Family of adlescent who died on Carnival Cruise reveal a reason behind her surprising dying | EUROtoday

A household trip aboard the Carnival Horizon became a nightmare when 18-year-old Anna Kepner was discovered lifeless in her cabin earlier this month.

Her grandparents now say the FBI privately instructed them Anna doubtless died from asphyxiation – presumably from a bar maintain – and that the teenager suspected in her dying is her personal stepbrother.

“We were all having a great time,” grandmother Barbara Kepner instructed ABC News in an unique interview Monday. “I couldn’t fathom why anyone would wanna hurt my baby.”

Anna, described by her grandparents as “mighty,” unbiased, and keen to hitch the Navy after highschool, was touring with three generations of a blended household. The teenagers, Anna and two step-siblings, selected to share a room. Earlier this month, Anna was discovered lifeless on the cruise and the FBI launched an investigation to find out what occurred to the teenager.

“It’s all family,” her grandfather Jeffrey Kepner stated. “Our dynamic is we’re all just family.”

The most wrenching element, her grandparents say, is that authorities instructed the household that Anna’s stepbrother is a suspect in her dying.

“I know that those two kids cared about each other in the right way,” Barbara stated. “I can’t accuse him because I don’t know what happened in that room.”

On the ultimate evening she was seen alive, Anna’s braces has been bothering her so she briefly went again to the room, her grandmother stated. But then later returned dressed as much as be part of them within the on line casino.

“She just said, ‘Meemaw, I think I’m gonna go back to my room for a little bit, I don’t feel well,’” Barbara recalled. “And she must have felt better, because she got dressed up. And she came down, we were playing in the casino. And she sat down and she played $20. And she didn’t win anything. And she said, ‘Meemaw, I love you guys, I’ll see you later.’ She’d pop in and out to check in with us. And we never saw her again after that.”

A medical alert sounded the subsequent morning. Jeffrey acknowledged the room quantity.

“I went blank,” he stated. “I still wake up seeing that.”

A crew member discovered Anna’s physique “concealed under the bed,” the grandparents stated, with bruising on her neck.

When Anna’s father entered the room, Barbara stated, “all he had to do was look at her and he knew she was gone.” When her husband instructed her, she stated, “I just screamed. I couldn’t stop screaming.”

The household says investigators instructed them safety footage confirmed the stepbrother was “the only one seen going in and the only one seen going out” of the cabin that evening. No costs have been filed.

Barbara stated the teenager later instructed her he “does not remember what happened.” She added, “I believe, to him, that is his truth.”

The teen, who has not been named, was interviewed by investigators, after which hospitalized for psychiatric commentary after the ship docked. He was later launched to stick with a relative, in accordance with the household and court docket information.

In a separate custody case involving his mom, her legal professional wrote {that a} “criminal case may be initiated” towards certainly one of her youngsters and that she couldn’t testify as a result of it “could be prejudicial… in this pending criminal investigation.”

The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner has accomplished an post-mortem however has not launched findings.

But Anna’s grandparents say they have been instructed there have been no indicators of sexual assault and no indication of medication or alcohol in Anna’s system. Toxicology outcomes are pending.

“The biggest question that I want answered is the why,” Jeffrey stated. “And that’s the answer that I don’t know if we’ll ever get.”

Barbara stated the tragedy has taken a couple of little one from them.

“I now know how she died. It helps a little bit, but it’s not going to bring Anna back,” she stated. “No matter what we find out… it’s not going to bring either one of these children back.”

“We were looking forward to seeing her grow,” Jeffrey added.

Carnival stated it’s supporting the household and cooperating with the FBI.