene.

“This case has got on one level at least, it’s got a little bit of an international vibe to it,” Morgan told The U.S. Sun.

“They’re having to track down, and this is important to understand, when that ship puts into port, you got 5,000 witnesses. Let’s just approximate that.

“And they’re in the wind. When those gangplanks come down and they begin to exit that ship, it’s like holding back the tide.

“People are tired of being on the cruise ship. They want to go home. So how do you get your hands on them?

“You’ve got the ship’s roster, but it takes a while to go through that because they’re going to want to interview everybody that may have had contact with her, with the family on board, try to understand that dynamic.

“Did you hear? Did you see? Did you speak with? Those sort of questions have to be asked and answered to the FBI’s satisfaction.”

Morgan, who also co-hosts the podcast Body Bags, where he uses his expertise to guide listeners through the forensic science behind various high-profile murder cases, added, “The feds work differently than state and locals do.

“They just have a completely different template. If you think that you’re suddenly going to get information from these individuals, it’s generally a one-way street with feds.

“They’re kind of a closed loop. There’s an old adage, they’ll say that there is the FBI way.”

FBI WEIGHING ITS CASE

During an emergency custody hearing, the attorney for Shauntel Kepner, the victim’s stepmother, revealed the FBI is still weighing whether to charge her 16-year-old son with state or federal crimes.

“We’re not sure what the FBI is going to do, whether he’s going to be charged federally or whether they’re going to turn it over to the state,” Millicent Athanason, Shauntel’s attorney, told the court.

The boy was identified as a suspect in Anna Kepner’s homicide, according to custody battle documents filed by his parents, Shauntel and Thomas Hudson.

“They’re also waiting on some testing results. They’ve done a bunch of psychological testing and psychiatric testing, so they’re also waiting to hear about that,” Athanason said of the FBI’s probe into the 16-year-old boy.

“And so they don’t know at this time how long that that child is going to be at her relative’s house.”

Shauntel testified that after her stepdaughter’s death, she and Kepner’s father, Christopher, had “safety concerns” about allowing the 16-year-old boy to stay with their other children.

The teenage boy has been staying with a relative of Shauntel at an undisclosed location, according to court documents.

Shauntel also told the court that her son had been diagnosed with ADHD after she separated from his father, Hudson.

The mother said her son was on medication to help with insomnia at night, which she stated he skipped for two days aboard the cruise.

Shauntel testified at the hearing that the room Kepner was assigned to with her stepbrother and her 14-year-old biological brother was across the hall from where she, Christopher, and the family’s two other 9-year-olds were staying.

She said the three teenagers were all placed in the same room “upon the advice of a travel agent.”

Shauntel testified that Kepner, her stepbrother, and her brother got along like “Three Amigos,” describing their relationship as “best friends.”

FAMILY DYNAMIC

Morgan, the forensic science expert, believes the FBI is closely analyzing the family’s dynamic as well as the relationship between Kepner and her stepbrother.

“I think that we’re going to learn more as time goes by, relative to what the dynamic was between the victim and any other members of the family to try to understand were there are ongoing arguments, were there are threats that were issued at some point in time,” Morgan said.

“And I think more importantly, because this is such, back to the environment, the ship dictates everything.

“And when you’re locked up on a ship with somebody, if you’re locked up with people that you’re not normally locked up on in a space, tempers can fly, they and you take one thing and it’s magnified.

“Now that you’re out on the high seas and now that you’re locked down with this individual, you don’t want to be near them, you don’t want to be with them.

“There’s all kinds of problems that can arise from that. And I’m sure that that’s part of what the FBI is doing right now.”

Timeline of Anna Kepner’s death

Anna Kepner was a high school senior and cheerleader when she found dead on board a Carnival Cruise ship on November 7.

Timeline:

• Nov. 2: Carnival Cruise Line’s Horizon disembarks the Port of Miami to begin its six-day journey through the the Caribbean, with stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, Mexico, before sailing back to Florida.
• Nov. 6: Anna Kepner’s family said the 18-year-old teen was with them during the evening, but returned to her room early after telling them she was not feeling well.
• Nov. 7: Kepner’s relatives grew concerned after the teenager failed to show up when the family gathered for breakfast that morning.
• Nov. 7, 11:17 am: A housekeeper reportedly located Kepner’s body under a bed in her cabin as the family searched the enormous vessel.
• Nov. 8: The Carnival Cruise’s Horizon returned to the Port of Miami after Kepner’s body was discovered. The ship was enroute to Mexico but rerouted to Miami.
• Officials with the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office board the vessel after it docked in Miami and removed Kepner’s body.
• The FBI takes over the investigation as Kepner died on international waters.
• Nov. 9: Kepner’s family breaks silence in a statement to ABC News, mourning the teen as someone who would light up any room she walked into.
• Nov. 17: Kepner’s stepmom filed an emergency motion in an unrelated custody hearing with her ex-husband indicating the FBI is considering a “criminal case” against a young relative.
• The ex-husband of Kepner’s stepmom filed a separate emergency motion revealing that a 16-year-old stepsibling is considered “a suspect” in the “death of the step child during the cruise.”
• The 16-year-old “suspect” was briefly placed into custody before being released.
• The young relative is currently staying with a third party at an unknown location.
• Nov. 21: Kepner was suffocated to death from a chokehold, according to ABC News.
• Nov. 24: The teenager’s death was reportedly ruled a homicide.