Anna Kepner’s stepmother has reportedly admitted that her 16-year-old son is a suspect in connection with the Florida teen’s untimely death aboard a Carnival cruise ship earlier this month.
According to Daily Mail, Thomas Hudson is seeking immediate custody of his 9-year-old daughter, who currently lives in Florida with her mother, Shauntel Hudson, and Anna’s dad, Christopher Kepner.
He’s also pushing for answers regarding his 16-year-old son.
“The sixteen-year-old’s future has been put in jeopardy because of the choices made by the respondent… the youngest child is at immediate risk of abuse, abandonment, or neglect in the care of the respondent,” Thomas Hudson’s court filings stated.
Christopher, Shauntel, and the children, including the 16-year-old, were aboard the Carnival Horizon when a room steward reportedly found Anna’s body wrapped in a blanket and stuffed under a bed.
“The respondent took the remaining minor children on a cruise with a stepchild of her paramour,” the court filings continued.
“The sixteen-year-old child is now a suspect in the death of the stepchild during the cruise. While released from custody, the sixteen-year-old child is residing with a third party.”
“The youngest child is at immediate risk of abuse, abandonment, or neglect in the care of the respondent.”
The respondent, Shauntel Hudson, argued that the 16-year-old is no longer in the family home and is staying with a relative, amid the FBI investigation.
She also denied accusations that the 9-year-old has been abused or neglected.
“Any testimony the respondent may give, either written or oral, could be prejudicial to her or her adolescent child in this pending criminal investigation,” her attorney wrote.
Court records reportedly indicated that Thomas and Shauntel Hudson divorced last year. She then moved to Titusville with her children, where she currently resides with Anna’s father.
Thomas and Shauntel Hudson were due in court next month, but she filed an emergency motion Tuesday, due to the FBI investigation.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the vessel had embarked on a trip from Miami to the Caribbean, when 18-year-old Anna Kepner passed away on the last day of the cruise.
Daily Mail said that two sources stated that Anna had not been feeling well on November 6 and went to her room. No one saw her until the next morning, when a room steward found her under the bed with a blanket and life jackets.
The room steward reportedly discovered the body at around 11 a.m. while cleaning the cabin. The ship then detoured and stopped at Port Miami on November 8.
Anna Kepner died on November 7, according to the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner. The Cruise Globe reports that the vessel was in Cuba at the time, on the northwest coast.
The medical examiner has not yet revealed how she died.
Christopher Kepner previously said that he has been left in the dark about his daughter’s death.
Meanwhile, the FBI in Miami, currently leading the investigation, has not released additional details and has not confirmed the claims.
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[Feature Photo: Anna Kepner/Instagram]
