Father says ex-wife didn’t supervise son who’s the focus of a probe into stepsister’s cruise death

Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Horizon cruise ship is shown docked at PortMiami, Friday, April 9, 2021, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- A 16-year-old boy being investigated in the death of his stepsister on a Carnival cruise ship last month didn’t have his father’s permission to go on the trip, the dad said in family court papers accusing his ex-wife of failing to supervise the teen.

The teenager and his 18-year-old stepsister, Anna Kepner, were allowed to share a room on the cruise and the boy’s mother “failed to properly supervise” him, the boy’s father, Thomas Hudson, said Thursday in a court motion seeking greater parenting time with the boy and the other minor child he shares with his ex-wife, a nine-year-old daughter. Hudson and his ex-wife, Shauntel Hudson, also have an adult son.

Kepner was found asphyxiated under a bed in the room she shared on the ship with the teenage boy, Hudson said in the court documents.

Her death was ruled a homicide, according to a copy of her death certificate obtained by ABC News. The case has received worldwide attention.

Kepner was a high school cheerleader from Florida’s Space Coast who was set to graduate next year. She had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship with her father, stepmother, her stepmother’s two minor children and her grandparents.

Kepner’s death aboard the ship that sailed from Miami has remained shrouded in mystery, with the FBI and medical examiner’s office in South Florida refusing to disclose any information about the case.

During a family court hearing Friday, Shauntel Hudson testified that Kepner had shared a stateroom with her 14-year-old biological brother and 16-year-old stepbrother. Shauntel Hudson and Kepner’s father were in a room across the hallway. The three teens wanted to stay together, Shauntel Hudson said.

“The three of them ... were like best friends,” Shauntel Hudson said.

Since last month, the 16-year-old boy has been living with another relative “to ensure the safety of the youngest child of the parties,” Shauntel Hudson wrote in court papers.

“All parties agree that (the teen’s) location will remain confidential and will not be disclosed to anyone other than his parents and law enforcement authorities,” according to a Nov. 13 document filed in the custody case this week.

Phone messages left for family members Friday were not immediately returned.

By Mike Schneider