Anna Kepner’s Grandparents Say They ‘Cannot Fathom’ Why Someone Would Hurt Her as Stepbrother Is Reportedly Considered ‘Suspect’

The grandparents of Florida teenager Anna Kepner, who died aboard a Carnival cruise ship earlier this month, are sharing new details about what happened.

Barbara and Jeffrey Kepner were on the Carnival Horizon with their 18-year-old granddaughter Anna, along with her father, stepmother and stepsiblings, when she was found dead on Nov. 8, ABC News reported.

“We were all having a great time,” Barbara told the outlet. “I couldn’t fathom why anyone would wanna hurt my baby.”

Anna’s body was later discovered under a bed in the cabin she was sharing with her two stepsiblings, according to CBS News. Her stepbrother is now being treated as a suspect in her death, her grandparents told ABC News. Other outlets, including CBS News, have previously identified him as a suspect in connection with court filings from a separate case involving the stepmother.

“In his own words, says he does not remember what happened,” Barbara said. “I believe, to him, that is his truth. He was an emotional mess. He couldn’t even speak. He couldn’t believe what had happened.”

According to the grandparents, authorities told the family that the stepbrother was “the only one seen going in and the only one seen going out” of the room he shared with Anna.

Barbara described Anna and her stepbrother as being “just like brother and sister,” adding that Anna and her two older stepsiblings “wanted to stay in the room together” during the cruise.

“I know that those two kids cared about each other in the right way,” she said. “I can’t accuse him because I don’t know what happened in that room.”

After Anna’s death, her stepbrother was hospitalized for psychiatric observation once the ship returned to Miami, and was later released to stay with a family member, her grandmother told ABC News.

Barbara said she last saw Anna alive the night before, at dinner, after Anna mentioned she “didn’t feel well,” she told ABC News.

“She must have felt better, because she got dressed up. And she came down, we were playing in the casino,” Barbara recalled. “And she sat down … and she said, ‘Meemaw, I love you guys, I’ll see you later.’ She’d pop in and out to check in with us. And we never saw her again after that.”

The following morning, the family heard a medical alert announced over the ship’s loudspeakers. “I knew when [my husband] walked in the room, something was wrong … I just screamed,” Barbara told ABC News.

The FBI later informed Anna’s family that she died from asphyxiation, her grandparents said. Her grandmother added that they were told she had been placed in a “bar hold,” a restraint in which an elbow is pressed across the neck. However, an official cause of death has not yet been publicly released by authorities.

No arrests have been made in the case. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.