Anna Kepner Murder: Mom of ‘Suspect’ Waited 32 Hours to Inform Dad, Said Supporting Son Would ‘Jeopardize’ Her Marriage

“I need you to call me asap it’s an emergency.”

That was the message Shauntel Kepner sent to her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 8, with the subject line “Emergency,” according to evidence filed in the former couple’s ongoing custody dispute.

A day earlier, the body of Shauntel’s 18-year-old stepdaughter, Anna Kepner, was found in her cabin aboard the Carnival Horizon by a member of the ship’s housekeeping staff.

In a court filing, Hudson alleged that he and Shauntel’s oldest minor child is a suspect in Anna’s death, which occurred during the cruise.

What remains unclear is why, according to the filings, roughly 32 hours passed before Shauntel informed Hudson that Anna had died.

Hudson also submitted messages between himself and Shauntel concerning their 16-year-old son, who—amid growing suspicion—has been living with a family member at an undisclosed location.

During a tense exchange about Shauntel’s decision to cancel a visit between Hudson and their youngest daughter, Hudson wrote: “I kept my mouth shut when you told me that you can’t jeopardize your marriage for helping [redacted] your son.”

Shauntel is now married to Christopher Kepner, Anna’s father.

At a Dec. 5 custody hearing, Shauntel’s attorney said Shauntel and Christopher arranged for her teenage son to live with a relative to remove “any risk of any danger to any of the other children in the home.”

At the same hearing, Shauntel testified that Anna, her stepbrother, and her 14-year-old half-brother were extremely close. She said the three shared a cabin on the Carnival Horizon cruise from Nov. 2 to Nov. 9.

According to a court filing, that cabin is where Anna “was found asphyxiated under the bed.”

It has now been nearly six weeks since Anna’s death, and no charges have been filed by state or federal prosecutors.

At the Dec. 5 hearing, Shauntel’s attorney, Millicent Athanason, suggested charges could be imminent, saying investigators were determining whether the case would be handled at the federal or local level. When asked to confirm that characterization, an FBI spokesperson declined to comment.

In a separate filing submitted ahead of a Dec. 17 court hearing that was later continued, Hudson wrote that their son is “currently under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a federal crime.”

Documents included in the court record state that the teen is staying with a third party who holds power of attorney, and that he can only be relocated with the consent of both parents. The documents also say his location is known only to Shauntel, Hudson, and law enforcement.

Lawyers for both Shauntel and Hudson did not respond to requests for comment.