A Florida cheerleader, Anna Kepner, was found dead on a Carnival cruise ship, allegedly strangled in a bar hold, according to an inside source. The cause of death was asphyxiation, with two bruises found on the side of her throat. The source, who is close to the investigation, revealed this information to the media on Friday.
Kepner was discovered dead on the Carnival Horizon cruise ship on November 8. She was found under a bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered with life vests. There were no signs of sexual assault, and no drugs or alcohol were found in her system, according to the same source.
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office and the FBI have not commented on these new details. The identity of the person who committed the act and then hid Kepner’s body remains unknown. However, it was reported that her step-brother had been previously questioned by the FBI.
Kepner was on a six-day Caribbean cruise with her blended family when a maid made the shocking discovery on November 7. The 16-year-old stepbrother of Kepner had allegedly shown an unsettling obsession with her, persistently pursuing a relationship and even once caught climbing on top of her while she was asleep.
The father of Kepner’s ex-boyfriend told Inside Edition, “She was scared of him because he always carried around a big knife. He’s infatuated, attracted to her like crazy. He always wanted to date her.” Despite attempts to warn Kepner’s parents, they did not heed the concerned teenager’s warnings.
The family was reportedly fraught with tension, much of it stemming from the parents. Kepner’s stepmother, Shauntel Hudson, and her ex-husband were in the midst of a bitter custody battle over their two children, whom Hudson alleged were physically abused by their father.
Adding to the family’s strife, Kepner’s mother claimed she was not allowed to attend her daughter’s funeral due to ongoing family disputes. Kepner, a high school senior at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida, had plans to graduate in the spring. She aspired to join the US Navy and eventually become a K-9 police officer, according to her mother.