In a case that’s already been hard to look at from a distance, Anna Kepner’s father is now making his frustration impossible to miss.
Christopher Kepner, the father of the 18-year-old allegedly murdered and sexually assaulted on a cruise ship, says the accused stepbrother—16-year-old T.H.—should be held behind bars. He called his alleged continued freedom a “danger,” and said the teen belongs “in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs.” Even six months after the allegations surfaced, Kepner argues, the system still hasn’t moved fast enough.
According to Christopher Kepner, the biggest problem is that T.H. is allegedly still able to live with a relative while the federal case moves forward. “We’re upset that he’s still out,” he said, adding that they’ve been “unable to do anything” while he’s allegedly been free to “do whatever he wants” and go where he wants. It’s a raw kind of anger that doesn’t sound like it’s going away anytime soon—like it’s been sitting in the family’s throat for months.
The case centers on an indictment that, Misryoum newsroom reported, charges T.H. as an adult. Court documents identify the teen as T.H. in connection with the alleged sexual assault of 18-year-old Anna Kepner and her intentional killing aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Horizon ship. If convicted, prosecutors say the maximum penalty would be life in prison. The charges also come after T.H. was initially charged as a juvenile on Feb. 2—something Kepner’s family now views as an early step that didn’t land quickly enough.
What makes the story especially painful is the setting. Anna Kepner, known by her family as “Anna banana,” was found dead on Nov. 7 during a family vacation at sea—traveling with her father, stepmother, grandparents, and several siblings. Authorities later ruled her death a homicide caused by “mechanical asphyxiation,” according to documents previously reviewed by Misryoum. In Misryoum newsroom reporting, investigators said she was found under the bed inside her cabin, wrapped in a blanket and covered with life jackets, with the cabin shared with her stepbrother.
On Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced T.H. would be charged as an adult, Misryoum editorial desk noted. Misryoum newsroom reported that federal prosecutors emphasized professionalism and care, and said a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging serious offenses that allegedly occurred aboard a vessel in international waters. The statement also reiterated the legal principle that the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
In the courtroom timeline, Misryoum newsroom reported that T.H. appeared in federal court in Miami in February, walking in wearing a camouflage hoodie, with his face concealed under a low-pulled baseball cap and a hood wrapped tightly around it. Christopher Kepner says he believes the teen has shown no remorse since the alleged killing—saying T.H. continues to claim he can’t remember and hasn’t apologized. The family’s grief is still tethered to the moment they learned what had happened; one small real-world detail has stuck with people following the case—the kind of silence that fills a room right after a notification, before anyone even knows what to ask.
For now, the dispute has moved from the cruise ship cabin into federal court questions: whether prosecutors can prove the allegations, and what happens next to a teen accused of carrying out offenses that prosecutors say occurred in international waters. And for Christopher Kepner, the case isn’t abstract—he’s asking for consequences that match what he believes his daughter faced. Whether the system delivers that outcome as quickly as he wants is, still, the part that keeps dragging on.
Storm wreaks havoc in Sacramento region, topples trees