Anna Kepner, the teenager found dead on a Caribbean cruise ship earlier this month, died from asphyxiation, ABC News reports, citing sources close to the investigation.
Kepner, 18, was discovered under a bed on a Carnival cruise ship on Nov. 8. Investigators have preliminarily determined that she died from asphyxiation caused by a bar hold — an arm pressed across the neck, according to ABC.
Her body showed no signs of s**ual assault, and no drugs or alcohol were found in her system, ABC reports. Full autopsy and toxicology findings have not yet been publicly released.
Earlier on Friday, the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner Department declined to comment on the cause and manner of Kepner’s death, citing the ongoing investigation. The office did not confirm ABC’s reporting.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kepner, a high school cheerleader from Titusville, Fla., was traveling on the cruise with her father, stepmother and two step-siblings, according to previous reporting by CBS News.
The night before she was found, Kepner went to bed early, telling her family she was not feeling well, CBS News reported.
She is now being remembered as a “thoughtful, nurturing” person who was “always thinking of others,” according to an online obituary.
“She had a big, beautiful heart, often sending random ‘I love you’ messages or little gestures that made someone’s day,” the obituary reads.
No suspect or person of interest has been publicly identified in connection with the case.
However, in court filings unrelated to Kepner’s death, her stepmother, Shauntel Hudson, stated that she was briefed by the FBI that one of Hudson’s minor children may be facing criminal charges, according to Florida Today, FOX 35 and CBS News.
The filing, which relates to Hudson’s child custody dispute with her former husband, does not specify whether any possible charge is connected to Anna’s death.
