Southwest
Cruise tragedy: ‘I am not okay,’ says mother of 18-year-old found dead aboard Carnival ship
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The death of 18-year-old cheerleader Anna Kepner aboard a Carnival cruise ship sparked grief, confusion and tension within her large, fractured family.
Her mother’s account — that she quietly attended the funeral against her ex-husband’s wishes while fearing arrest over unpaid child support — underscores how tragedy and estrangement can collide in the public eye.
“I am not OK… is exactly how I feel,” Heather Wright, the estranged mother of Anna, told Fox News Digital.
TEEN FOUND DEAD ON CARNIVAL CRUISE SHIP DIED FROM MECHANICAL ASPHYXIATION, RULED HOMICIDE: REPORT
Anna Kepner was identified by her family as the passenger who died onboard the Carnival Horizon. (Instagram/Anna Kepner)
She split with Anna’s father, Christopher Kepner, when their daughter was 4 and moved to Oklahoma, she said. Despite the estrangement, however, she said she tried to keep in touch over the years.
“She was my daughter, and I loved her with all of my heart and soul,” she said.
She said she was kept out of her daughter’s life after she moved away. She was even left out of her daughter’s online obituary, at first. An edited version added her name and removed references to other relatives.
Wright said she was told not to attend her daughter’s memorial service, which was held last week, claiming that her estranged ex threatened to have her arrested over years of unpaid child support.
CHEERLEADER’S CRUISE SHIP DEATH HAS FAMILY POINTING FINGERS
Anna Kepner’s estranged biological mother, Heather Wright, has opened up about her daughter’s mysterious cruise ship death in a series of TikTok videos. (Heather Wright/TikTok)
“They said I never went, but I did,” she told Fox News Digital. “I didn’t want to be seen, so I made sure no one seen me — plus they can’t stop me from going anyway, even though Chris said he would have me arrested for back child support.”
Christopher Kepner has not responded to Fox News Digital’s attempts to reach him. He is now with his third wife, Shauntel Kepner, whose 16-year-old son has been described as a “suspect” in court documents as part of an ongoing custody dispute between her and her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson.
ANNA KEPNER DIES MYSTERIOUSLY DURING FAMILY VACATION ON CARNIVAL CRUISE SHIP: TIMELINE OF EVENTS
Anna Kepner, her father, stepmother and several siblings in a family photo. (Shauntel Kepner/Facebook)
There have been no publicly announced criminal charges in the case, and the FBI has not publicly designated the teen or anyone else as a suspect.
However, both Shauntel and Hudson have referenced the FBI investigation in court filings.
The FBI, which is conducting the investigation, declined to comment.
Anna Kepner, 18, was found dead aboard a Carnival cruise ship on Nov. 7, during a vacation with her family. (Anna Kepner/Instagram)
Anna, 18, was found dead aboard the Carnival Horizon on Nov. 7 during a family vacation with her father, stepmom, grandparents and some of her siblings.
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Anna’s death has reportedly been ruled a homicide by “mechanical asphyxiation,” but authorities have not announced any suspects or arrests. She was found dead in her cabin in a room she shared with her stepbrother, relatives have said.
“Why am I the bad guy?” Wright asked. “He put them in the same room together.”
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Los Angeles, Ca
L.A. Tenants Union trying to save business owner given eviction notice ‘without reason or discussion’
The Los Angeles Tenants Union (LATU) is trying to save a Highland Park business after they say the owner was given 60 days notice to vacate “without any reason or discussion.”
The tenants union says that Junior’s Discount Party Supply, has been owned by Silvia Flores for 20 years and that the store, located on York Boulevard, is “known and loved by thousands of community members who utilize her crucial services for party rentals, general household items and to send money transfers.”
“Her legacy small business has been successful and has supported her family,” LATU says.
That legacy is now at risk, however, as LATU says the building was purchased this past month, meaning Flores and four neighboring businesses were issued 60-day eviction notices.
“[The] 60-day eviction notice [terminates] her tenancy of two decades without reason or discussion,” LATU said in a statement tied to a petition to keep the store open. “Silvia has not violated any clause of her lease nor has she fallen behind on rent payments. In fact, the new property owner has not even introduced himself to the woman who he intends to uproot from her business and the community.”
LATU listed the new owner as Dr. Donald Abrahm and his real estate investment company AEA Investments VIII, LLC. They also said that the idea of pushing out “legacy businesses without a care for people or neighborhood[s]” is nothing new.
“In addition to causing Silvia, a low-income immigrant mother and grandmother, to lose her livelihood, this eviction will further accelerate gentrification in Highland Park. This is just one example of a war on commercial tenants,” the union said. “Displacement of tenants, whether residential or commercial, is an issue that too many of us have faced and we refuse to be complicit. Although this eviction is technically legal, it is unjust and inhumane.”
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