Southeast

Cheerleader Anna Kepner’s grandpa breaks silence on ‘nightmare’ cruise ship death

Published

3 months ago

December 4, 2025

Cheerleader Anna Kepner’s grandpa breaks silence on ‘nightmare’ cruise ship death

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

EXCLUSIVE DETAILS: TITUSVILLE, Fla. — The stepmother of a Florida cheerleader who died mysteriously on a cruise ship has filed an emergency motion to postpone a hearing in a proceeding with her ex-husband, claiming she cannot testify because it could be incriminating to herself or one of their minor children in the criminal investigation into her stepdaughter’s death.

In an emergency motion filed in Brevard County, Shauntel Kepner, formerly Shauntel Hudson, asked the judge to postpone a December hearing due to the FBI investigation into the death of Anna Kepner, who was found dead on a Carnival cruise ship on Nov. 7.

“The Respondent has been advised through discussions with FBI investigators and her attorneys, that a criminal case may be initiated against one of the minor children of this instant action,” Shauntel’s lawyer, Millicent Athanason, wrote to a Brevard County judge.

NO CAUSE OF DEATH FOR CHEERLEADER FOUND DEAD ON CRUISE SHIP AS REPORT REVEALS REMAINS FOUND HIDDEN UNDER BED

Anna Kepner, her father, stepmother and several siblings in a family photo. (Shauntel Kepner/Facebook)

“I don’t know why Anna was staying in a room with her stepbrother,” Anna Kepner’s step-grandfather, Christopher Donohue, told Fox News Digital Wednesday. He said he learned about the arrangement from a news article.

“All I know is that she went on that boat, and she never came back,” he added. “You don’t go 0 to 100, but we weren’t on the boat. Everyone is heartbroken. There are questions. I don’t think we’ll ever know.”

The 53-year-old said he hasn’t seen Anna regularly since her mother and father grew estranged in 2023.

“We are living in a nightmare,” he said. “The FBI has kept us in the dark, never contacted us. The Kepners haven’t told us anything. We’ve learned from Facebook posts that the stepson is a suspect.”

Read the father’s emergency motion:

A law enforcement source told Fox News Digital Wednesday that authorities have recovered surveillance video from the cruise ship showing Kepner with a “suspect” and that the FBI is reviewing hours of additional footage from the cruise before her death. Authorities also have access to records of room key swipes aboard the vessel, the source said.

In an emergency motion for temporary relief filed Monday, Shauntel’s ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, revealed that the couple’s oldest child, 18, had moved in with him after an alleged “violent altercation” between himself, Shauntel and her new husband, Christopher Kepner, who is the late cheerleader’s father.

Further, Hudson’s filing alleges their second son, a 16-year-old, “is now a suspect in the death of the stepchild during the cruise.”

Anna Kepner was identified by her family as the passenger who died onboard the Carnival Horizon. (Instagram/Anna Kepner)

“The [16-year-old]’s future has been put in jeopardy because of the choices made by [Shauntel],” according to Hudson’s filing.

The teen’s current whereabouts are unclear. According to the filing, he has been released from custody and is staying with an unnamed third party.

FBI INVESTIGATES CARNIVAL CRUISE SHIP DEATH IN MARITIME MYSTERY THAT CAN BE ‘VERY COMPLEX,’ FORMER AGENT SAYS

Read Shauntel Kepner’s response:

Hudson is accusing his ex-wife of alienating him from their two youngest children and arguing that his lack of involvement in their life is negatively impacting them.

In a separate response, Shauntel’s lawyer denied that their eldest child had been involved in a violent altercation and denied that she refused to allow Hudson time-sharing under the terms of their custody plan.

Neither Shauntel nor Athanason responded to requests for comment. In the motion, the lawyer noted that her client has a right against self-incrimination, and she argued that testifying in the divorce proceeding could “be prejudicial to her or her adolescent child” in the criminal investigation.

“An extremely sensitive and severe circumstance has arisen wherein the Respondent/Mother will not be able to testify at the hearing at this time,” Athanason wrote.

Anna Kepner wrote that she would endure after a rough breakup in a video posted just days before she died under unknown circumstances. (@fl.anna18/TikTok)

“Currently, there is an investigation being conducted by the [FBI] arising out of the sudden death of [18-year-old] Anna Kepner,” the filing continues. “Ms. Anna Kepner, the deceased, is the daughter of the Respondent’s paramour and the Respondent and the minor children of this instant action were all on the cruise ship together.”

The filing is part of a dispute stemming from Shauntel’s divorce from Hudson.

Authorities have said little about the case.

The FBI’s Miami office is investigating the matter. And the medical examiner’s office in Miami-Dade County is handling the autopsy, although no cause and manner of death had been determined as of Wednesday morning.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The Daily Mail reported Tuesday, citing two unnamed sources, that Kepner’s remains had been discovered wrapped in a blanket and covered in life jackets under the bed in her cabin on the Carnival Horizon cruise ship.

Carnival said in a statement it is cooperating with the FBI. The FBI did not respond to a request for comment.

Read the full article from Here

Click to comment

Southeast

Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’

Published

6 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security is calling on Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to ensure local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration officials by handing over an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who allegedly killed a woman earlier this week at a Virginia bus stop.

Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, arrested an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone earlier this week on charges of second-degree murder after he allegedly fatally stabbed a woman, Stephanie Minter, 41, who was found dead at a local bus stop with several wounds to the upper body.

The alleged suspect, Abdul Jalloh, 32, also has a criminal history of more than 30 arrests, according to DHS, including for rape, malicious wounding, assault, identity theft, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, assault and pick-pocketing.

The request from the Trump administration comes after the newly elected Democratic governor of Virginia signed an executive order to end cooperation between federal immigration officials and state and local law enforcement, a move several Democratic Party governors have taken recently amid President Donald Trump’s move to increase deportation operations around the country.

The DHS request asking Virginia officials to cooperate with ICE also comes after an illegal immigrant allegedly murdered someone just days after being released from jail for a separate crime in December.

Abdul Jalloh, 32, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger (Department of Homeland Security/Getty Images)

“We are calling on Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Virginia’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this murderer and violent career criminal from their jail without notifying ICE,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.

“This illegal alien’s murder of an innocent, beautiful American woman came less than 24 hours before Governor Spanberger’s demonization of ICE law enforcement. This heinous criminal is a perfect example of why we need cooperation from sanctuary jurisdictions and the importance of third country removals for the safety of the American people.”

Spanberger’s representatives did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Jalloh entered the United States illegally in 2012, according to DHS, and immigration officials lodged an immigration detainer against him in 2020, whereupon he was granted a final order of removal by a judge who said he could be removed to any country other than Sierra Leone.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH PRIOR DEPORTATION SHOOTS DEPUTY IN CHEST, DIES AFTER EXCHANGE: DHS

Protesters, using whistles to alert neighborhoods to ICE activity, face off with Minneapolis police officers in Minneapolis Jan. 24, 2026. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

DHS indicated that ICE cooperation to ensure Jalloh’s deportation is evident after a case Fox News covered in December when a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, Marvin Morales-Ortez, 23, allegedly killed a man just a day after Fairfax County jail officials let him go.

The immigrant from El Salvador had been in custody on charges of malicious wounding and brandishing a gun, but police released him after the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, led by George Soros-backed prosecutor Steve Descano, dropped the charges.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Fairfax County Sheriff’s office to inquire about why the man had not been handed over to ICE.

The sheriff’s office said, “ICE was aware of Morales-Ortez’s incarceration and elected not to seek a judicial warrant to ensure he remained in custody.

Marvin Morales-Ortez, who is living in the country illegally, was released from Fairfax County custody and then allegedly committed a murder the next day. (Fairfax County Police Department/Getty Images)

“The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office follows all local, state and federal laws when determining whether a person is subject to release from the ADC,” the sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital at the time. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified any time a person is booked into the ADC.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The same sheriff’s office did not get back to Fox News Digital’s media inquiry for this story on DHS urging officials to cooperate with federal officials.

Read the full article from Here

Southeast

Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work

Published

18 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

FIRST ON FOX: An illegal immigrant who reported to a U.S. Border Patrol site in Florida to perform some Information technology contractual work was arrested when authorities were made aware of his citizenship status, officials said.

Angel Camacho, a Venezuelan citizen, reported to a USBP center in Dania Beach, Florida, Jan. 6 to do some IT work when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials began vetting him, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital.

During its investigation, it was revealed Camacho was in violation of U.S. immigration laws, authorities said.

Angel Camacho reported to a Florida U.S. Border Patrol center to perform contractual work when he was arrested, a Department of Homeland Security official said. (Getty Images )

“CBP vets all external visitors before allowing them to enter secure facilities to ensure safety and operational integrity,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.

“During the vetting process, CBP uncovered this individual was a tourist visa overstay in the country for over five years.”

SCHUMER, DEMS AGAIN BLOCK DHS FUNDING, FORCE STATE OF THE UNION SHOWDOWN

This photo shows a U.S. Border Patrol patch on a border agent’s uniform in McAllen, Texas, Jan. 15, 2019. (Suzanne CordeiroAFP via Getty Images)

Camacho was arrested and transferred to ICE custody, Bis said.

His criminal history includes theft and resisting a Florida Highway Patrol officer, officials said. Federal authorities have nabbed several illegal immigrants in the process of trying to obtain employment in law enforcement and education.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

One Sierra Leone citizen was recently arrested as he was training to become a Pennsylvania corrections officer.

Another illegal immigrant, Ian Roberts, served as the former superintendent of Iowa’s largest district, Des Moines Public Schools, before he was arrested by ICE.

Read the full article from Here

Southeast

High school teacher arrested in alleged sex case involving student

Published

2 days ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

High school teacher arrested in alleged sex case involving student

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A Georgia high school teacher was arrested Wednesday after allegations of inappropriate contact between a teacher and a minor student surfaced at Lee County High School.

Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee, agent or foster parent, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI).

Lee County High School requested the Leesburg Police Department investigate the allegations on Feb. 3, and the GBI was called to assist the following day.

Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, Ga., is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)

Investigators identified Weaver as the “subject,” and identified the victim as a student under 18 years old at Lee County High School, according to officials.

GBI agents continued the investigation along with the Leesburg Police Department, and arrest warrants were obtained for Weaver on Tuesday.

A Google Maps street view photo of Lee County High School in Leesburg, Ga. (Google Maps)

NEBRASKA TEACHER ALLEGEDLY OFFERED TO ‘SHARE’ BOYFRIEND WITH STUDENT IN SEX TRAFFICKING CASE

Weaver turned herself in to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, and was later released on bond, according to a report from WALB News.

This investigation is active and ongoing, according to the GBI.

The incident allegedly happened at a high school in Georgia. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Once complete, the case file will be given to the Southwestern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

Leesburg is located in South Georgia, and is about an hour and a half north of Tallahassee, Florida.

Lee County High School’s communications team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Alexandra Koch is a Fox News Digital journalist who covers breaking news, with a focus on high-impact events that shape national conversation.

She has covered major national crises, including the L.A. wildfires, Potomac and Hudson River aviation disasters, Boulder terror attack, and Texas Hill Country floods.

Read the full article from Here