A Family Torn Apart: The Anna Kepner Cruise Ship Murder & The Stepbrother No One Will Accuse

A Family Torn Apart: The Anna Kepner Cruise Ship Murder & The Stepbrother No One Will Accuse

Anna Kepner was 18 years old — a cheerleader from Titusville, Florida with plans to join the Navy. On November 7th, 2025, her body was found stuffed under a bed on the Carnival Horizon cruise ship, wrapped in a blanket and covered with life vests. Her death has been ruled a homicide by mechanical asphyxiation. The only suspect: her 16-year-old stepbrother, who was sharing that cabin with her.

But this story isn't just about what happened in that room. It's about what's happening to the family left behind.

Anna's father Christopher married the stepbrother's mother less than a year before Anna died. This wasn't a family with deep roots — it was a family still figuring itself out. Now the grandmother says she can't accuse the boy because she doesn't know what happened, but admits "the summation would be that he did something." The stepmother is trying to seal court records and delay hearings. The father was subpoenaed to testify and didn't answer the door — his SUV running in the driveway, lights on inside, a No Trespassing sign posted. Anna's biological mother says she was told not to come to the funeral. She showed up anyway, in disguise.

The FBI has said nothing publicly. No charges have been filed. The stepbrother was hospitalized after the cruise, is now living with a relative, and reportedly told investigators he doesn't remember what happened.

Everything we know about this case has come from a custody battle between the suspect's parents — not from law enforcement. And if charges are ever filed against a juvenile, the case may be sealed forever.

This is a family that can't grieve together and can't fall apart separately. They're frozen — caught between a girl who deserved justice and a boy they can't bring themselves to condemn.

#AnnaKepner #CarnivalCruise #TrueCrime #CruiseShipMurder #FBIInvestigation #CarnivalHorizon #TitusvilleFlorida #JusticeForAnna


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The Reiners Did EVERYTHING Right — Therapist Explains Why the System Still Failed Them

The Reiners Did EVERYTHING Right — Therapist Explains Why the System Still Failed Them

Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott reveals why 18-plus rehab stays, unlimited resources, and decades of intervention couldn't prevent Rob and Michele Reiner's deaths at the hands of their son Nick.The Reiners paid for the best dual-diagnosis treatment facilities in the country. They kept Nick close. They supported him financially. They did everything families are told to do. And still, sources say Nick would stay only 30 days—long enough to detox—then leave before any psychiatric care could take hold. Patient autonomy laws meant he could refuse treatment and walk away.Shavaun breaks down why the private treatment industry fails people with severe mental illness, why doctors reportedly didn't pursue a psychiatric hold during Nick's dangerous medication transition, and what "permanent custodial care" would actually look like for someone with schizoaffective disorder. The Reiners couldn't save their son. Could anyone?#NickReiner #RobReiner #TrueCrimeToday #MentalHealth #Rehab #Treatment #ShavaunScott #SystemFailure #ReinerCaseJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

15 Tammi 12min

Madeline Crowley Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"

Madeline Crowley Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"

Madeline Crowley, Senior DNA Analyst, took the stand in the murder trial of Brendan Banfield, the former IRS agent charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Prosecutors allege Banfield and the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, lured Ryan to their Herndon home through a fetish website and staged the killings as a home invasion.The defense argues digital forensics contradict the catfishing theory and that investigators who disagreed were reassigned. Banfield faces life without parole if convicted. The four-week trial continues in Fairfax County.#TrueCrimeToday #BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #FairfaxCounty #JulianaMagalhaes #Justice #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

15 Tammi 12min

Susan Greenspoon Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"

Susan Greenspoon Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"

Susan Greenspoon, Forensics Molecular Biologist at the Virginia Dept. of Forensic Science, took the stand in the murder trial of Brendan Banfield, the former IRS agent charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Prosecutors allege Banfield and the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, lured Ryan to their Herndon home through a fetish website and staged the killings as a home invasion.The defense argues digital forensics contradict the catfishing theory and that investigators who disagreed were reassigned. Banfield faces life without parole if convicted. The four-week trial continues in Fairfax County.#TrueCrimeToday #BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #FairfaxCounty #JulianaMagalhaes #Justice #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

15 Tammi 27min

Kathryn Colombo Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"

Kathryn Colombo Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"

Kathryn Colombo, Scientist at the Virginia Dept. of Forensics Science, took the stand in the murder trial of Brendan Banfield, the former IRS agent charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Prosecutors allege Banfield and the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, lured Ryan to their Herndon home through a fetish website and staged the killings as a home invasion.The defense argues digital forensics contradict the catfishing theory and that investigators who disagreed were reassigned. Banfield faces life without parole if convicted. The four-week trial continues in Fairfax County.#TrueCrimeToday #BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #FairfaxCounty #JulianaMagalhaes #Justice #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

15 Tammi 49min

Cara McCarthy Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"

Cara McCarthy Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"

Cara McCarthy, Supervisor at the Virginia Dept. of Forensics Science, took the stand in the murder trial of Brendan Banfield, the former IRS agent charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Prosecutors allege Banfield and the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, lured Ryan to their Herndon home through a fetish website and staged the killings as a home invasion.The defense argues digital forensics contradict the catfishing theory and that investigators who disagreed were reassigned. Banfield faces life without parole if convicted. The four-week trial continues in Fairfax County.#TrueCrimeToday #BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #FairfaxCounty #JulianaMagalhaes #Justice #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

15 Tammi 27min

Nick Reiner Case: How a 180-Year-Old Legal Rule Could Set Him Free

Nick Reiner Case: How a 180-Year-Old Legal Rule Could Set Him Free

The legal battle over Nick Reiner's fate will likely come down to a test created in 1843 after a delusional man shot the wrong person on a London street. The M'Naghten Rule has been used for more than 180 years to determine when mental illness excuses murder. It's about to be applied to the man charged with killing Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner in their Brentwood home.Here's how the rule works: Two prongs, only one required. Prong one—you didn't understand the nature and quality of the act. Prong two—you didn't know it was wrong. Most defendants can't use prong two if they fled, hid evidence, or showed awareness of wrongdoing. Nick Reiner reportedly checked into a hotel after the alleged killings and spent more than 24 hours navigating Los Angeles. That behavior likely kills prong two for him.Which leaves prong one: nature and quality. This is exactly what worked for David Carmichael, a Canadian father who killed his 11-year-old son in 2004. Carmichael planned the murder, researched prison sentences, expected 25 years. But his delusion—triggered by the SSRI Paxil—made him believe his son was suffering, brain-damaged, and dangerous. He didn't understand the true reality of what he was doing. He walked free in roughly two years.Nick Reiner's medication for schizoaffective disorder was reportedly changed approximately one month before the alleged murders. His meds still aren't stabilized. He reportedly still believes his incarceration is a conspiracy. But does that mean his perception was distorted during the act itself? That's the question the defense must answer—and the question that will determine whether a rule from 1843 sets him free.#NickReiner #RobReiner #TrueCrimeToday #InsanityDefense #MNaghtenRule #BrentwoodMurders #CriminalJustice #MentalHealth #DavidCarmichael #TrueCrimeJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

15 Tammi 21min

The Au Pair Affair Murder Trial Of Brendan Banfield: Douglas Gudakunst Testifies: Key Fingerprint Evidence Exposed

The Au Pair Affair Murder Trial Of Brendan Banfield: Douglas Gudakunst Testifies: Key Fingerprint Evidence Exposed

Douglas Gudakunst, Fingerprint Specialist with the Fairfax County Police Department, took the stand today in the Brendan Banfield murder trial in Fairfax County, Virginia.Banfield, a former IRS Criminal Investigation agent, faces four counts of aggravated murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and child abuse charges in the February 24, 2023 deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Prosecutors allege Banfield and the family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, were having an affair and conspired to lure Ryan to their Herndon home using a fake profile on a sexual fetish website — then killed both victims and staged it as a home invasion.Magalhães has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is cooperating with prosecutors in exchange for a recommendation of time served. The defense maintains that digital forensic evidence shows Christine Banfield controlled her own devices and that investigators who contradicted the catfishing theory were reassigned.If convicted on all counts, Banfield faces life in prison without parole plus 13 additional years. The trial is expected to last four weeks.#BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #BanfieldTrial #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #JulianaMagalhaes #FairfaxCounty #MurderTrial #TrueCrime #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

15 Tammi 18min

Terry Leach Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"

Terry Leach Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"

Terry Leach, Detective with the Fairfax County Police Department, took the stand in the murder trial of Brendan Banfield, the former IRS agent charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Prosecutors allege Banfield and the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, lured Ryan to their Herndon home through a fetish website and staged the killings as a home invasion.The defense argues digital forensics contradict the catfishing theory and that investigators who disagreed were reassigned. Banfield faces life without parole if convicted. The four-week trial continues in Fairfax County.#TrueCrimeToday #BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #FairfaxCounty #JulianaMagalhaes #Justice #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

15 Tammi 1h 31min

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