TITUSVILLE, Fla. — As the FBI investigates 18-year-old Anna Kepner’s mysterious death aboard a cruise ship, a custody battle involving her 16-year-old stepbrother has unveiled allegations of inappropriate behavior, family turmoil and disputed claims that underage drinking occurred in international waters.

No criminal charges have been announced, but her stepmother Shauntel Kepner’s ongoing legal fight with her ex-husband Thomas Hudson revealed Anna’s 16-year-old stepbrother has been eyed as a suspect.

Anna’s ex-boyfriend witnessed creepy interactions with the stepbrother visiting her bedroom at 3 a.m. FaceTime calls, a source close to the family told Fox News Digital.

“When I was on FaceTime with her, and she was lying down, and her brother tried to go on top of her,” the 15-year-old ex-boyfriend told reporters after Anna’s memorial service.

STEPMOTHER IN CRUISE SHIP DEATH MYSTERY FEARS CHILD COULD BE INCRIMINATED: COURT DOCS

He said he reported the encounter to Anna’s parents and said she had complained about being “uncomfortable” around her stepbrother before. He went on to describe Anna as his “first love” and said he would have been on the cruise with the Kepner family earlier this month if they hadn’t broken up.

“She was scared of him,” the ex’s father, Steven Westin, told Inside Edition separately. “Because he always carried around a big knife.”

WATCH: Anna Kepner’s ex-boyfriend breaks silence on her cruise ship death

After Anna’s death, the stepbrother’s father demanded a custody hearing, accusing his ex-wife of alienating their two youngest children from him after a violent altercation involving their oldest. He argued that his lack of involvement in their lives is having a serious impact on them.

The teen stepsiblings had access to alcohol in international waters despite being under 21, Hudson alleged at a hearing Thursday morning, according to Click Orlando, a local news site. Shauntel’s lawyer denied the claim.

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

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

Carnival requires that guests under 21 travel with someone 25 or older. Kids 14 and under have to be in the same or a connecting cabin. Teens 15 to 17 can be in a nearby stateroom, within about three cabins of the adult, and 18- to 20-year-olds can be booked anywhere on the ship as long as they’re linked to an adult over 25.

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.

At some point during the course of the week, Anna’s obituary was also edited to change which family members were reflected.

The name of her dad’s second ex-wife, Tabitha Kepner, was removed entirely after initially being identified as her mother. The current version lists her mom as Heather Wright. A reference to the Donohue family was removed. So was a reference to her 16-year-old stepbrother, who is now believed to be the suspect.

Anna’s stepmother, Shauntel Kepner, formerly Shauntel Hudson, is her father’s current wife. In an emergency motion filed in Brevard County, she asked a judge to postpone a December hearing in a proceeding with her ex-husband due to the FBI investigation into Anna’s death aboard a Carnival cruise ship on Nov. 7.

“The Respondent (Shauntel) 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,” her attorney, Millicent Athanason, wrote to a Brevard County judge on Nov. 17.

The 16-year-old was hospitalized “immediately after the incident” on the ship for an undisclosed reason, according to Athanason, and is now living with one of his mother’s relatives, according to ClickOrlando.com.

CRUISE SHIP DEATH: CHEERLEADER’S STEPMOM COULD BE FORCED TO TESTIFY AGAINST HER OWN SON

Relatives say they have received few official answers since the ship docked. Anna’s birth mother, Heather Wright, told WESH 2 she learned of her daughter’s death through an online search. She has not responded to Fox News Digital’s attempts to reach her.

“I found out through Google. I ended up Googling it, because the only information I had was that my daughter was on a cruise,” she told the local outlet.

Similarly, Anna’s stepgrandfather, Christopher Donahue, 53, told Fox News Digital Wednesday that he too learned about her death through social media.

CRUISE SHIP DEATH MYSTERY: CHEERLEADER’S FINAL POSTS HINT AT HEARTBREAK AND RESILIENCE AS DAD BREAKS SILENCE

“I don’t know why Anna was staying in a room with her stepbrother,” Donahue said. 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.”

READ THE FILING – APP USERS, CLICK HERE

The swirl of public claims around Anna’s death has revived long-simmering disputes. In a March 31, 2023, divorce petition filed in Brevard County and obtained by Fox News Digital, Anna’s former stepmother, Tabitha L. Kepner, alleges that Christopher Purcell Kepner, Anna’s father, had a “history of physical and mental abuse toward the minor children and toward the Petitioner,” and she sought sole parental responsibility for the children she shared with him and supervised time-sharing. 

She was married to Christopher Kepner after he split with Anna’s mother and before he met his third wife, Shauntel.

READ THE FILING – APP USERS, CLICK HERE

In 2024, Michelle Johnson filed a small claims suit in Brevard County against Shauntel Hudson seeking the return of several firearms, including a 12-gauge shotgun and two rifles, which she alleged Hudson refused to hand back.

The filings include a series of emails in which Johnson accused Hudson of “manipulating and alienating” her children from their father, describing the situation as “a very sad and heartbreaking ordeal.”

“Prior [sic] to you, manipulating controlling and brainwashing them for the past month,” Johnson wrote to Hudson. “It’s devastating and upsetting. Please step back and look at what’s the best for these kids? They need their family…”

That case was later dismissed after Johnson missed a service of process deadline.

Together, the records paint a portrait of a fractured family now thrust into the spotlight following Anna’s mysterious death aboard the six-day Carnival cruise.

Anna’s family and friends attended a service at The Grove Church in Titusville, Fla., on Thursday evening. One of the Kepners’ neighbors told Fox News Digital Thursday that their street has been quiet since Anna’s death. He described the Kepners as a friendly family.

Two vehicles, a Dodge truck and Chevy SUV, were parked in the Kepners’ driveway, but no one answered the door. Investigators have not disclosed a cause or manner of death, and prosecutors have not filed charges.

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Hundreds of mourners gathered Thursday at The Grove Church in Titusville, Florida, to celebrate the life of Kepner. Guests were greeted by her graduation photos and invited to leave a fingerprint on a poster bearing her picture. Inside the church’s auditorium, a slideshow traced her life through images of karate lessons, Disney trips, lake days, beach outings, cheerleading fundraisers, and carefree flips at a bounce house.

A former Alabama teacher was arrested and fired after a video emerged allegedly showing her striking her child more than 20 times with a belt, police said. 

Randi Nicole Staples, a 44-year-old who worked at the Cottage Hill Christian Academy, is now charged with willful abuse of a child under 18, according to WALA. 

“Discipline is supposed to be for corrective action. That went way beyond that,” Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said. “Snatch him up by his hair and yell and curse the way that she did, working for a Christian school, I thought was repulsive. It’s sickening to see somebody do that to their child.” 

The station cited the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office as saying that the alleged abuse happened after the child had not completed chores in the manner that Staples wanted them done.

CHICAGO RESIDENTS DEMAND ACTION, ACCOUNTABILITY AFTER MOB OF CHILDREN BRUTALLY BEATS MOTHER AND 9-YEAR-OLD SON 

“It’s almost like a dual personality. Because by all accounts, I’m told she is a good teacher and well respected. And yet what happens in the home is clearly opposite of that,” Burch also said, according to NBC 15. 

The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that, “A video recorded by a family member appears to show Randi Nicole Staples instructing her 12-year-old son to lay across the arm of their sofa inside the residence in Grand Bay, Alabama.”

“Staples then allegedly struck her son on his bottom and legs approximately 20 times with a belt, during which the son can be heard pleading for her to stop,” the statement continued, adding that deputies “interviewed several witnesses and found that other children living in the home had encountered similar actions.”

“There’s an adult who no longer lives in the home that has contributed some information that is significant to the investigation. This is an active investigation and we are continuing to interview others involved,” Burch said in a statement. “The other children in the home are in a safe place right now, that both parents agreed to, and that was our first priority. We want to make sure they are provided the services they need to move forward.
There could be additional charges forthcoming as this investigation unfolds.” 

KENTUCKY TEACHER ACCUSED OF EXPOSING HERSELF TO STUDENT DURING SHOWER VIDEO CHAT TO ARRANGE SEX 

The Academy, which has two locations in Mobile, told NBC 15 in a statement that it is “committed to providing a safe, nurturing, and Christ-centered environment for all students,” and that, “This commitment guides every action our school takes regarding student welfare and staff conduct.” 

“On November 19, 2025, school leadership was made aware of concerns involving the off-campus conduct of an elementary teacher toward her minor child at her personal residence. Although the incident did not occur on school property, the nature of the information required immediate administrative action,” the statement continued.

“Upon learning of the alleged misconduct, the school acted swiftly and decisively, relieving the teacher of her duties and placing her on administrative leave pending a full review,” it also said. “Following the findings of law enforcement, which determined that the teacher had engaged in improper conduct unrelated to her school responsibilities, an arrest was made and Cottage Hill Christian Academy terminated her employment in accordance with institutional policy.” 

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Staples was released from jail on Wednesday after posting a $7,500 bond, WALA reported. 

Fox News Digital’s Adriana James-Rodil contributed to this report.

At least two professors in Louisiana have expressed outrage after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry called on the state’s largest school to erect a statue of Charlie Kirk, with one who worked at Louisiana State University (LSU) comparing Kirk to KKK leader David Duke. 

“We’re gonna put a challenge out to the LSU board of supervisors to find a place to put a statue of Charlie Kirk to defend freedom of speech on college campuses,” Landry said in a video posted to social media from the LSU campus.

Landry was at LSU Monday evening for a rally with the school’s Turning Point USA chapter. He said more than 1,500 people attended the event, which also featured conservative best-selling author and podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey.

“Come on ladies and gentlemen, let’s see if we can be the first campus to do it,” Landry said.

MICHIGAN COUNTY’S PUSH TO ERECT CHARLIE KIRK STATUE FALLS SHORT AS UNIVERSITY SAYS NO

A professor emeritus at LSU, Robert Mann, took to Bluesky to accuse Kirk of racism and express his displeasure with Landry’s call.

“If Jeff Landry wants a statue of a white nationalist on the LSU campus, it shouldn’t be Charlie Kirk,” he said in a post. “Shouldn’t he be honoring our home-grown racists, like David Duke (who actually went to LSU)?”

Mann retired in 2024, but still has an active profile on LSU’s website. He published a book through LSU Press this year. 

An associate professor of environmental sciences at Tulane University in New Orleans, Nicole Gasparini, also slammed Landry’s proposal on the left-wing social media app.

‘FEARLESS’ TOUR TAKES CHARLIE KIRK’S FREE SPEECH MISSION TO COLLEGES NATIONWIDE

“Sooo my governor wants LSU to put up a statue of someone who created an organization with the *specific goal* of targeting and harassing professors,” she said.

Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, was assassinated at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 while debating with students during the first stop on his “American Comeback Tour.”

Elsewhere in Louisiana, a newly-formed Turning Point chapter at Loyola University New Orleans was barred by the school’s student government association from becoming an official campus club, denying them the opportunity for campus funding and to use campus resources, like reserving rooms at the school.

Citing Kirk’s opposition to gay marriage and transgenderism, one student said TPUSA’s values didn’t align with those of the Jesuit Catholic school. Another student accused Kirk of bigotry against Hispanics.

The school told Fox News Digital that the TPUSA organizers have some recourse.

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“Student leaders of the proposed organization have been notified of their right to appeal the decision through the SGA Court of Review, as outlined in Loyola’s Student Organization Handbook,” the school said.

“Loyola will continue to support the student-led process as it moves through its next steps.”

Mann and Gasparini did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did their respective universities.