The 16-year-old stepbrother of Anna Kepner is set to appear in federal court next week in Miami for his arraignment on formal charges in the death of his stepsister during a family cruise.
The teen, who is not being named by FLORIDA TODAY because of his age, will go before a magistrate judge at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 22, on charges of murder and aggravated sexual abuse in connection with the Nov. 6 death of the 18-year-old Titusville cheerleader aboard a Carnival cruise ship, court records show.
Kepner’s body was found the next morning, prompting federal authorities to claim immediate jurisdiction to the homicide on the high seas.
Prosecutors said that Anna was found dead in the cabin she shared with the 16-year-old and a younger 10-year-old male sibling. Her biological father and stepmother were in a cabin across the hall on the ship, court records show.
The investigation determined that Anna was sexually assaulted in what prosecutors described in court filings as a “willful, deliberate, malicious and premeditated killing.”
Her stepbrother remains free, with federal prosecutors asking the judge to have him turned over to a contracted holding facility or jail. There are no federal holding facilities for juveniles.
The teen turned himself over to the U.S. State Attorney’s office in Miami on Feb. 2, the day he was initially charged with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse as a juvenile. Those records were sealed until the case was redirected to adult status.
A federal grand jury later returned an indictment in the case. He has since been formally charged as an adult by federal authorities.
The teen’s parents, including his biological mother, agreed he could not remain in the family home in Titusville. He is now living with an uncle in Hernando County.
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. X, formerly known as Twitter: @JDGallop.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Anna Kepner’s stepbrother faces arraignment in cruise ship homicide
Reporting by J.D. Gallop, Florida Today / Florida Today
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