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Stepmother may be forced to testify against son in cruise ship death case
FBI investigating the demise of a Florida teen on a cruise ship
Former FBI Particular Agent Nicole Parker joins ‘Fox & Buddies’ to debate the investigation into the demise of 16-year-old Anna Kepner on a Carnival cruise ship, and the way the FBI is tackling against the law in worldwide waters.
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Because the FBI investigates the mysterious demise of an 18-year-old Florida cheerleader aboard a Carnival cruise ship, her stepmother’s combat with an ex reveals new particulars – and will pressure her to testify in opposition to her son.
Friday marks two weeks since aspiring sailor Anna Kepner was discovered lifeless in her room aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship.
Authorities haven’t but launched the trigger and method of demise or arrest, however a lawsuit between the mother and father of her 16-year-old stepbrother has recognized him as a suspect.
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Anna Kepner, her father, stepmother and a few of her siblings in a household photograph. In keeping with her on-line obituary, Kepner’s blended household consisted of 5 boys and three women. (Shauntel Kepner/Fb)
Kepner’s stepmother, Shauntel Kepner, requested a decide overseeing a custody dispute between her and her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, to postpone the listening to in that case till after the legal investigation was accomplished.
That dispute may land the stepmother in authorized bother, in line with Donna Rotunno, a Chicago-based legal protection legal professional and Fox Information contributor. Shauntel’s Fifth Modification protection may disappear if prosecutors provide her immunity whereas they pursue the teenager.
“The mom has no privilege in any respect to not testify in opposition to her son,” Rotunno instructed FOX & Buddies Thursday morning. “So a court docket may pressure her to testify, or she may very well be held in contempt. And in the event that they suppose the mom was concerned in any manner, they may give her immunity to get her to talk.”
Hudson accused Shauntel of alienating their two youthful kids, together with the 16-year-old. Their eldest son, 18, went to dwell together with his father after an alleged “violent altercation” involving Shauntel and Kepner’s father, Christopher Kepner.
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Anna Kepner was recognized by her household because the passenger who died aboard the Carnival Horizon. (Instagram/Anna Kepner)
“The [16-year-old]’s future has been jeopardized by the alternatives which have been made [Shauntel],” Hudson wrote to the decide on Monday.
The teenager’s present whereabouts are unclear. In keeping with the report, he has been launched and is staying with an unnamed third celebration.
Shauntel denied in a submitting of her personal that their eldest son had been concerned in any altercation together with her new husband, however admitted that “there’s an open FBI investigation involving” the 16-year-old.
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Anna Kepner, 18, was discovered lifeless on Nov. 7 aboard a Carnival cruise ship whereas vacationing together with her household. (Anna Kepner/Instagram)
A legislation enforcement supply instructed Fox Information Digital on Wednesday that authorities have recovered surveillance footage from the cruise ship exhibiting Kepner with a “suspect” and that the FBI is reviewing hours of extra footage from the cruise earlier than her demise. Authorities even have entry to room key knowledge on board the ship, the supply stated.
The FBI’s Miami workplace is conducting the investigation.
Nicole Parker, a former Miami FBI agent and Fox Information contributor, lined maritime instances.
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A nonetheless picture reveals 18-year-old Anna Kepner’s cryptic remaining TikTok submit, posted eight days earlier than she was discovered lifeless on a cruise ship. (@fl.anna18/TikTok)
“One factor I spotted as an investigator is that folks suppose, ‘Oh, you recognize, if I commit against the law at sea, nobody will ever discover out,'” she instructed “FOX & Buddies” Thursday morning. ‘They usually know little about it and sometimes they’re shocked. It really falls beneath the jurisdiction of the FBI.”
Earlier than the ship returned to port, she stated, the cruise line’s personal safety group reportedly secured the scene after Kepner was discovered lifeless round 11 a.m. Friday.
“Our proof group would have boarded that ship – on this case it could have been Saturday morning and a number of interviews would have been performed,” she stated. “I’d first wish to ask: I need all of the digital camera footage, I need all of the video surveillance footage. I additionally need the important thing lock information, which point out who was getting into and leaving the ship’s cabin on the time the potential crime might have occurred.”
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Officers would additionally interview everybody within the surrounding rooms, she stated.
A memorial service for Kepner is deliberate for Thursday night in her hometown of Titusville, Florida.