Southeast
Texts after Anna Kepner’s mysterious cruise ship death show family scrambling to clamp down on info
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Newly released court records shed additional light on how a family responded after the death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner, who was found dead aboard a Carnival cruise ship last month.
According to documents obtained by FOX 35 Orlando, text messages exchanged after Anna’s death show the family’s concern about limiting information shared publicly and keeping their 16-year-old son’s name out of the media.
The messages were submitted as exhibits in an ongoing family court case and include exchanges that began within roughly a day of Anna’s body being discovered. The messages also emphasize the family’s position that the teen does not remember events surrounding Anna’s death.
Anna Kepner was found dead Nov. 7 in her cabin aboard the Carnival Horizon, which returned to Port Miami two days later. Federal authorities boarded the ship upon its return and began collecting evidence.
CHEERLEADER’S CRUISE SHIP DEATH HAS FAMILY POINTING FINGERS
Anna Kepner was identified by her family as the passenger who died onboard the Carnival Horizon. (Instagram/Anna Kepner)
Officials said she died from mechanical asphyxia, meaning she was deprived of oxygen. No suspect has been publicly named in the case.
Text exchanges between Anna’s stepmother, Shauntel Kepner, and her ex-husband show conversations that began the evening of Nov. 8, about a day after Anna’s body was discovered.
Court records indicate the discussions focused largely on managing information, limiting social media exposure and addressing concerns involving the teen, who is a minor, rather than on the circumstances of Anna’s death. Court documents indicate the teen is being investigated in connection with Anna’s death but note he has not been charged.
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In one message sent around 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 8, Shauntel asked her ex-husband to call her immediately, describing the situation as an emergency. When he later suggested picking up their daughter, Shauntel declined, explaining the girl had only been told that her brother was struggling emotionally and was being evaluated at a hospital.
In a later exchange on Nov. 9, Shauntel described a brief conversation she said she had with her son while he was in a medical facility. She stated he repeatedly said he could not remember anything and that a nurse allowed the short call so she could reassure him that his parents loved him.
The messages also show efforts to prevent information from spreading on social media, including concerns about posts circulating online and the desire to shield the teen from negative attention. Shauntel emphasized that he is a minor and that the family did not want his name released.
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During a Dec. 5 court appearance, Shauntel’s attorney said the teen’s father agreed to have him live with a relative after his release from the hospital once the ship docked. The attorney said the decision was made to eliminate any potential risk to other children in the home, according to FOX 35 Orlando.
Shauntel also testified that the teen takes medication for ADHD and insomnia and had not taken his insomnia medication for two nights during the cruise, including the night before Anna’s body was found.
Court documents state Anna’s body was discovered under a bed in a cabin she was sharing with two siblings, including her 16-year-old stepbrother.
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(L-R) Chris Kepner, Shauntel Kepner, and Jeffrey Kepner arrive to court in Melbourne, Florida, Friday, December 5, 2025. The trio are headed to an emergency custody hearing in an ongoing dispute between Shauntel and her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)
While the FBI has not publicly identified anyone as a suspect and no criminal charges have been filed, records from an ongoing family court dispute between Anna’s father and stepmother, Christopher Kepner and Shauntel Kepner, and Shauntel Kepner’s ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, indicate the teen is being investigated in Anna’s death.
Additional messages referenced the possibility that charges could be filed depending on the results of the autopsy. Shauntel said the family planned to learn more once the autopsy findings were available.
A former sheriff’s detective, Jamie Copenhaver, reviewed the messages and told FOX 35 Orlando they raised concerns for him. He said the exchanges appeared focused on controlling public perception rather than addressing the loss of an 18-year-old family member.
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Anna Kepner, her father, stepmother and several siblings in a family photo. (Shauntel Kepner/Facebook)
Copenhaver described the messages as resembling “damage control,” adding that the tone suggested to him that the family knew more than what had been publicly shared.
Messages included in the court records also show both parents expressing emotional support for their son, emphasizing that he was not alone and that his family stood by him.
In one exchange, Hudson told Shauntel that he wanted their son to know “he isn’t just dead to everyone,” adding that “regardless of everything at the moment, he needs his parents,” and that he wanted an opportunity to speak with him as soon as possible.
Kepner, of Titusville, Florida, was a high school senior at Temple Christian School. She was preparing to graduate in the spring of 2026 and hoped to enlist in the U.S. Navy, her family said.
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The FBI has not released details about the investigation, and the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner has not publicly released Anna’s autopsy or toxicology results. The investigation remains ongoing, and more than six weeks later, no individual has been publicly identified as a suspect.
Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
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Southeast
Atlanta-area police blast parents over vodka martini packed in school lunch: ‘That is NOT apple juice’
MAHA eyes SNAP, school lunch restrictions for junk food
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss the Trump administration’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ initiative, detailing new efforts to restrict ultra-processed foods in school lunches and limiting SNAP benefit purchases.
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An Atlanta-area police department issued a blunt notice to parents after officers claimed a child brought a vodka-based beverage to school — tucked beside Doritos in a packed lunch.
The City of South Fulton Police Department sounded off about the incident in a now-viral Facebook post, warning parents to “CHECK. THE. LUNCHBOX.”
“Say Twin… Before you send them babies off to school… CHECK. THE. LUNCHBOX. Because why are we getting reports of juice boxes sitting next to… Cutwater margaritas??” the department wrote.
Officials also shared a photo of the alleged lunchbox, containing what appears to be a child’s lunch, Doritos and a Cutwater Lemon Drop Martini.
The police department shared a photo of a Cutwater canned cocktail in a lunchbox. (City of South Fulton Police Department via Facebook)
“That is NOT Capri Sun. That is NOT Apple Juice. That is a whole ‘Parent had a long night’ starter pack,” the department wrote. “Now little Johnny done pulled up to 3rd period talking about: ‘Who want fruit snacks?’ knowing good and well he got a Lemon Drop Martini in the zipper pocket.”
Cutwater Lemon Drop Martinis, as found in the lunchbox, are 11% ABV ready-to-drink cocktails made with vodka, triple sec, lemon juice and natural flavors.
They come in 12-ounce cans, similar in appearance to a soda can.
The City of South Fulton Police Department issued a statement after the apparent mishap. (City of South Fulton Police Department via Facebook)
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The department said it understands mornings can be hectic, but issued a stern notice to parents to “TIGHTEN UP.”
“Your child shouldn’t be the only one in the cafeteria with a beverage that requires an ID,” authorities wrote. “If it says 12% ABV… it does NOT belong next to a PB&J.”
Officials also provided a “quick parent checklist,” with items including: “Homework,” “Lunch packed,” and “Alcoholic beverages.”
Boxes of Cutwater Tiki Rum Mai Tai and Strawberry Margarita canned cocktails. (Gado/Getty Images)
“Check the lunchbox before the Fulton County Schools Police resource officers gotta do inventory at recess,” the department added.
It is unclear if any parents or students were disciplined in relation to the mix-up.
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Fulton County Schools did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The City of South Fulton, Georgia, is a rapidly growing municipality located about 20 minutes from Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
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Southeast
Federal prosecutor admits ‘extraordinary’ timing in Abrego Garcia smuggling case charges
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A federal prosecutor acknowledged Thursday that the decision to charge Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia two years after a routine traffic stop was “extraordinary” while defending the human smuggling case as legally justified.
Abrego Garcia, 31, has become a flash point in the national immigration debate since last March, when he was deported to El Salvador in violation of a 2019 court order in what Trump administration officials acknowledged was an “administrative error.”
The Supreme Court later ruled that the administration had to work to bring him back to the U.S.
After returning in June, Abrego Garcia was taken into federal custody in Nashville and detained on human smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee.
He has pleaded not guilty and is seeking dismissal of the charges on the grounds of vindictive and selective prosecution.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura, left, are accompanied by Lydia Walther-Rodriguez, right, of We Are Casa, as they leave the federal courthouse, Thursday, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
A 2019 court order prevents Abrego Garcia from being deported to El Salvador after an immigration judge determined he faced danger from a gang that had threatened his family. He immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager and has been under the supervision of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Abrego Garcia was accused in court records of repeated domestic violence against his wife, who alleged multiple incidents of physical abuse in protective order filings. She later withdrew the protective order request and has defended her husband publicly.
The Department of Homeland Security has also said he was living in the U.S. illegally and has alleged ties to MS-13, disputing portrayals of him as simply a “Maryland man.” His attorneys have denied the gang allegations.
Tennessee Highway Patrol body camera footage from when Abrego Garcia was pulled over for speeding shows a calm exchange with officers. While officers discussed suspicions of smuggling among themselves — noting there were nine passengers in the vehicle — Abrego Garcia was issued only a warning.
TENNESSEE BODYCAM OF ‘MARYLAND MAN’ TRAFFIC STOP SHOWS TROOPERS’ HANDS TIED DESPITE SMUGGLING CLUES
A woman holds a sign in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in front of the U.S. District Court in Nashville. (Getty Images )
First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Rob McGuire, who was acting U.S. attorney in April 2025, testified Thursday that his decision to charge Abrego Garcia was based on the evidence.
“I had previously prosecuted several human smuggling cases,” McGuire said, noting that after seeing video of the traffic stop, “I was immediately struck by how similar what was being depicted in the body cam was to those investigations.”
McGuire said Abrego Garcia’s vehicle belonged to someone with “a human smuggling background” and added that the route was “suspicious.”
“It was a large number of individuals traveling in one SUV with a driver who spoke for the group. No one had luggage… the car had Texas plates… the route was suspicious,” McGuire said.
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrived at the federal courthouse, Thursday, for a hearing on whether the charges against him should be dismissed. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
During cross-examination, McGuire acknowledged that the timing of the charges, coming so long after the traffic stop, was “extraordinary.”
He said he had not previously been aware of the traffic stop but reiterated that nobody in the Trump administration, including the White House or the Department of Justice, pressured him to seek the indictment.
When asked about whether he might have felt pressure to prosecute the case, McGuire said, “I’m not going to do something that is wrong to keep my job.”
DHS OFFICIAL RIPS KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA FOR ‘MAKING TIKTOKS’ WHILE AGENCY FACES GAG ORDER
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, right, and his brother Cesar Abrego Garcia, center, arrive at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
McGuire also said timing factored into charging Abrego Garcia since he was being held in El Salvador, and he did not want the indictment to go public before all senior officials were briefed on the matter.
“I knew from the get-go that this was going to be a controversial matter,” McGuire said.
U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw did not make a ruling Thursday and said he would wait to receive post-hearing briefs from attorneys by March 5 before determining whether another hearing is necessary.
Crenshaw previously found some evidence that the prosecution “may be vindictive” and that prior statements by Trump administration officials “raise cause for concern.”
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Thursday’s court appearance came after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from re-arresting Abrego Garcia into federal immigration custody on Feb. 17.
Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch, Jake Gibson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has introduced a bill to authorize the death penalty as a potential punishment for the sexual abuse of children.
“We have zero mercy for child rapists. Those who prey on our most vulnerable deserve the harshest consequence we can deliver,” Mace said in a statement.
The proposal is aptly called the “Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act.”
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., announces she will run for South Carolina governor during a press conference at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, on Aug. 4, 2025. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“No predator should be allowed to walk away from the most unthinkable crimes against children,” Mace noted.
“This bill is simple. Rape a child and you don’t get a second chance, you get the death penalty. We will never apologize for protecting America’s children,” Mace added.
The bill would put capital punishment on the table as an option to punish those who sexually abuse children.
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., attends the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“INTRODUCING: The Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act to amend Title 18 to authorize the death penalty for aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor and abusive sexual contact offenses against children. It will also amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to authorize the death penalty for the rape of a child,” she said in a post on X.
“We’ve spent months fighting to expose Jeffrey Epstein’s network of powerful predators. We’ve demanded accountability and pushed for transparency. Now we’re making sure anyone who rapes a child faces the ultimate consequence,” she noted.
Mace has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since early 2021.
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She is one of the candidates currently running in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary.
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