Anna Kepner, the 18-year-old Florida cheerleader who died aboard a Carnival cruise ship earlier this month, has been cremated, according to a copy of her death certificate obtained by Fox News. The public document does not include her cause or manner of death, which is only given on the version of the death certificate supplied to her immediate family under Florida law. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
The FBI’s Miami office is handling the investigation into Kepner’s death, which her family said has been ruled a homicide by mechanical asphyxiation in an interview with ABC News Monday. Mechanical asphyxia just means there is something external to the body that hinders her breathing — her chest or belly can’t expand, explained Dr. Priya Banerjee, a board-certified forensic pathologist.
Kepner’s official time of death is listed as 11:13 a.m. on Nov. 7, a day before the Carnival Horizon cruise liner returned to port in Miami. Family members have said she was found under her bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered in life jackets in a cabin she shared with her stepbrother. There have been no publicly announced criminal charges in the case, and the FBI has not identified anyone as a suspect.
However, according to court documents from a bitter custody battle between the stepbrother’s parents, the 16-year-old is an apparent subject of the FBI’s investigation. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment and has said little after announcing its investigation two weeks ago.
While the case remains under investigation, the family has requested privacy and is mourning the loss of their loved one. The incident has raised questions about safety protocols on cruise ships and the responsibilities of cruise operators in preventing such tragedies.