The teenager found dead on a Carnival cruise ship under mysterious circumstances was remembered by her family as a “beauty” who “lived every day with her whole heart” in a touching tribute.
Anna Kepner, 18, a Florida high school cheerleader, was on a six-day Caribbean cruise with her family when a maid discovered her lifeless body, which was reportedly wrapped in a blanket and stuffed under a bed, on Nov. 7.
Court filings in Florida shockingly revealed Tuesday that one of her stepbrothers is being questioned by the FBI and could face arrest.
Anna Kepner died while on a Carnival cruise ship. @anna.kepner16/Instagram
Anna Kepner with her family before her death. Shauntel Kepner / Facebook“She loved the sun, the water, boat days, island days, and beach days, anything that let her soak in the light she so easily radiated to others,” the family wrote in the obituary, in which they referred to her by her nickname, “Anna Banana.”
“She never had a filter, and that was part of her charm,” they heartbreakingly recalled. “She had a big, beautiful heart, often sending random ‘I love you’ messages or little gestures that made someone’s day,” the missive read.
The teen was on the cruise with her father, Christopher Kepner, and her new stepmom, Shauntel Hudson, whose children were also in tow on the voyage.
Anna Kepner was a high school cheerleader from Florida who planned to join the military. Facebook/Chris KepnerHere is the latest on Anna Kepner, cheerleader found dead on Carnival Cruise:
- Stepgrandma of Anna Kepner, killed on cruise ship, wants teens’ dad to be charged: ‘Recipe for disaster’
- Anna Kepner’s smashed cellphone pointed straight to stepbrother in her sex assault, murder: filings
- New questions raised in Carnival cruise murder case after DNA from unknown male minor found
- Judge issues surprise ruling in cruise ship murder case against Anna Kepner’s stepbrother
Legal filings in an ongoing custody case between Hudson and her ex-husband revealed the bombshell details about the FBI eyeing Ana’s stepsibling.
The obituary paints a glowing portrait of a fun-loving teen with “big dreams for her future,” which included plans to join the US Navy after graduation and eventually become a K9 police officer.
A devout Christian who was baptized in May, Kepner’s family wrote that they take “comfort in knowing she is now in heaven, laughing, being the center of attention, and enjoying fries with ranch … just as she loved here on Earth.”
Anna Kepner was found dead in her cabin on Nov. 7. Facebook/Chris KepnerFuneral attendees are asked not to wear black, but instead to wear colors that “honor Anna’s bright and beautiful soul” — noting her favorite color was blue.
The family asked everyone “to remember Anna with laughter, color, sunshine, and love. Because that’s exactly how she lived her life,” they wrote.
“She danced in the light she left behind and it will never fade,” the tribute concludes.
