16-Year-Old Stepbrother Appears in Miami Federal Court

A 16-year-old stepbrother of Anna Kepner appeared in federal court in Miami on Friday, amid an ongoing investigation into the 18-year-old's death aboard a Carnival Cruise ship three months earlier.

The teenager, whose identity has not been publicly disclosed due to his age, was escorted by U.S. Marshals to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. He attended a closed-door hearing before a federal magistrate alongside public defenders and prosecutors. Court records remain sealed, and details of any charges have not been released. Following the appearance, the stepbrother was processed at a probation office and released to the custody of a guardian, according to law enforcement sources and family members.

Kepner, a high school senior and cheerleader from Titusville, Florida, was found dead on November 7 in a cabin she shared with her stepbrother and another sibling aboard the Carnival Horizon. The ship was returning to Miami from a weeklong Caribbean voyage that included her father, Christopher Kepner; stepmother, Shauntel Kepner; biological siblings; stepsiblings; and grandparents. An autopsy determined her cause of death as mechanical asphyxia, resulting...