VIERA, Fla. – A 16-year-old boy being investigated in the death of his stepsister on a Carnival cruise ship last month has no recollection about what happened, according to text message exchanges between his parents filed in a custody court case in Central Florida.
Over 100 pages of texts and emails were released in the ongoing child custody dispute linked to the mysterious death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner aboard a Carnival ship, News4JAX sister station WKMG reported.
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The dispute involves Kepner’s stepmother, Shauntel Hudson, and her ex-husband, who is taking Hudson to court for custody over their two shared children.
One of those children, a 16-year-old boy, has been described by his parents as a “suspect” in Kepner’s death, which was ruled a homicide. At this time, the FBI has not confirmed whether he is a suspect in Kepner’s death, which has drawn international attention and sparked intense speculation on social media.
According to family members, a cabin steward found Kepner’s body under the bed of her stateroom, adding that there were no signs of sexual assault.
Kepner’s cause of death was “mechanical asphyxia,” according to a copy of her death certificate obtained by ABC News, which said the 18-year-old “was mechanically asphyxiated by other person(s).”
Mechanical asphyxia is when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing.
Family cruise
A high school cheerleader from Florida’s Space Coast who was set to graduate next 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.
Kepner’s death aboard the ship that sailed from Miami has remained shrouded in mystery with the FBI and medical examiner’s office in South Florida refusing to disclose any information about the case for weeks.
But according to court documents in the custody case, the 16-year-old boy’s mother told her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, that the teenager kept repeating that he didn’t remember anything when asked.
Under questioning from her ex-husband’s attorney about the cruise, Shauntel Hudson testified that she shared a stateroom with her biological 9-year-old daughter, her husband Christopher Kepner, and Christopher Kepner’s biological 9-year-old daughter.
Meanwhile, Anna Kepner shared a different stateroom with her 14-year-old brother and 16-year-old stepbrother, Shauntel Hudson said.
Shauntel Hudson later explained that the three teens had voluntarily chosen to share a room rather than join their grandparents in a different room a few decks above.
“They wanted to stay together,” Shauntel Hudson testified. “The three of them, like the Three Amigos, are best friends.”
Shauntel Hudson said she last saw the three teens as she headed to bed around 7:30 p.m. the night before Anna Kepner’s body was found.
“With the teenagers across the hall, did you ever go in and check on them?” the ex-husband’s attorney asked.
“I had went to sleep,” replied Shauntel Hudson.
Revealing text messages
In custody dispute court documents, the ex-spouses discussed via text the news of Kepner’s death going viral on social media and how to protect their 16-year-old son from public scrutiny. Thomas Hudson also said he wanted his son to know that he was loved despite what had happened.
The messages stem back to 2024, revealing more details about the fractured relationship between the ex-spouses, WKMG reported.
But early last month, one day after Kepner’s body was first discovered, texts show that Shauntel Hudson reached out to Thomas Hudson about an “emergency,” asking him to call her “asap.”
Less than an hour later, the ex-husband responds, offering to come take their shared 9-year-old daughter to “get her away from the situation.”
The conversation from there goes as follows:
Nov. 8, 2025
- Shauntel: “I really do appreciate it, and I’m not try no to be any which way I just think it’ll be more traumatizing for her to be removed as of right now she doesn’t know anything about (the stepbrother). The only thing I told her is that he was having a hard time coping with loosing Anna so he’s getting checked out by the hospital”
- Thomas: “Ok well im not trying to push it but the offer is there if when you find more out and have to handle things.”
- Shauntel: “When we have to cross that bridge we (you and I will come up with a way to tell her and Andrew”
- Thomas: “Ok”
- Shauntel: “I will call you tomorrow as soon as I here anything”
- Thomas: “Okay”
Nov. 9, 2025
- Thomas: “Are you able to talk to or see (the stepbrother)”
- Shauntel: “I’m waiting on the FBI and also the doctor to call me as soon as I know something I promise you that I won’t I will call you”
- Shauntel: “Stupid talk to text”
- Shauntel: “I promise you as soon as I get a call but you were going to be the first person I called”
- Shauntel: “As soon as I know anything you will be the only one I will be calling”
- Thomas: “I get that but I mean have you talked to (the stepbrother) while he’s at the facility”
- Shauntel: “I was able to talk to him last night for under two minutes briefly he just keeps repeating over and over he can’t remember anything”
- Shauntel: “I don’t even know if they were allowed to let me talk to him or not but the nurse was very nice and let me talk to him just to tell him that you and I love him”
- Thomas: “I just want him to know that he isn’t just dead to everyone. Regardless of everything at the moment he needs his parents i know you know that. I just would like to have a chance to talk to him as soon as possible”
- Shauntel: “We (Chris me and his parents) told him that yesterday before they took him we told him no matter what you and us are with him he isn’t alone”
- Thomas: “Ok i now everything is supposed to be hush hush for now but ive seen that it is still getting out with post and comments between Facebook tiktok and stuff ... I just want to make sure until things are certain that he doesn’t get any unnecessary comments towards him”
- Shauntel: “Nobody knows anything about him. He is a minor and has been kept completely out of it we have not said anything to anybody and we are going to try our best to keep it completely out he he is a minor so his name shouldn’t be anywhere and when we talk tot he FBI again we will reiterate that we do not want is name out there and everything that’s been posted on TikTok and social media nobody knows anything and everybody’s just speculating we know what i told you last night and we’ll know exactly more when the autopsy is done. Once we get the autopsy today, depending on what it says, depend on whether he’s booked on these charges.”
In the weeks to follow, the conversation turned to custody issues involving their shared daughter.
Shauntel Hudson said her 16-year-old son is currently living with a relative, in part to ensure the safety of his siblings and stepsiblings, while her 9-year-old daughter continues to reside with her.
On Nov. 27, Thomas Hudson asked via text whether their daughter could see her 16-year-old brother for “a little bit,” as it “might be the last time that they get to see each other for a long time.”
However, Shauntel Hudson responded that she would not be comfortable with it, as DCF was getting involved.
Thomas Hudson had asked a judge to address the placement of his son while also giving him additional parenting time with his daughter.
In an emergency motion seeking court intervention, Hudson referenced his son’s status as a “suspect” in Anna Kepner’s death.
“The sixteen-year-old’s future has been put in jeopardy because of the choices made by (his mother),” Hudson wrote. “The youngest child is at immediate risk of abuse, abandonment, or neglect in the care of (her mother).”
Shauntel Hudson denied the allegations made by her ex-husband and asked a judge to reject his requests.
At the conclusion of the court hearing, the judge determined the former couple’s 9-year-old daughter was not in any immediate danger and did not alter their existing custody arrangement.
Attorneys for Shauntel Hudson and Thomas Hudson didn’t respond to an emailed inquiry on Wednesday.