Florida
16-year-old from Florida charged with sexually assaulting, killing stepsister on Carnival Cruise ship
MIAMI – A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and aggravated sexual abuse in Florida in the death of his 18-year-old stepsister on a Carnival Cruise ship, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.
The teen, identified by the government as T.H., was initially charged as a juvenile on Feb. 2, but the case was sealed until U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom ordered that he would be prosecuted as an adult, the department said.
An email and voicemail seeking comment from T.H.’s lawyer about the indictment were not immediately returned.
Anna Kepner had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship in November with her family. Before the ship was scheduled to return to Florida, her body was found concealed under a bed in a room she was sharing with two other teens, including the younger stepbrother.
The cause of Kepner’s Nov. 6 death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, which is when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing.
Kepner was a high school cheerleader at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida, some 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Orlando. At her memorial service in November, family members encouraged people to wear bright colors instead of the traditional black “in honor of Anna’s bright and beautiful soul.”
Teens prosecuted in federal court are extremely rare. T.H. was seen at the Miami courthouse on Feb. 6, wearing a ball cap and a hoodie pulled tightly around his face. But his status at that time was not fully known because his age barred public disclosures by his lawyer, the government or the court.
Experts believe the case is in federal court, and not a state court where teens are commonly prosecuted, because Kepner died in international waters.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Brevard County couple gets married in NICU after birth of premature twins
A Florida couple, told they may not be able to have children, welcomed premature twins and had an impromptu NICU wedding.
Provided by AdventHealth for Children
Ben and Danielle Cassidy were told they likely wouldn’t be able to have children.
But this year they will celebrate Mother’s Day just months after having an impromptu wedding in the AdventHealth for Children hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit shortly after Danielle gave birth to twins prematurely — a week before the Palm Bay couple was scheduled to get married.
Both babies, Joshua and Rhett, are doing well despite arriving nine weeks ahead of schedule on Jan. 19, 2026, just one day after their scheduled baby shower. With a proper wedding out of the question with two premature babies in the NICU, a nurse took action.
Issabel Kenkel, the nurse behind the ceremony, said she was already in wedding planning mode for her own upcoming nuptials when she found out the Cassidy family’s ceremony would be interrupted.
“I couldn’t just let them do something small. They needed decorations and something fun, so I spoke to the music therapist and the chaplain,” Kenkel said. In short order, a wedding was being planned for their hospital room and the couple was saying their vows in the company of their safely delivered newborns.
“When we found out we could request staff members to be on our team, that’s when we requested Issabel and having that kind of consistency from someone who has such a big heart and is so kind,” Danielle said.
The hospital ceremony was all the more special because of the Cassidy family’s own health struggles.
“I have five autoimmune diseases and didn’t really think I would have kids. It’s been a rough journey. When Ben and I met, we were floored at how much a miracle it was to have kids,” Danielle said.
Ben, who battled and beat cancer, said he was worried that his prior treatment would result in negative health outcomes for his future children. Having twins for him was an unexpected blessing.
“When we found out we were pregnant, we found it so shocking. We said, wouldn’t it be great if it was twins? It filled out our hopes and dreams list,” Ben said. “They’ve been miracles for sure.”
The Cassidy couple said there was so much fear and uncertainty when their twins were born nine weeks early. Being able to get married right away just made them feel all the better about the future.
“It was nice getting married because we didn’t have to wait any longer to make it official. It made it that much harder for her to get rid of me,” Ben said.
“The unknown made it scary,” Danielle added. “We had no idea how long we would be in the hospital. Our wedding was going to be at the beach with immediate family and parents. Having NICU babies, we realized we’d never be able to get to the beach. It was really special having the people who care for our babies be part of the ceremony.”
The couple hadn’t even planned to have a band at their wedding ceremony and now the hospital’s music therapist was performing live for them and the chaplain was conducting the ceremony, something nurse Kenkel said was just part of her job.
“The babies are going to have the best outcomes if the families are taken care of and going home happy,” she said. “Being in the NICU is already so stressful. This is just one more thing I could do to take care of my patients.”
Tyler Vazquez is the Growth and Development Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-480-0854 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com. X: @tyler_vazquez.
The Vero Beach Police Department took a man into custody May 8 in connection with a threatening phone call directed toward a business.
The agency received information at 5:21 p.m. May 7 about a threatening call to Thrive IRC Inc. at 2300 5th Ave. in Vero Beach, according to a news release. The call included someone threatening to come to the business with an AK rifle and “light the building up.”
Detectives began investigating the threat and identified Michael Sean O’Brien, 27, of Vero Beach, as the person associated with the phone number used during the call.
O’Brien was taken into custody at about 3:30 p.m. May 8 without incident. He was charged with the false report concerning the use of firearms in a violent manner, which is a second degree felony, according to the news release.
O’Brien was booked in the Indian River County Jail at 6:13 p.m. May 8 but was released at 1:36 p.m. May 9 after posting the $5,000 bond, according to the jail website.
No additional information was available the afternoon of May 9.
Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.
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