A step-sibling of Anna Kepner, the 18-year-old cheerleader found dead on the Carnival Horizon cruise ship earlier this month, could face criminal charges, according to court documents cited by ABC News. The documents in question are part of an emergency filing related to the divorce of Kepner's stepmother, Shauntel Hudson, CBS News reports. Hudson, who was on the cruise along with Kepner, Kepner's father, and Hudson's own children, cited the possibility of charges against one of her minor children in a request to delay a custody hearing. "An extremely sensitive and severe circumstance has arisen wherein the Respondent/Mother will not be able to testify at the hearing at this time," the filing states.
The filing says Hudson has been told by the FBI and her attorneys that a criminal case may be initiated. She argued that any testimony she might give could be prejudicial to her or her adolescent child in the ongoing investigation. The FBI is currently investigating the case, but the agency declined to comment.
The Miami-Dade medical examiner has not yet released the cause or manner of Kepner's death, and few details surrounding the incident have been made public. Kepner was reported dead on Nov. 8 while the Carnival Horizon was traveling from Miami to the Caribbean. She told the family the night prior that she wasn't feeling well and went back to her room, but never made it to breakfast the following day. A housekeeper found her body under a bed in her stateroom. The ship returned to Miami the same day.
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