Stepbrother, 16, a Suspect in Death of Teen on Cruise Ship

The 16-year-old stepbrother of the Florida high school senior who died this month on a Carnival cruise ship has been identified as a suspect in her death, according to court documents by his parents. The disclosures—contained in motions filed in an ongoing custody dispute—offer the clearest public indication that federal investigators are scrutinizing a member of the victim's own blended family, the AP reports. The documents show both parents acknowledging that their middle child, identified in court only by his initials "T.H.," is under FBI investigation in connection with the death of Anna Kepner, a high school cheerleader from Florida's Space Coast whose death aboard the ship has drawn international attention and remains shrouded in uncertainty.

"T.H." is "now a suspect in the death of the step child during the cruise," Thomas Hudson, the boy's father, said in court papers seeking custody of the youngest of the three children he shares with his ex-wife. Hudson's ex-wife, Shauntel Hudson, also acknowledged in family court filings that her middle child was a suspect in the death of Kepner aboard the Carnival Horizon ship. Shauntel Hudson married Kepner's father after her divorce from Thomas Hudson. Kepner was traveling aboard the ship with Shauntel Hudson and her minor children.

"It is true that there is an open investigation regarding the death of the biological daughter of the stepfather and T.H. is a suspect regarding this death which occurred recently on a cruise ship," Shauntel Hudson's attorney wrote. Shauntel Hudson wrote that this week she and her ex-husband had agreed to have the teenage boy live with a relative "to ensure the safety of the youngest child of the parties." She also said that her ex-husband had hired an attorney for their son due to the probe into Kepner's death.

Neither the FBI nor Carnival has said publicly how Kepner died, whether a crime occurred, or what led agents to focus on the teen. A spokesperson for the FBI has declined to comment, saying the agency "does not provide operational updates about ongoing investigations." A final autopsy report detailing the cause and manner of death is still pending, according to the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's office.