Anna Kepner\u2019s<\/a> cause of death was \u201cmechanical asphyxia,\u201d according to a copy of her death certificate obtained by ABC News, which said the 18-year-old \u201cwas mechanically asphyxiated by other person(s).\u201d<\/p>\nMechanical asphyxia is when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing, according to Stephen Nelson, a chief medical examiner in Central Florida who is not involved in the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn some way, shape or form, your airway has been cut off,\u201d said Nelson, a former chair of Florida\u2019s Medical Examiners Commission.<\/p>\n
A family vacation that ended in tragedy<\/p>\n
A high school cheerleader from Florida\u2019s Space Coast who was set to graduate next year, Kepner had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship with her father, stepmother, her stepmother\u2019s two children and her grandparents.<\/p>\n
The night before she was found dead, Kepner had spent time with her grandparents in the ship\u2019s casino, her grandmother Barbara Kepner told ABC News.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said, \u2018Meemaw, I love you guys. I\u2019ll see you. \u2026 I\u2019ll see you later\u2019,\u201d Barbara Kepner recalled. \u201cWe never saw her again after that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next morning, a medical alert blared out over the ship\u2019s broadcast system, directing first responders to the room Kepner was sharing with two other teens, including a younger stepbrother.<\/p>\n
A room attendant found Kepner\u2019s body \u201cconcealed under the bed,\u201d according to her grandmother.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just screamed. I couldn\u2019t stop screaming,\u201d Barbara Kepner said.<\/p>\n
Teenager\u2019s stepbrother identified as a suspect<\/p>\n
Kepner\u2019s death aboard the ship that sailed from Miami has remained shrouded in mystery with the FBI and medical examiner\u2019s office in South Florida refusing to disclose any information about the case for weeks.<\/p>\n
The teen\u2019s 16-year-old stepbrother has been identified as a suspect in her death, according to court documents filed by his parents.<\/p>\n
The disclosures \u2014 contained in motions filed in an ongoing custody dispute \u2014 offer the clearest public indication that federal investigators are scrutinizing a member of the victim\u2019s own blended family.<\/p>\n
As of Tuesday, a final autopsy report had not been released and the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office has not responded to recent messages left by the AP.<\/p>\n
Kepner\u2019s time of death was 11:17 a.m. on Nov. 7, according to the medical examiner\u2019s office, and the ship returned to PortMiami on Nov. 8 as scheduled.<\/p>\n
Carnival Horizon cruises the Western Caribbean with stops in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, according to itineraries posted on the company\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
Lawyers who practice maritime law say they\u2019re not surprised that nearly three weeks have passed with no charges filed in the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I\u2019ve had international marine deaths \u2014 deaths on a vessel in international waters in the high seas \u2014 it can take quite some time to get the final autopsy reports,\u201d said Houston attorney Marcus Spagnoletti. \u201cIt\u2019s not unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n
A \u2018highly suspicious\u2019 death<\/p>\n
Nelson, the medical examiner, said he considers Kepner\u2019s death \u201chighly, highly suspicious\u201d and said the reports that her body was concealed support the homicide finding.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe concealment part alone is very troubling,\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n
Kepner\u2019s family has been told that preliminary information indicates there were no signs of sexual assault and that there did not appear to be drugs or alcohol in Anna\u2019s system, ABC News reported.<\/p>\n
Nelson, who has not been briefed on the case, said there are a range of deaths that can be defined as asphyxia, including drowning, strangulation and hanging.<\/p>\n
The language stating that Kepner \u201cwas mechanically asphyxiated by other person(s)\u201d is fairly standard language, Nelson said, and an acknowledgment that Kepner had been sharing a room with other people.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be up to law enforcement to narrow down what role, if any, each of those other people in the room played,\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n
The challenges of a floating crime scene<\/p>\n
Determining who has the authority over a criminal investigation can be complicated since cruise ships are registered in one country but often travel through many others, all while carrying thousands of passengers and crew members from around the world, according to the FBI.<\/p>\n
On the open ocean where U.S. law, international law and the laws of other nations might be involved, cooperation is critical to any investigation.<\/p>\n
The nature of a floating crime scene can also make investigations challenging because it can leave a small window of time to investigate before the ship departs on its next voyage.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a short amount of time to do the best you can to solve this case or collect all the evidence you need to solve this case and then your crime scene leaves,\u201d FBI Special Agent Matt Parker said in\u00a0the FBI document<\/a>.<\/p>\nPreserving the integrity of the crime scene can also be a challenge, \u201cgiven that law enforcement wouldn\u2019t even have had access to the crime scene until they were in port,\u201d said David Edelstein, a South Florida lawyer based in Coral Gables.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t have the same safeguards that they do when law enforcement is in charge of the crime scene,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s really imperative that the scene be secured, otherwise the evidence could be contaminated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crimes on cruise ships<\/p>\n
A federal law, the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act, requires that most cruise ships operating out of U.S. ports report certain types of serious crime to the FBI.<\/p>\n
In 2023, the FBI received 180 reports of alleged criminal activity on cruises, ranging from thefts to sexual and physical assaults to missing persons cases, the agency said. No suspicious deaths were reported during the period, according to\u00a0data from the U.S. Department of Transportation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re almost like small cities, so anything that could occur in a small city could conceivably happen onboard one of these boats, including violent crimes,\u201d Edelstein said. <\/p>\n
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/p>\n
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