MIAMI (Court TV) — A 16-year-old has been indicted as an adult on federal charges in the death of his 18-year-old stepsister, who was found dead on a cruise ship during a family vacation.
Anna Kepner’s 16-year-old stepbrother is seen outside the federal courthouse in Miami on Feb. 6, 2026. (Courtesy of WSVN via Court TV)
The 16-year-old, identified only as “T.H.” in court records, was indicted on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse in the death of Anna Kepner, federal prosecutors announced on Monday. WSVN’s cameras previously captured T.H. outside the federal courthouse in Miami on Feb. 6. T.H. was initially charged on Feb. 2 as a juvenile.
In court records, which remain sealed to the public, investigators said that T.H. sexually assaulted and intentionally killed Kepner while the ship was in international waters.
“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family during this unimaginable loss,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said in a statement.
Immediately after announcing the indictment, federal prosecutors filed a motion seeking to revoke bond for T.H. Immediately after the ship docked, T.H. was removed from the family’s home and sent to live with a maternal uncle. At a previous hearing in family court, T.H.’s mother, Shauntel Kepner, revealed her son was no longer welcome at the home she shares with her husband — Kepner’s father. In filings, T.H.’s father has pledged to support his son.
The new prosecution filings refer to a previous hearing, held on Feb. 6, 2026, where the government requested T.H. be held without bond; Magistrate Judge Torres found there was probable cause for the charges but declined to grant the request for detention at that time. “The evidence presented at the JDA detention hearing lays bare there is clear and convincing evidence that the Defendant is a danger to others under the standards set forth in the Bail Reform Act. That evidence demonstrated the offense conduct the Defendant engaged in involved the most serious, egregious, and violative crime one person can inflict upon another. He committed these crimes against a victim with whom he had no apparent relational strife, and whom he was being raised to view as a sibling.”
The medical examiner determined that Kepner died from mechanical asphyxiation. Investigators previously said in court documents that the teenager’s body was found under the bed in the room where she had been staying on the ship.
Kepner, T.H. and their parents were on Carnival Cruise Line’s Horizon ship in November for a family vacation. Kepner and T.H. were sharing a room with Kepner’s biological 14-year-old brother. The teens’ parents, who had recently married, were staying in a room across the hall with their 9-year-old daughters. One floor above, Kepner’s grandparents had their own room.
No new court dates were immediately scheduled in the case.
