AP
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The mysterious death of a highschool cheerleader on a Carnival cruise ship earlier this month is drawing worldwide consideration and sparking intense hypothesis on social media.
As of Wednesday, authorities had not introduced any prison costs in the death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner. A last post-mortem report detailing the trigger and method of death remains to be pending, in response to the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s workplace.
Interest about Kepner’s death on the Carnival Horizon intensified after a courtroom submitting Monday in a separate case stated the FBI is investigating her death and that a minor youngster could also be implicated.
The paperwork have been filed in a dissolution of marriage case between Thomas Hudson and Shauntel Hudson, who described Kepner’s father as her “paramour.” Kepner was touring aboard the ship with Shauntel Hudson and her minor youngsters.
A spokesperson for the FBI declined to remark, saying the company “does not provide operational updates about ongoing investigations.”
An lawyer for Hudson filed the emergency movement to delay a scheduled listening to on Monday, citing “the sudden death” of Kepner.
Hudson “has been advised through discussions with FBI investigators and her attorneys, that a criminal case may be initiated against one of the minor children,” the submitting stated.
Hudson’s lawyer argued that her shopper can’t be compelled to testify, as any testimony Hudson might give “could be prejudicial to her or her adolescent child in this pending criminal investigation.”
Hudson didn’t instantly reply to e-mail inquiries Wednesday. Email and telephone messages have been additionally left together with her lawyer.
An FBI spokesperson indicated that if or when costs are filed, they might come from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, which didn’t instantly reply to an inquiry Wednesday.
A memorial service for Kepner is scheduled for Thursday. Her household is urging attendees to put on colourful garments as an alternative of the standard mourner’s black, “in honor of Anna’s bright and beautiful soul.”
Kepner’s obituary described her as somebody who beloved spending time on the water and stated she was planning to graduate highschool subsequent yr from Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida, 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Orlando on Florida’s Space Coast.
The Carnival Horizon can maintain almost 4,000 company and sails to the Caribbean. Carnival Cruise Line stated the ship returned to PortMiami on November 8 as deliberate and the ship was working with the FBI Miami workplace to analyze the incident.