Cruise ship death: Cheerleader’s stepmom could be forced to testify against her own son

As the FBI investigates the mysterious decease of an 18-year-old Florida cheerleader aboard a Carnival cruise ship, her stepmother’s courtroom combat with an ex is exposing caller details — and whitethorn unit her to attest against her son.

Friday marks 2 weeks since the aspiring Navy sailor Anna Kepner was recovered dormant successful her country aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship.

Authorities person not yet announced a origin and mode of decease oregon an arrest, but a tribunal conflict betwixt her 16-year-old stepbrother's parents revealed that helium is simply a suspect.

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Anna Kepner, her father, stepmother and immoderate of her siblings successful a household photo. According to her online obituary, Kepner's blended household included 5 boys and 3 girls. (Shauntel Kepner/Facebook)

Kepner's stepmother, Shauntel Kepner, asked a justice overseeing a custody quality betwixt her and her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, to hold a proceeding successful that substance until aft the transgression probe comes to a close.

That quality could enactment the stepmother successful a ineligible bind, according to Donna Rotunno, a Chicago-based transgression defence lawyer and Fox News contributor. Shauntel's Fifth Amendment defence could vanish if prosecutors connection her immunity portion going aft the teen.

"The parent does not person immoderate privilege to not attest against her son," Rotunno told "FOX & Friends" Thursday morning. "So, a tribunal could compel her to testify, oregon she could beryllium held successful contempt. And if they judge the parent was progressive successful immoderate way, they could springiness her immunity successful bid to get her to speak."

Hudson accused Shauntel of alienating their 2 younger children from him, including the 16-year-old. Their oldest son, 18, went to unrecorded with his begetter aft an alleged "violent altercation" involving Shauntel and Kepner's father, Christopher Kepner.

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Anna Kepner was identified by her household arsenic the rider who died onboard the Carnival Horizon. (Instagram/Anna Kepner)

"The [16-year-old]'s aboriginal has been enactment successful jeopardy due to the fact that of the choices made by [Shauntel]," Hudson wrote to the justice Monday.

The teen's existent whereabouts are unclear. According to the filing, helium has been released from custody and is staying with an unnamed 3rd party.

Shauntel, successful a filing of her own, denied that their oldest lad had been progressive successful immoderate altercation with her caller hubby but conceded "there is an unfastened FBI probe involving" the 16-year-old.

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Anna Kepner, 18, was recovered dormant aboard a Carnival cruise vessel connected Nov. 7, during a abrogation with her family.  (Anna Kepner/Instagram)

A instrumentality enforcement root told Fox News Digital Wednesday that authorities person recovered surveillance video from the cruise vessel showing Kepner with a "suspect" and that the FBI is reviewing hours of further footage from the cruise earlier her death. Authorities besides person entree to records of country cardinal swipes aboard the vessel, the root said.

The FBI's Miami bureau is handling the investigation.

Nicole Parker, a erstwhile Miami-based FBI cause and Fox News contributor, utilized to grip maritime cases.

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A inactive representation shows 18-year-old Anna Kepner's cryptic last TikTok post, posted 8 days earlier she was recovered dormant connected a cruise ship. (@fl.anna18/TikTok)

"One happening that I realized arsenic an researcher is that radical think, 'oh, you know, if I perpetrate a transgression retired astatine sea, nary one's ever gonna find out,'" she told "FOX & Friends" Thursday morning. "And small bash they cognize and galore times they're shocked. It's really FBI's jurisdiction."

Before the vessel returned to port, she said, the cruise line's ain information squad would person secured the country aft Kepner was recovered dormant Friday astatine astir 11 a.m.

"Our grounds effect squad would beryllium boarding that vessel — successful this instance, it would person been that Saturday greeting and aggregate interviews would beryllium conducted," she said. "I would beryllium archetypal asking for, I privation each the CCTV, I privation each the video surveillance footage. I besides privation the key-lock records, which bespeak who went successful and retired of that vessel compartment astatine the clip that the imaginable transgression whitethorn person occurred."

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Agents would besides interrogation everyone successful the surrounding rooms, she said.

A memorial work for Kepner is scheduled for Thursday evening successful her hometown of Titusville, Florida.