Anna Kepner’s stepbrother charged with her sexual assault and murder on Carnival cruise ship

A 16-year-old from Florida is being charged as an adult in the sexual abuse and murder of his stepsister on a Carnival cruise ship last year, authorities said Monday.

The teen, who has been referred to as TH, has been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse in the killing of Anna Kepner, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said.

Kepner, 18, was found dead, asphyxiated, on November 7 under the bed in a cabin the siblings shared on the Carnival Horizon cruise ship while on vacation with Kepner’s family, records showed.

The cruise ship returned to Port Miami the next day, as was planned, and Kepner’s death was ruled a homicide.

While the ship was in international waters en route to Miami, TH allegedly sexually assaulted and intentionally killed Kepner, the US Attorney’s Office said.

He was initially charged as a juvenile and had appeared in federal court in February but the case had been sealed until he was charged as an adult.

He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family during this unimaginable loss,” US Attorney Jason A Reding Quinones for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement.

A high school cheerleader from Florida’s Space Coast who was set to graduate this year, Kepner had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship with her father, grandparents, stepmother and her stepmother’s two children, including the 16-year-old boy.

They also have an adult sibling.

The teen had initially been granted a bond when it was a juvenile case, but now the government is asking for him to be detained until trial.

Christopher Kepner, Anna’s biological father, spoke with NBC News by phone on Monday and said he also wants the teen behind bars.

“He needs to be arrested at this time,” he said. “He is now an adult and he needs to be arrested. That is where the family stands. Justice needs to be served.”