Teen who shared cabin with Anna Kepner faces federal scrutiny in cruise ship death

The stepbrother of a Florida teenager who died aboard a Carnival cruise ship appeared in federal court in Miami on Friday, as investigators continue probing the circumstances surrounding her death.

His appearance in court comes three months after Anna Kepner, an 18-year-old from Titusville, was found dead aboard the Carnival Horizon in November while on a family vacation. 

Kepner's 16-year-old stepbrother was seen leaving juvenile court before entering adult federal court Friday, according to FOX 35.

ANNA KEPNER’S CRUISE SHIP DEATH: NEW FLORIDA SUBPOENAS COULD OFFER CLUES INTO HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION

The teenager walked into the courthouse in a camouflage hoodie, his face concealed beneath a low-pulled baseball cap and a hood wrapped tightly around it.

Although the FBI has not publicly identified a suspect or filed charges, filings from a separate family court dispute indicated the 16-year-old was being investigated in Anna Kepner’s death.

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Kepner’s mother, Heather Wright, told FOX 35 she feels a sense of relief that the case appears to be moving forward and hopes it will finally bring answers.

"Everyday I get on my phone, and first thing in the morning I will look at updates on Anna Kepner’s case," Wright told FOX 35. "All I want is justice for my daughter."

Kepner was discovered dead around 11:15 a.m. on Nov. 7 inside her cabin aboard the cruise ship. Authorities later ruled her death a homicide caused by "mechanical asphyxiation," according to a report.

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According to investigators, Kepner was found under the bed in her cabin, wrapped in a blanket and covered with life jackets. The cabin was shared with her stepbrother.

The FBI is leading the investigation because Kepner’s death occurred in international waters as the cruise ship was returning to Miami after the weeklong Caribbean trip, according to People Magazine.

The FBI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.

ICE nabs convicted pedophiles and murderers over weekend despite smears at Super Bowl: 'Risking their lives'

FIRST ON FOX: A spokesperson for the Trump Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Digital that despite ICE being "demonized" at the Super Bowl, agents continued to carry out operations, arresting pedophiles, murderers and rapists over the weekend.

President Donald Trump and many conservatives took issue with the Super Bowl, especially the halftime show, which featured Latin trap artist Bad Bunny. The performer, whose real name is Benito Ocasio, has been highly critical of ICE and even cursed at agents in a video posted to social media.

DHS said that "while ICE law enforcement officers were demonized at the Super Bowl, our officers were risking their lives to arrest public safety threats from American neighborhoods."

Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that "despite smears from Hollywood, ICE is making our country safer every single day."

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"While ICE law enforcement was being demonized at the Super Bowl, the heroic men and women of ICE continued risking their lives to arrest criminal illegal alien murderers, pedophiles and rapists from our communities," said McLaughlin.

According to DHS, among those arrested over Super Bowl weekend was Mario Rosales-Figueroa, an illegal alien from Mexico, who was arrested a few hours from the stadium in Visalia, California. The agency said Rosales-Figueroa was convicted of sex with a minor.

A few hours further away, DHS said that agents arrested Salvadoran illegal Luis Edenilson Ortiz-Lopez in Las Vegas. According to the agency, he was convicted of gross or open lewdness. Also in Nevada, ICE arrested Guillermo Arturo Ramirez-Londono, a Colombian illegal who is convicted of two counts of sexual assault on a minor under 14 years old in Lyon County.

In New York, ICE arrested Rudy Roa-Fuentes, an illegal from the Dominican Republic who was convicted of murder, and Anderson Mejia-Bonilla, from El Salvador, who was convicted of rape.

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Not far from New York, ICE arrested Guatemalan national Eduardo Ramos-Domingo, who was convicted of aggravated assault, attempts to cause or cause bodily injury with a deadly weapon in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.  

In Wake County, North Carolina, ICE arrested Darwin Sorto-Pineda, from El Salvador, who was convicted of driving while impaired and assault on a government official.

In the Midwest, ICE arrested Wilson Perez-Guzman, from Guatemala, who was convicted for statutory sodomy/attempted statutory sodomy in Bridgeton, Missouri, and Tung Huy Nguyen, from Vietnam, who was convicted for gross sexual imposition in Steubenville, Ohio.

In the South, ICE arrested Mexican illegal Gustavo Alvarado-Sanchez, who is convicted for kidnapping and assault in Hidalgo, Texas, and Cuban illegal Carlos Manuel Legra-Ramirez, who is convicted for aggravated alien smuggling in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.

NOEM RESPONDS TO BAD BUNNY, BILLIE EILISH BASHING ICE AT GRAMMYS: 'I WISH THEY KNEW'

While accepting an award for Best Música Urbana Album at the recent Grammys, Bad Bunny remarked "ICE out," adding,"We're not savage, we're not animals, we're not aliens — we are humans, and we are Americans." 

The Independent reported last June that Bad Bunny blasted ICE in a clip posted to Instagram in which he called agents "motherf---ers" and "sons of b----es."

According to McLaughlin, 70 percent of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. She said this statistic "doesn’t even include foreign fugitives, terrorists, and gang members who lack a rap sheet in the U.S."

She added that "this heated rhetoric about ICE law enforcement is leading to our officers facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them."

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