A 16-year-old boy under investigation in the death of his 18-year-old stepsister on a Carnival Cruise ship was in federal court at the end of last week, but the reasons for his appearance at the South Florida courthouse have been obscured because of his age.
Unlike other cases involving adults, there was no explanation for the teen’s appearance in the Miami federal court docket, or whether he has been charged with a crime, since juvenile cases are closed to the public. Juvenile cases aren’t common in federal court and they often are sent to state courts or the juvenile is tried as an adult.
The death of the teen's stepsister, Anna Kepner, was ruled a homicide. Her death has drawn international attention and sparked intense speculation on social media.
Here’s a look at what we know about the case.
Who was Anna Kepner?
Anna Kepner was a high school cheerleader at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida, some 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Orlando on Florida’s Space Coast. Her friends described her as someone who loved spending time on the water. At her memorial service in November, family members encouraged people to wear bright colors instead of the traditional mourner’s black, “in honor of Anna’s bright and beautiful soul.”
Kepner was part of a blended family after her father, Chris, married Shauntel Hudson, who had three children, including the 16-year-old boy, with ex-husband Thomas Hudson. Much of what we know about the investigation into Kepner's death, including that the stepbrother was a suspect, has come from court documents from a custody dispute between the exes.
Kepner had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship in November with her father, stepmother, her stepmother’s two children and her grandparents. Shauntel Hudson's oldest son is an adult living with her ex-husband. Before the ship was scheduled to return to Florida, Kepner's body was found concealed under a bed in a room she was sharing with two other teens, including the younger stepbrother.
The juvenile court system
The 16-year-old boy was seen last Friday at the federal courthouse in Miami, wearing a ball cap and a camouflage hoodie that was pulled tightly around his face. Whether any charges had been filed, and what they were, was unknown because of the closed nature of juvenile cases.
Juvenile cases in federal court are exceedingly rare, and the only reason Kepner's case landed there was because her death occurred in international waters, said Fritz Scheller, a defense attorney in Orlando.
Scheller said Wednesday that such cases are so rare that he has never seen a juvenile case in the 27 years he has practiced in the federal court system.
“The bottom line is the feds really don't have the facilities for juveniles. Where are you going to put them?” Scheller said. “The whole theory of juvenile law is that they are young and you can rehabilitate them. ”The federal criminal justice system isn't focused on rehabilitation."
Parents' statements
After the teen's appearance in Miami federal court, Anna Kepner's father, Chris, and stepmother, Shauntel, the suspect's biological mother, issued a statement to ABC News in which they said that they were disturbed “that the person responsible is able to walk freely.”
“This reality adds to our grief and outrage,” they said. "It is devastating to know that while we live every day with the loss of our child, the individual responsible has not yet been fully held accountable. This only strengthens our resolve to continue seeking justice for our daughter.”
The couple also said that Anna Kepner deserved justice "and her life deserves to be honored through a full and fair legal process.”
Anna Kepner's biological mother, Heather Wright, said on social media that she hoped for a full resolution of the case.
“Pray for justice for my daughter,” she said.
The Associated Press has reached out to multiple family members, the FBI and federal prosecutors, but nobody has responded.
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