A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and aggravated sexual abuse in the death of his stepsister during a family cruise vacation, the Department of Justice announced Monday.
Anna Kepner, 18, died on the Carnival Cruise ship Horizon in November while the ship was in international waters and heading to Miami, prosecutors said.
The DOJ alleged the stepbrother “sexually assaulted and intentionally killed” Kepner. The Florida high school senior died from mechanical asphyxiation, officials said.
The Carnival Horizon cruise ship sits docked in the Caribbean Sea at the Aruba Cruise Terminal, November 11, 2025, in Oranjestad, Aruba.
Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
The boy was initially charged as a juvenile, prosecutors said. He’s now been indicted as an adult by a federal grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse.
Kepner’s family said in a statement last year that the 18-year-old “loved being around people” and “drew you in with her smile and the way she carried herself.”
She was set to graduate from high school this May and was interested in joining the military, her family said.
