18-year-old’s death on Carnival cruise ship ruled a homicide: report – National
Her death certificate, which was issued Monday and obtained by ABC News, says Kepner’s death was caused by “mechanical asphyxia.”
The certificate added she was “mechanically asphyxiated by other person(s).” The date of injury was listed as Nov. 6, while she travelling abroad on the Carnival Horizon with her family.
The formal autopsy and toxicology reports have not been released yet.
Last week, a legal document in another case surfaced, referencing Kepner’s stepbrother as a potential suspect in her death.
The news comes a week after Kepner’s stepbrother was named as a possible suspect in her death, as stated in a legal document in a separate case.
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Kepner, a recent high school graduate, was travelling with her family on the cruise ship from Miami to the Caribbean when she died.
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Carnival Cruise Line previously confirmed her death in a statement to Global News, saying, “Our focus is on supporting the family of our guest and cooperating with the FBI.”
“Since this is an ongoing matter under the jurisdiction of law enforcement, it is up to the FBI’s Miami public affairs office to provide further details.”
In an emergency motion filed last Monday in Brevard County, Fla., in a separate case relating to Kepner’s stepmother’s past marriage, it states that the stepmother, Shauntel Hudson, requested to pause testimony in the divorce hearing due to “an extremely sensitive and severe circumstance.”
Hudson was advised by the FBI and her lawyers that “a criminal case may be initiated against one of the minor children of this instant action,” the filing states.
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She asked that the proceedings be postponed until the “criminal investigation has concluded.”
In the emergency motion for temporary relief, viewed by Global News, one of the stated grounds includes that a “sixteen year old child is now a suspect in the death of the step child during the cruise.”
No charges have been filed.
A law enforcement source and a person familiar with the matter told CBS News that Kepner and her step-sibling may have had some kind of altercation during the family vacation in the Caribbean. Kepner was on the trip with her father, stepmother and three step-siblings.
The outlet also reports that Kepner’s body was found by a housekeeper under the bed in her stateroom.
— With files from Global News’ Rachel Goodman
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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