Anna Kepner, an 18-year-old high school cheerleader, was found dead aboard a Carnival cruise ship, and her death was officially ruled a homicide by mechanical asphyxiation, according to a recent report. Kepner, who planned to join the Navy after graduation and ultimately wanted to become a K-9 police officer, was discovered on the Carnival Horizon on November 7, around 11:15 a.m. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation, while the FBI is handling the case. She was found dead under the bed in her cabin, wrapped in blankets and covered in life jackets in a room she shared with her 16-year-old stepbrother. The stepbrother has been identified as a potential suspect by his own parents in court filings amid a custody dispute, although no charges have been filed. Mechanical asphyxiation, which involves an external object hindering breathing, is not always a homicide, as stated by Dr. Michael Baden, the former chief medical examiner of New York City. However, prosecutors will determine how the case is charged, if at all. Kepner’s death has sparked questions about the circumstances surrounding her death, with her parents and their attorneys having not responded to multiple requests for comment from Fox News Digital.