Stepbrother is Suspect in Cruise Ship Death of 18-Year-Old Anna Kepner | Crime Alert 5PM 11.19.25

New details in the death of a young Navy hopeful, Anna Kepner, aboard the Carnival Horizon. The girl’s stepbrother is a suspect. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime al Art hourly update, breaking crime news Now new
details in the death of a young navy hopeful, Anna
Keepner aboard the carnival Horizon. The girl's stepbrother is a
suspect after the chilling discovery of the eighteen year old's
body stuffed under her bed. The FBI won't say whether
her death is being investigated as a murder. I'm Drew

(00:21):
Nelson with Crime Online Stave mac Holden Zepple and Sidney Summoner.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Bringing us up to speed.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
Anna's father, stepmother, and other family members join her for
a six day carnival cruise to the Western Caribbean. After
their last day at port in Cosmeo, Mexico, Anna heads
back to her room early, telling family members she isn't
feeling well during dinner. The next morning, Anna doesn't join
her family for breakfast and isn't answering her door. Her
family begins a frantic search for the teen. On the

(00:48):
fourteen deck four thousand passenger ship.

Speaker 4 (00:51):
The housekeeper makes a horrifying discovery. The maid starts to
gather linens for laundry, but notices the sheet missing off
the bed. Making the bed, she notices a pile of
life jackets stuffed underneath. Removing the life jackets, she discovers
the missing sheet wrapped around Anna's body.

Speaker 5 (01:10):
A week after Anna's death, with few details made public,
Martin Donahue posts to x begging the media for help.
Donahue claims to be Anna's uncle and says the family
knows exactly what happened to Anna and who's responsible. Donahue
says Anna's stepbrother beat her to death, then slept on
top of the bed with Anna's body stuffed underneath, eventually

(01:31):
confessing what he had done to his mother while they
mounted a search for Anna.

Speaker 3 (01:35):
Donahue claims Anna's father and stepmother are threatening to ban
family members from Anna's celebration of life if they share
any details of what Donahue alleges is Anna's murder. Donahue
says the truth will come out after the memorial and
those who lied installed in sharing what happened will look
guilty of a cover up.

Speaker 4 (01:54):
Meanwhile, Anna's family insists they know as much about what
happened to the happy teen as the public. Father Chris Kepner,
says they took the trip as a family and everyone
who came off the ship was questioned. He says he
doesn't know who the FBI is looking at or what
their investigation is. Chris insists the FBI hasn't shared any
further details with the family, quote, I have no idea

(02:16):
what's going on right now. We are just trying to
sit still and wait for answers.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
The Kepner family writes a heartfelt obituary for their Anna Banana.
They say she loved the sun, the water, boat days,
island days, and beach days, anything that let her soak
in the light. She's so easily radiated to others, remembering
her as thoughtful, nurturing, and always thinking of others. The
family asks that no one wear black to her celebration

(02:42):
of life, instead requesting colors that honor Anna's bright and
beautiful soul, noting her favorite color was blue.

Speaker 5 (02:49):
Court documents seemed to suggest there may be truth to
Anna's uncle, Martin Donahue's account of what happened to the teen.
Anna's stepmother, Shan Tel Kepner, asks for more time to
respond to Custos City filings related to her twenty twenty
four divorce from Thomas Hudson, citing a potential criminal investigation
against one of the minor children. They share Sean Tell's

(03:09):
lawyer writes any testimony she may give, either written or oral,
could be prejudicial to her or her adolescent child in
this pending criminal investigation.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
The investigation into that minor child, reportedly and his stepbrother
continues with no arrests made. For more on the death
of Anna Keepner joined Crime Stories with Nancy Grace now
on Fox one at our new time on SiriusXM, Triumph
Channel one to eleven six pm Eastern, on YouTube, and
wherever you get your podcasts. More crime and justice news
After this, federal agents renew their call for help in

(03:47):
the unsolved kidnapping of Joshua Keshaba Sierra Garcia, an American
child taken in Mexico City more than twenty years ago.
The FBI is offering up to twenty thousand dollars for
information that leads to his recovery. Alive or deceased, Joshua
was born in Los Angeles on December twenty ninth of
two thousand one. His family traveled to Mexico City in

(04:08):
August of two thousand three so he could be baptized.
Relatives were taking care of him on the morning of
August twelfth, when someone seized him around eleven am. During
the attack, the fourteen year old cousin who was watching Joshua,
was murdered. The FBI said the killing and kidnapping happened
within minutes after a series of ransom calls. The family
followed the instructions for a money drop. CBS News reported

(04:29):
that the drop led to the capture of one kidnapper
by Mexican law enforcement. Officials say that man is serving
a lengthy prison sentence in Mexico, but the arrest did
not lead to Joshua. The FBI says agents in Los
Angeles and Mexico have chased leeds for two decades. They've
looked at ransom calls, witness reports, old phone logs, and
border crossings. They've checked with shelters, clinics, and government agencies

(04:51):
on both sides of the border. Donald Alway, head of
the FBI Los Angeles Field Office, said, quote, while many
investigative steps have been taken to find Joshua over the
years in both the United States and Mexico, we have
not given up hope. I'm hopeful that the reward offer,
a new photograph, as well as additional investigative techniques will
bring someone forward with that piece of information that will

(05:12):
lead us to Joshua and help us solve this case
for his family. The bureau stresses that no tip is
too small. Joshua's white, Hispanic with black hair and brown eyes,
three feet tall, less than thirty pounds when he disappeared,
it pierced Ears, last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt, blue shorts,
and sandals. The FBI asks anyone with information to call
the Los Angeles Field office A three one zero four

(05:33):
seven seven sixty five sixty five, or send a tip
through tips dot FBI dot gov. For the latest crime
and justice news, follow crime alerts hourly update on your
favorite podcast app with this crime alert. I'm Drew Nelson.