Anna Kepner Update: Stepbrother Charged With Homicide — Custody Court Reveals Sealed Federal Case

Breaking developments in the Anna Kepner case: her sixteen-year-old stepbrother has been charged with federal homicide, according to custody court filings that exposed what the FBI won't confirm.

The February 20th emergency petition filed by the suspect's biological father reveals the teenager was charged on February 3rd, 2026, by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. He appeared in sealed federal court on February 6th, was processed for pretrial release, and returned to guardian custody in Brooksville.

Anna Kepner, eighteen, was found dead aboard the Carnival Horizon on November 7th, 2025. She was discovered under a bed in her stateroom — asphyxiated by what her family says was a bar hold restraint. She shared that cabin with her stepbrother and her fourteen-year-old biological brother. The adults slept across the hall.

The federal case remains sealed. But the custody battle between the suspect's divorced parents has become the only source of public information. His father is funding his defense. His mother — married to Anna's father — wants accountability. The family expelled the teenager immediately after docking. Neither has seen him since.

Today we examine the charges, the legal pathway to adult prosecution, and whether this sealed case will ever see daylight.

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This 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.

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