- A 16-year-old boy has pleaded not guilty to the murder and aggravated sexual abuse of his 18-year-old stepsister, Anna Kepner, on a cruise ship five months ago.
- The teenager, from Titusville, Florida, was charged as an adult with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse by the Department of Justice last week.
- The incident allegedly occurred last November aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Horizon ship as it returned to Miami, where Kepner's body was found wrapped in a blanket under a bed.
- Her cause of death was determined to be mechanical asphyxiation, and the stepbrother faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.
- Kepner's family expressed devastation, remembering Anna as "bubbly, funny, outgoing," with dreams of becoming a cheerleader, Navy servicemember, and K9 police officer.
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