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MELBOURNE, Fla. — The attorney for Anna Kepner’s stepmother acknowledged that her 16-year-old stepson may soon face charges at the state or federal level in connection with the 18-year-old cheerleader’s death aboard a Carnival cruise ship last month.
“We’re not sure what the FBI is going to do,” said Millicent Athanason, attorney for Shauntel Kepner. “Whether he’s going to be charged federally or whether they’re going to turn it over to the state.”
The FBI’s Miami office is leading the investigation and has not publicly identified any suspects or announced any charges.
The remarks came during an emergency custody hearing in an ongoing dispute between Anna’s stepmom and her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson. Both parents, in court filings, have referred to their 16-year-old son, Anna’s stepbrother, as a suspect in her death and the subject of an FBI probe.
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Shauntel testified that after the cheerleader’s death, she and Anna’s father, Chris Kepner, had safety concerns in allowing her 16-year-old son to stay with their other children. So he has been placed in the care of one of Shauntel’s relatives as the investigation plays out.
Anna was found dead under the bed in her cabin on the cruise ship. She had shared the room with her 14-year-old brother and the 16-year-old stepbrother. Her cause and manner of death were reportedly a homicide by mechanical asphyxiation.
“They’re also waiting on some testing results,” Athanason told the court. “They’ve done a bunch of psychological testing and psychiatric testing, so they’re also waiting to hear about that. And so they don’t know at this time how long that that child is going to be at her relative’s house.”
The FBI declined to comment on Athanason’s remarks.
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Shauntel said the 16-year-old had been diagnosed with ADHD after she separated from his father. He was also on medication to help with insomnia at night, which she said he had skipped for two days aboard the cruise.
The hearing kicked off shortly after 9 a.m. Friday. Shauntel had tried and failed to have it postponed, citing Fifth Amendment concerns.
Despite the circumstances, Shauntel testified that Anna, her 14-year-old biological brother and her 16-year-old stepson got along like “Three Amigos” and were “best friends.” She said they were all in the same room on the cruise upon the advice of a travel agent.
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Shauntel’s older son, 18-year-old Andrew Hudson, lives with his father. He followed his mother on the witness stand and told the court he’s had scant interactions with his siblings due to the bitter split between his parents.
He also revealed a violent incident involving himself, Shauntel and Chris Kepner that took place before he began living with his dad full-time.
“They came and took me from school and took me to Titusville,” he testified.
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His mom asked for his phone, he said, took it and then shut it off. An argument broke out. He didn’t want to go with them to Titusville and preferred to stay with his father in Hernando County.
So he tried to get out of the car, he said, but was restrained by both his mother and stepfather.
“I was put in a chokehold and held it against the seat,” he testified.
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Under cross-examination, he denied assertions from Shauntel’s lawyer that he tried to jump out of the vehicle when it was moving.
“The vehicle was not moving,” he said. He also denied that the reason he wanted to stay in Hernando County was because of a girlfriend.
He had visited the Kepner home regularly before that, where he said he had been allowed to drink alcohol as a teenager.
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Next on the stand was Thomas Hudson, Shauntel’s ex-husband, who called for the emergency hearing, arguing that his 9-year-old daughter may be at risk under his ex-wife’s supervision following Anna’s death on the cruise.
The soft-spoken Hudson, wearing a black golf shirt, said Chris Kepner had interfered with child custody exchanges, physically blocking him from picking up his youngest daughter before Thanksgiving when she refused to get out of the car.
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“Based on that evidence that’s been presented today, I don’t find that there is an emergency and that [the younger daughter] is in any imminent risk of harm,” Judge Michelle Pruitt-Studstill ruled at the end of the hearing. “I understand that there may be some issues with regard to contempt.”
A hearing on the contempt matter is scheduled for Dec. 17.
