Anna Kepner's grandparents have released new information about the tragic and mysterious death of their granddaughter, as the FBI has revealed one of her own family members is now a suspect.
Anna died while on a six-day cruise in the Caribbean, with her body found earlier this month and a cause of death yet to be officially confirmed.
Anna is understood to have told her family she was feeling unwell during dinner and returned to her cabin before her body was found. She had been on the cruise with her grandparents, her dad, his new wife, her siblings, and step=siblings.
Her case is in the hands of the FBI since she was found dead in international waters between the US and Mexico, with her body found under a bed in the room she was sharing with her two step-siblings.
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In an update, her grandparents told ABC News that the authorities told them Anna's stepbrother is a suspect in her death, though no charges have been filed, and that the FBI think she may have died by asphyxiation which could have been caused by an arm across the neck.
Jeffrey and Barbara Kepner said that Anna and her stepbrother had been 'two peas in a pod'.
Barbara said: "I know that those two kids cared about each other in the right way. I can't accuse him because I don't know what happened in that room."
The grandparents have claimed that authorities told them the stepbrother is 'the only one seen going in and the only one seen going out' of the room on the cruise ship by security cameras, but they couldn't understand why their granddaughter was dead.
"That will be for the courts to decide," they said of the facts of the case.
Something else the family said was that preliminary information indicated there were no signs of sexual assault, nor of signs of drugs or alcohol in Anna's system.
Barbara Kepner said that Anna's braces had been bothering her while they were eating, and she'd said: "Meemaw, I think I'm gonna go back to my room for a little bit, I don't feel well."
The grandmother then recounted that Anna came back while they were in the casino, played $20 without winning and then said: "Meemaw, I love you guys, I'll see you later."
Barbara said that was the last time she saw her granddaughter.
The following morning, Jeffrey Kepner said he was buying bingo cards when a medical alert blared over the ship's speakers and he 'went blank' when he recognised the cabin number.
He hoped that the alert was for something minor, but he said he 'still wakes up seeing' what he saw when he reached the cabin.
“In his own words, say he does not remember what happened. I believe, to him, that is his truth," Barbara said of the stepbrother's account of things.
“He was an emotional mess. He couldn't even speak. He couldn't believe what had happened."
Topics: Crime, Cruise Ship, US News, True Crime
Joe Harker