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In a new interview, the teen’s grandparents are sharing details about their final moments with her before the 18-year-old was found dead on a cruise ship.
WASHINGTON — Anna Kepner’s grandparents are sharing new details about the final moments they shared with the 18-year-old before she was found dead on a Carnival cruise ship.
In a new interview with ABC News, Barbara Kepner and Jeffrey Kepner shed light on the Florida teenager’s death and the lingering questions. Barbara said the family, which included the Kepners, their son and his three children, including Anna, his new wife and her children from a previous marriage, were all “having a great time” on the cruise.
“I couldn’t fathom why anyone would hurt my baby,” Barbara told ABC News.
The 18-year-old high school cheerleader from Titusville, Florida, was found dead while aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship. Law enforcement sources told CBS News that Kepner’s body was found by a housekeeper under the bed in her stateroom on the ship, which returned to Port Miami on Nov. 8.
While a cause of death has not been officially announced, the Kepners confirmed FBI officials said Anna died from asphyxiation, possibly caused by a bar hold, a restraint technique where an arm is placed across the neck. The Florida teenager also had two bruises on the side of her neck.
Preliminary information found there were no signs of sexual assault, and there weren’t any apparent drugs or alcohol in Anna’s system, ABC News reported.
Authorities have kept details of the investigation under wraps but told the family that Anna’s 16-year-old stepbrother was considered a suspect in the death. According to ABC News, the Kepners were told by authorities that the stepbrother was “the only one seen going in and the only one seen going out” from the room, per the security cameras.
Last week, an unrelated family court case filing also suggested that a minor may face criminal charges in Anna’s death.
“In his own words, says he does not remember what happened,” Barbara told the outlet. “I believe, to him, that is his truth. He was an emotional mess. He couldn’t even speak. He couldn’t believe what had happened.”
The Kepners said the two teens were like “two peas in a pod” and “brother and sister.”
“I know that those two kids cared about each other in the right way,” Barbara said. “I can’t accuse him because I don’t know what happened in that room. That will be for the courts to decide.”
Following Anna’s death, the stepbrother was hospitalized for psychiatric observation after returning to Miami, before being released to stay with a family member, Barbara told ABC News.
No formal charges or arrests have been made.
“We were looking forward to see her grow,” Jeffrey said. “The cruise itself wasn’t what made me excited. It was the fact that I was gonna get to spend another week with my youngest son and his family and all the grandkids.”
The Kepners said the family had three staterooms aboard the ship, one for the grandparents, one for their son and wife along with two younger girls and a third room for the three teenagers.
“The two younger girls stayed with the parents and then the three teenagers, they decided amongst themselves they wanted to stay in the room together. But we had a larger room and we made it very clear that at any time if they weren’t getting along, they didn’t want to be together, we had an extra bed in our room that they could come to,” Barbara told ABC News.
The grandparents said the blended family was tight-knit, and there was “no such thing as step” for siblings.
The Kepners said that Anna’s dental braces had been bothering her at dinner on the last night they saw her, but that she still joined in the fun.
“She just said, ‘Meemaw, I think I’m gonna go back to my room for a little bit, I don’t feel well.’ And she must have felt better, because she got dressed up. And she came down, we were playing in the casino. And she sat down and she played $20. And she didn’t win anything. And she said, ‘Meemaw, I love you guys, I’ll see you later,’” Barbara said. “She’d pop in and out to check in with us. And we never saw her again after that.”
Anna’s grandpa said he was buying bingo cards when he heard the medical alert blare over the ship’s speakers, and he immediately recognized the room number.
“I went blank,” Jeffrey said. ” I was hoping that it was something minor.”
He told ABC News that he is still haunted by what he saw when he walked into the room.
“The biggest question that I want answered is the why. And that’s the answer that I don’t know if we’ll ever get,” Jeffrey Kepner said.
“I now know how she died. It helps a little bit, but it’s not going to bring Anna back,” Barbara Kepner said. “No matter what we find out, no matter what they tell us, it’s not going to bring either one of these children back.”
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