Federal prosecutors are moving to revoke the pretrial release of a 16-year-old boy indicted this week for the “egregious” murder and sexual assault of his stepsister during a family vacation.
The suspect, identified in court records as T.H., was indicted as an adult by a federal grand jury on Monday, April 13. He faces charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse in connection with the death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner.
If convicted as an adult, T.H. faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Had he remained in the juvenile system, federal law would have required his release by age 21.
The charges stem from a November 2025 voyage aboard the Carnival Horizon. According to the superseding indictment, T.H. “knowingly and unlawfully” carried out the “willful, deliberate, malicious, and premeditated” killing of Kepner.
The victim’s body was discovered hidden under a bed in a cabin she shared with the suspect and another sibling. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office later determined the cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/carnival-horizon-ship-120925-a52f21237e2146188e6e887939c7fe52.jpg)
Prosecutors allege the crimes occurred between 7:30 p.m. on November 6 and 9:30 a.m. the following morning. The indictment further details a “sexual act” involving the “use of force” during the commission of the murder.
Despite the severity of the allegations, T.H. has remained out of custody since February, initially released to his uncle. Current filings indicate he is splitting time between his father and an aunt.
The victim’s parents—Anna’s father, Chris Kepner, and the suspect’s mother, Shauntel Kepner—expressed profound “grief and outrage” over the court’s decision to allow T.H. to walk free.
“It is deeply painful and disturbing to our family that the person responsible is able to walk freely,” the family said in a statement. “The individual responsible has not yet been fully held accountable.”
Prosecutors are now citing the new adult indictment as grounds to remand T.H. to a federal detention facility, describing his actions as “the most serious, egregious, and violative crimes one person can inflict upon another.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(662x836:664x838):format(webp)/anna-kepner-3-111025-03-75e10942a72e4b5daeaa9176827cdb19.jpg)
Discovery orders filed by the government reveal a mounting cache of evidence, including:
- DNA evidence recovered from the crime scene.
- A written statement provided by the defendant.
- Data extracted from cellular devices.
- Official reports from federal and local law enforcement agencies.
Notably, prosecutors acknowledged they do not currently possess any latent fingerprints or palm prints identifying the defendant. T.H. is represented by federal public defenders; they have not issued a public comment regarding the new indictment or the motion to revoke release.
A hearing date to revisit the suspect’s detention status has not yet been set.
