Heath (2:16)

Yeah, I mean, really, the headlines only really scratch the surface of everything that we're going to be talking about today. It is so deep and we're going to dive deep into it. We're going to tell you right now to take everything with a grain of salt because there hasn't been a whole lot released quite yet. But this case is still unfolding, it is still an ongoing investigation and we.

Daphne (2:40)

Have the very, very latest, like, as of the moment this episode drops, it is the latest information. And yeah, just on top of the grain of salt stuff, like we cross referenced every piece of information that's in here and anything that is not verified will tell you guys as we're saying.

Heath (2:55)

Yeah, we'll let you guys know.

Daphne (2:56)

But yeah, we have a lot to talk about. So without further ado.

Heath (2:59)

All right, guys, this is episode 557 of Going west, so let's get into it.

Daphne (3:47)

Bombshell, details about Anna Kepner, the 18 year old high school cheerleader who was found dead on a cruise ship. The mysterious death of Anna Kempner continues to raise questions. Two weeks after the 18 year old died on board a cruise ship. No one's been arrested and a suspect has not officially been identified. Got some new information coming out about.

Ross Advertiser (4:09)

The cruise ship death of 18 year old Anna Kepner. It indicates that Anna was staying in.

Daphne (4:14)

The same room as the suspect, her 16 year old stepbrother. Her body reportedly found underneath a bed. The FBI is reviewing those ship videos and interviewing passengers who may have seen the teens. In the hours before Anna was found dead, loud screams and chairs being thrown were heard inside Anna's cabin before her.

Heath (4:36)

Naked body was found shoved under a bed.

Daphne (4:39)

In the two weeks since 18 year.

Heath (4:41)

Old Anna Kepner died on board a.

Daphne (4:43)

Carnival cruise, former sheriff's detective and investigator James Copenhaver says investigators have been diving into a sea of evidence and witnesses. She was my first love.

Heath (4:57)

She was the greatest thing ever.

Daphne (5:21)

Anna Marie Kepner was born on June 13, 2007 to parents Heather Wright and Christopher Kepner in Florida. But when she was still very young, like an infant, her parents split up. Actually, according to reports, her dad, Chris had a potential affair that ended in a court case between them. And I want to use the term affair kind of lightly here, since at this point Chris was 24 years old and the other person was reportedly 15.

Heath (5:50)

Yeah, that's not okay.

Daphne (5:52)

Well, partly because of this, the situation was taken to court by her mother, Christine. When I say her mother, I mean that would be the victim's mother, Christine, who alleged sexual violence in December of 2008. So when Anna was only about a year and a half old. Some reports allege that the 15 year old was Anna's babysitter. But the case was dismissed after a hearing that year, so Chris wasn't officially charged. Now, Anna has many half siblings and step siblings, at least seven of them, which seem to come from two different relationships. Her dad, who works as a crane operator, by the way, has been in. And then Anna's mother, Heather also has some other children as well. After Chris split from Anna's mom, Heather, he married a woman named Tabitha, who reports suggest is said 15 year old from that 2008 case. So that would mean that they would have gotten together really, as Tabitha was reaching adulthood at 18. And then they had two kids together, the first of which was born when Tabitha was around 19 years old. I just, I kind of hate to mention that, though, because the case was dropped and we aren't privy to the details of that supposed sexual violence case, and we at least know that Tabitha was in Anna's life for a very long time.

Heath (7:15)

Yeah, it's kind of seemed like Tabitha may have been Anna's kind of motherly figure because her real mom, Heather, was not really in the picture.

Daphne (7:24)

Exactly. You're completely right. Now, Tabitha presently works as a massage therapist. And again, since she had two children with Chris, I want to mention they are presently 14, that's a boy and nine a girl. So, like Heath just said, it seemed that Tabsa was a big mother figure in Anna's life. But Anna's mom, Heather, was previously in her life, but she eventually moved to Oklahoma and as of this year reported that she hadn't seen Anna in a few years. So Anna grew up in Florida primarily with her father and with Tabitha and her two half siblings as well. And I say half siblings for technical reasons, of course, but Anna knew them both their entire lives.

Heath (8:09)

Yeah, she was very close with those two siblings.

Daphne (8:12)

But in March of 2023, Chris and Tabitha began divorce proceedings, with Tabitha requesting primary custody of their two shared children and requesting that Chris only be allowed supervised contact. According to court documents, Tabitha claimed Chris, quote, has a history of physical and mental abuse toward the minor children and toward the petitioner. So, Tabitha, it would be detrimental to the children to have unsupervised time sharing with the respondent. So, Chris. It was only about two years ago that they divorced. And then shortly afterward, Chris began dating a woman named Chantel Hudson. And this is seemingly a very important relationship in regards to what happened to Anna. So bear with us through all this kind of family mapping and such, because it is all relevant. Now, Anna's dad, Chris, married Chantel, who then became Chantel Kepner, in December of 2024. So in regards to this November 2025 murder case, this is a pretty new marriage. And the three children that came into Anna's family as step siblings were fairly new to her. They only would have known each other for a little over a year. Now, like her other siblings, we're not going to include their names because they're all minors and there is an investigation into the family right now. But this brought two teenage brothers and one preteen sister to Anna's life. Okay, so now that we have her family breakdown, let's talk a little bit about Anna. So Anna is described by her family as bubbly, funny and outgoing, who loved makeup and making TikTok dance videos. And growing up in Titusville, Florida, which is just outside of Orlando and right on the Indian river, which leads into the ocean, she loved going out on the water with family and friends, including on their boat. Actually, her obituary says that she got her boater's license before her driver's license. Like, she loved being on the water and part of because she lived right next to Orlando. She loved going to Universal Studios and Halloween horror nights and was always popping over to her family and extended family's houses. She was super social, reliable, and responsible. Actually, after graduating from Temple Christian School, which she was set to do this spring of 2026, since she was a senior when she was killed, she had plans to join the US Navy in hopes of eventually becoming a K9 officer. In fact, just before her death, she had passed her military entrance exam. So she was very much working towards this goal. She was in contact with recruiters, and she was ready to take on a role involving community aid.

Heath (10:58)

And because Anna was a big fan of sports, loving the Georgia Bulldogs alongside her family, a college goal of hers was to potentially attend the University of Georgia and be a cheerleader there, since she was on the varsity cheer team at Titusville High School, since it appears she attended a couple different high schools these past few years. But like we said, in her senior year, she was attending Temple Christian School as her family is religious, with Anna even attending youth group at the Grove Church in Titusville and being baptized this past May in 2025. Now, before today's story takes place, it seems like Anna was going through a breakup, as she often posted about this breakup on her TikTok along with different trend and dance videos, of course, you know, as many teenagers do. And although she was very active on TikTok, Anna didn't post any videos after October 30th, which we do want to mention because only a few days later, on November 2, she headed off on a family trip with her dad and her step family. You know, we really don't have any insight into this, this trip that she took this cruise because she didn't post any videos while she was on that cruise.

Daphne (12:07)

Yeah, and we were trying to figure out more about this trip in general, like why they decided to go on the cruise at such an awkward time for students. But it does seem like this was a trip that the family was known to take. Like Anna loved cruises, but we couldn't find her school schedule. I will say on their Facebook, it looks like the school was in session. So maybe her dad and stepmom for whatever reason pulled her out to take this trip.

Heath (12:33)

Yes, because it was Anna. Her father Chris, stepmom Chantel, 16 year old stepbrother who is referred to as Th and although we do know his name, we're gonna call him T today since he is 16 years old, he is a minor. And also on the Cruise was her 14 year old brother and potentially even her 9 year old stepsister. And I will say that this isn't out of the ordinary. When I was in high school, my parents took me on a trip to Hawaii. They actually pulled me out of school to do this because it was. The timing was perfect and the tickets were cheap. So that could be a potential motivator for why they didn't find it weird to take her out of class to go on this cruise. But I do want to say for whatever reason, Anna was sharing a room with T, her 16 year old stepbrother and her other brother who was 14 years old, remember?

Daphne (13:25)

Which just feels so inappropriate, especially with what we're going to get into and the fact that they had only known each other for like a little over a year. They're all teenagers, like it's not like they're 8 year old blood siblings. Obviously if her half brother was there as well, that might be a little bit different. But the 16 year old is only two years younger than her. They're both elder teens I guess you would say. And they're sharing a room.

Heath (13:52)

Yeah, it feels, it feels a little bit weird and you guys will see even more so why we say that. But this was the situation on that cruise. So on Sunday, November 2, 2025, the family boarded in Miami for the cruise with plans to return back to Florida the following Saturday, which was Nov. 8. The ship, which holds nearly 4,000 people, set off at 3:30pm on Sunday. A little bit about the ship's amenities. There are pools with crazy slides, a teen club called Club O2, an IMAX theater, a ropes course, sports courts, mini golf, live shows, and a lot more for kids and teens to do. So these are just some of the things that Anna and her siblings would have been able to do on that ship. That Monday, November 3rd was a fun at sea day on the ship. As they cruised towards Jamaica, landing in Ocho Rios the next day. So Tuesday November 4th.

Guest or Additional Narrator (14:53)

So.

Heath (14:53)

So Anna and her family could have headed off into Jamaica anywhere between 9:00am and 5:00pm that day, enjoying excursions like zip lining or swimming with the dolphins, if they chose to do so. They would then be back on the ship by sunset though, and back at sea until the next day. So Wednesday November 5th, when they arrived in Grand Cayman, which had similar tropical shore excursions. You know, it's one of those cruises where at night you're kind of cruising and then during the day you get off on a specific island, you do some fun things and you get back on. So the ship was docked in Grand Cayman from 8am to 4pm that Wednesday and they were back at sea for that evening. Then the next day, the last day of Anna's life, the ship was docked in its final destination of Cozumel, Mexico from 11:00am to 7:00pm And I do want to mention that these times are all according to the website's itinerary. So we can't confirm if these exact times are precise, but it would have been roughly this timeline.

Daphne (15:57)

Yeah. So if the ship left Cozumel around 7pm, they would have needed to be back on the ship before then. Which makes sense because reports suggest that the family had dinner on the ship and that 18 year old Anna had reported feeling unwell or ill and that she left dinner early to go back to her cabin. As far as we know she went back by herself. But of course we do know that she was sharing this room with her 16 year old stepbrother and her 14 year old half brother. And here is what the Carnival website states about ages and room assignments. It says that they consider guests under 21 years old pretty much minors technically. So even though Anna was 18, she couldn't have gone on this cruise alone. She needed to be traveling with someone.

Heath (16:44)

Over the age of 25, which again she was.

Daphne (16:47)

Yeah, obviously this is a family cruise so that was fine, but she would have needed to be roomed near her dad and stepmom. Either way. They are much more strict with people under 18 though, because under 18 you can't be separated more than three rooms away from your relative or guardian. So we imagine either way the kid's room was close or right next to their parents room. But age makes this story a little bit complicated. Anyway, as it's reported reported that Anna's 16 year old stepbrother t was drinking on this trip, at least at some point since they were in international waters. Now I want to mention this because it is being discussed heavily. There's a ton of conflicting information on it. But as far as my extensive research showed, I'm not sure how he would have been drinking because Carnival has their own rules. No matter where in the sea they are, the drinking age on the ship is 21. In Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Mexico, the legal drinking age is 18. For example, in Cuba it's 16. But they weren't in Cuba. So even if they were in the international waters of Cuba, they still do not allow under 21 year olds to drink aboard the ship.

Heath (18:04)

Right. That is just the Carnival Cruises rules and regulations.

Daphne (18:07)

Yeah, but it actually seems that most of these rumors of tea drinking were perpetuated by his father, Thomas Hudson. But according to T's mom Chantel, surveillance footage on the ship shows no evidence of him drinking. So I just wanted to clear that up for anybody who had read that online.

Heath (18:27)

Yeah, there's a lot being put out there about that. So it's, it's good that we clear that up here.

Daphne (18:32)

Now, again, Anna said she wasn't feeling well. She reportedly went back to her shared room alone. It's possible in my head that she just wanted some time in the room by herself while her brothers were busy at dinner, or maybe something was bothering her. I mean, right now all we can do is speculate on what unwell means. But she went back to her room and it seems this was the last time that she was seen outside of her room ever again. Because the next morning, Friday, November 7, 2025, which was the last day of the cruise, it was a day fully at sea, heading back to Florida, a housekeeper made a horrific discovery.

Heath (19:18)

So a housekeeper who was cleaning the room that Anna and her brothers were staying in discovered 18 year old Anna's body wrapped in blankets and covered in life vests underneath her bed on that Friday morning. And this discovery happened shortly after her dad and family became worried about her whereabouts because she failed to show up for their final breakfast on the ship. Exactly what occurred in that room between the time that Anna left dinner the night before and when she was found is still not publicly clarified as this is very much an ongoing investigation, as we mentioned. But we do want to discuss what has come out from those close to Anna since this news broke. I mean, it has been everywhere because there is a lot being discussed here. So first and foremost, when this news initially broke, it was not being discussed as a homicide case.

Daphne (20:12)

Yeah, I remember when you showed me that article, Heath. And just based on what her family was saying, the way that they were describing, didn't seem like it was a murder. And we were like, okay, we probably can't cover this one because it's, it's not looking like there's anything nefarious here.

Heath (20:28)

Yeah. And I remember that was somewhere around like November 10th when that first article dropped. So it kind of seemed, or it appeared to us like this was possibly an accident. But obviously, learning of the state of her remains, it was pretty clear that this was a homicide. Now, Anna's time of death was reported as November 7, 2025 at 11:17am Though she certainly died hours before that. Her body remained on board for almost a full day as the ship sped back to Miami, as they were doing anyway, and docked in Miami the following morning. So Saturday, November 8, her father Chris said, we were there as a family. Everybody was questioned. Everybody came off that ship. I don't know who they're looking at or what their investigation is. So Anna's remains were then transferred to the morgue and an autopsy went underway to determine exactly how she died, which is being conducted by the FBI since it did happen in international waters. Now, before we dive into what's been released on that front, let's talk about what was released next in the investigation. The fact that Anna's 16 year old stepbrother T became a potential suspect in her case. As we know, Anna's stepmother is Shantel. And before marrying Chris Kepner In December of 2024, she was married to a man named Thomas Hudson. And this is the man that she shared kids with. Now, they've been in an ongoing custody battle of their three children. And on November 17, 2025, so 10 days after Anna was killed, Thomas Hudson filed an emergency motion in that custody case citing the situation surrounding Anna's death. And it was in that motion that he explained what would have been private information at that point, alleging that their 16 year old son T was a suspect in Anna's death. And the reason why he was mentioning this in the first place was so that he could essentially use it as fuel to prove that Chantel should not be in charge of their other kids. Also mentioning that their son T isn't even living with Chantel while the murder investigation is unfolding, but instead that he's temporarily living with a third party relative since he is not in custody for Anna's murder at this point.

Daphne (22:52)

So, yeah, Thomas was saying that to, quote, ensure the safety of the remaining children during the investigation, they should be living with him. And he's also using it as evidence to argue that he deserves full custody in general. This is also when he mentioned that their son, T was allowed to drink, like I said before, since he was 16, in international waters, though, remember, we don't have proof of this. And he's also saying that Chantel was not exercising appropriate supervision and that her choices jeopardized their son's future. Now, we are not privy to the specifics on what those choices would have been, but there was also a motion filed by Thomas Hudson in 2024, so last year, alleging that once Chantel moved in with her then boyfriend, Chris Kepner, so before they got married in December, that she failed to provide a stable environment for their children. I will mention that Chantel has denied all of these claims. And after the November 17th emergency motion was filed and a court date was set for December regarding their custody battle, Chantel's attorney responded with, quote, an extremely sensitive and severe circumstance has arisen wherein Chantel Kepner will not be able to testify at the hearing at this time. Chantel Kepner has been advised through discussion with FBI investigators and her attorneys that a criminal case may be initiated against one of her minor children. So, yeah, because of their custody battle, it was released that T is being investigated by the FBI in relation to Anna's death, who of course, shared a room with her during their trip. In fact, for reasons that have not been released, when the ship landed in Miami the day after Anna's remains were found, 16 year old T was hospitalized. And originally we didn't know what that meant. We were like, did he get injured? Was he having a mental breakdown? And actually, a few hours before this episode releases, on Monday, November 24, an exclusive people magazine interview was released between Anna Kepner's grandparents on her father's side. And they spoke on this. Her grandmother, Barbara Kepner, said, he was an emotional mess. He couldn't even speak. He couldn't believe what had happened. In his own words, say he does not remember what happened. I believe to him that is his truth. So she is claiming that t is saying he doesn't remember what happened to Anna and that he is incredibly upset about it. And then she said, quote, I can't accuse him because I don't know what happened in that room. Aside from this. According to Chantel, he also has an upcoming psychiatrist appointment which could either indicate an ongoing mental health situation or it could relate to what happened to Anna. As for the upcoming December 5 custody hearing, Chantel is invoking her Fifth Amendment right not to testify while the investigation into her son is still underway because apparently she's concerned that she will make statements that will be prejudicial to her or her child. And again, she's saying the FBI is advising her not to do so until the criminal case is further along.

Heath (26:30)

Yeah. So in her mind she's like, I don't want to do this hearing because I could say something messed up and get myself or my son into trouble. On Monday, November 10, friends and locals gathered at Anna's school to cover Anna's car, which was a white Kia with flowers and balloons in tribute to her. The day before that, her school's Facebook posted a tribute to her as well, which included various photos of her at school. And it read, anna, I will deeply miss you. You were a bright, kind hearted young woman whose presence brought warmth and energy into the classroom. Your curiosity, your gentle spirit and the way that you cared for those around you made a lasting impression on me and everybody who knew you. I will miss you poking your head into my office to say hello and that turning into a fun 15 minute conversation. Losing you is heartbreaking. Yet I remain grateful for the time that I had with you and the privilege of you becoming part of our TCS family. Your absence will be felt every day, but your impact and the memories that you created will continue to live on in our hearts. Love, Mr. Brunner. On Thursday, November 20, so two weeks after Anna was last seen alive, hundreds of mourners gathered at her church, the Grove Church in her hometown of Titusville, Florida, to celebrate her 18 years of life. Now, her mother, Heather, allegedly had only learned about Anna's death after reading about it in the news because as we mentioned, she hadn't seen Anna in years. In fact, Heather was told that she wasn't welcome at the funeral, so she wore a disguise so that she could attend, flying in from Oklahoma. And although this may not be directly relevant to the case, it was part of Anna's life and she actually made a TikTok back in August that was captioned Dear mom and it was Anna lip singing to Jesse Murph's the Man that Came Back, which is about Jesse's unstable and even abusive childhood because of her father who abused alcohol. So in this clip, Anna's only singing to the short clip that says, you can talk to God about the mother, the brother, the family you broke, and the daughter who grew up trusting no one. Two posts before this one she posted as part of a trend that said, you think you can hurt me? Nah. I've sat here and heard and watched my mom ruin her life and try to ruin mine. She has not tried to fight for me. She has not tried to actually have a conversation with me. All she cares about is herself and drugs and now she sits in jail as we speak. And honestly, I hope she learns something while being in there because if she's done anything in her life, it's make her kids not even know who she is anymore. And this seems to just be the tip of the iceberg of what Ana was dealing with in her personal life. Because it was after this funeral and memorial that some people close to her made some very concerning statements surrounding her stepbrother T and his relationship with Anna.

Daphne (29:57)

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Heath (31:25)

Each glass of Riva Della Rosa feels like being transported to Italy. Bright, refreshing and completely effortless.

Daphne (31:33)

They have two standout wines that we think you guys will love. Vermentino, which is crisp, vibrant and smooth and Gavi, which is bright, kind of flirty and just the right touch of elegance.

Heath (31:47)

And the best part is that every bottle has a screw cap so it's easy to open anywhere, anytime.

Daphne (31:53)

No corkscrew requ Enjoy quality wine that pairs perfectly with a quiet dinner this fall or winter time with friends or simply winding down after a long day which is exactly what Heath and I did this weekend with a bottle of Vermentino. We made this beautiful fall fettuccine. It paired so well. It was so delicious. We had the whole bottle over dinner and we had just great conversation. You guys would love this wine.

Heath (32:18)

Bring a little taste of Italy to your next wine night. Check out rivadellarosawine.com to find a bottle near you.

Daphne (32:26)

Disclaimer must be 21 plus. Please drink responsibly.

Heath (32:31)

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Daphne (32:49)

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Heath (33:12)

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Daphne (33:21)

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Heath (33:40)

That's rocket money.com/going west.

Daphne (33:43)

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Guest or Additional Narrator (33:48)

Support for Unwell comes from Google Pixel. Okay daddy gang, listen to me. Let me set the scene. You are on a girls trip. Everyone's dressed up. It's the perfect golden hour lighting. And somehow it is impossible to get a group photo where everyone looks good. Okay, one person's blinking, another hates their angle. And of course the one where you look amazing is the one that your friends absolutely hate. So relatable. And that is where The Google Pixel 10 Pro's camera comes in. This thing is wild. Let me explain it to you. Okay? It has auto best take that automatically finds and combines similar photos into one where everyone looks great. I know this is literally a dream. So all of those blinks and look aways are replaced with picture perfect smiles. And you know how you always take great photos of your friends but they can't seem to take a decent picture of you? Well, the Google Pixel has a feature called Camera Coach that literally coaches you on how to take the best photo. Left, right, zoom in, step back. It maps it all out so when you ask someone to take a photo of you, you know it's going to look good. It's the girls trip essential I didn't know I needed but now I've got it. So yeah, get outside of your comfort phone and try the Google Pixel 10 Pro. Check it out at google store.com camera coach results may vary.

Heath (35:11)

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Daphne (35:22)

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Heath (36:30)

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Daphne (36:38)

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Heath (36:41)

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Daphne (37:00)

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Month at betterhelp.com goingwest that's betterhelp.com goingwest. As we mentioned earlier, before Anna's death, she had been going through a breakup and her ex boyfriend Josh, along with his father, spoke to reporters after her funeral. Now, whether this is the boyfriend that she was posting tiktoks about, she was saying things that she was being disrespected, cheated on and manipulated. I will say it doesn't seem like it because those posts were all very recent. And Josh claims that he and Anna broke up six months months ago. So I wanted to clear that up. He actually was even supposed to go on the cruise because again, this was a routine trip for Anna and her family. So if they were still together, he would have gone on it.

Heath (38:46)

Right? And it appears that Anna and Josh were still somewhat close, at least friendly.

Daphne (38:51)

Yes, up until the point that she died, even though it does seem like they broke up in the spring. Now, Josh is a minor, but his mother agreed to let him speak to the press regarding what he had witnessed with Anna's stepbrother, T. Over the year or so they'd been under the same roof. There were allegedly various ways that he made Anna uncomfortable. In one instance, while he and Anna were on FaceTime late into the night, Josh and Anna were on FaceTime. Josh said that T came into her bedroom and tried to get on top of her. Josh claims that he said something along the lines of what the hell are you doing in her room? And that's when T realized that she was on FaceTime. So he got scared and ran away. And by ran away I mean he ran off into a different part of the house. Josh added, she was too scared to tell anybody because that one time that he said that if she said anything about getting on top of her, he would do something to her. T also was apparently known to carry a large knife on him. Josh added, she told me that she was uncomfortable with them being at the house because she didn't fully know who they were, that their dad had just met this woman not even like a year ago and she doesn't really like her. She has an attitude most of the time and was very controlling over her. But I told her. They're going to be your parents at the end of the day, you know, his father, Stephen chimed in as well. This is Josh's father, adding that T was, quote, obsessed with Anna and pursued her consistently despite them being step siblings. Stephen told reporters, quote, he's infatuated, attracted to her like crazy. He always wanted to date her. Now, we don't know how he knows this. If Anna told him herself, if Josh told him, if this is even true, this is just what they told reporters. I mean, Stephen even claimed that Josh told Anna's dad, Chris, about Anna being uncomfortable with T. And that he, quote, didn't want to.

Heath (41:08)

Believe me, I feel like this is just so crazy because you've got Anna's ex boyfriend, Josh, who it doesn't seem like there's no real reason for Josh to lie about any of this. Right. And then we've also got Josh's dad, Steven saying the same thing. They're both saying that, yeah, T seemed to be creeping on Anna and like doing inappropriate things.

Daphne (41:29)

Yeah. And this is why we said earlier, by the way, guys, like, why the hell were they sharing a room on that cruise? Especially if what Josh is saying is true, if the parents were aware that she was uncomfortable with T. And Josh said that the incident on FaceTime happened about nine months ago, which would have been around February or so, but still, like Josh even said that Anna would often sleep at friends houses because she was uncomfortable being in the same house.

Heath (41:57)

As T. Well, Josh actually didn't even stop there. In fact, when he heard that Anna had died suspiciously, he said that he immediately thought T had done it. He continued by explaining that since he and Anna were still apparently friends, last speaking in October, that he knew what seemed to have happened that night on the cruise, that on the night that Anna died, the younger brother, who was also on the trip, was outside their shared cabin room when he heard yelling and chairs being thrown inside when he knew that Anna and T were inside that room. Now, this brother apparently told Josh that T did not allow him into the room. But so while he was outside, he just listened as T told Anna to shut the hell up. Josh said, and that's when he knew something was going on. There was screaming going on, something was banging around, like chairs were getting thrown around the room. But he wouldn't talk to me anymore. He said the FBI told them that if they talk, they'll get arrested because it's tampering with an investigation or something. And this leads us to the news that dropped this past Friday, which was November 21, the day after Anna's funeral and two weeks after she was found deceased. Although the full autopsy has not been released, a preliminary investigation found evidence that 18 year old Anna Kepner had been asphyxiated in a chokehold, or possibly like a bar hold, which is when someone typically is behind you, pulling you against them with her arm hooked around your neck. I'm sure a lot of you guys can picture that. Now, we don't know yet if this is her cause of death, if there was, you know, anything else done to her body. But it's been reported that there were two bruises on her neck and that it does not appear that she was sexually assaulted. She also did not have drugs or any alcohol in her system at the time of her death.

Daphne (43:55)

So now we know for sure this is absolutely a homicide investigation. And now that we have explained everything that Josh said, this feels like a good time to give you guys the rest of the information from that exclusive People magazine interview from Monday, November 24, with Barbara Kepner, who again, is Anna's grandmother. This is what Barbara had to say about Anna and T's relationship. Quote, they were just like brother and sister, two peas in a pod. I know that those two kids cared about each other in the right way. So obviously that is very different than what Josh relayed to reporters. So it's hard to know what is true and it's so hard to know what to mention in cases like this that are unfolding. But we usually like to mention everything we find, especially because we know a lot of you guys are reading the same things. Things. And it's worth bringing some things up to clarify if we're able to, with, you know, more research. But I want to mention something I saw on TikTok. So a girl was commenting on posts about Anna. She has photos of them together in an attempt to prove that they were friends. Of course, we never want to spread rumors here or discuss hearsay like it's fact, so just know this is not a fact. But this friend says that a maid was not the one to find Anna, but that T told his mom what he had done and where he put Anna while the family was looking for her that morning. And she also mentioned that Anna was nude. I don't know. I always find it interesting to hear from people within the victim circles, you know, when there is so little information, like how we're mentioning what Josh said. But all of this should be taken with a grain of salt until more is released in the official investigation. I think just based on what we have here, we all have thoughts and ideas and motive, assumptions and all that. So I just wanted to mention this.

Heath (45:55)

Well, actually in conjunction with what you're saying, Daphne, Anna's step uncle, Martin Donahue. So her stepmom, Tabitha's brother. Remember, this is a family who was in her life since she was very young, posted something concerning online about the case, seemingly in an attempt to get justice and also spread awareness. Now he wrote, I need everyone's help on this. If you haven't heard this story, then you've been living under a rock. This is my niece, Anna kepner. She was 18 and on a cruise with her dad, stepmom and other family members. I cannot stay silent about this matter any longer. The stepmom's son killed her, stuffed her naked, beaten body in a sheet and stuffed her under a bed and covered her with life jackets, then slept on that bed like nothing ever happened. He told his stepmom when no one could find Anna on the ship. So, yes, they know who did this. And it sickens me that the father, Chris, remains silent about it. Please pass this on till maybe it gets to someone that can do something about it. If nothing is done, it will all come out on the 20th. Or at least that's what the stepmom has said. After treating family, if they talk, that they will be banned from the remembrance.

Daphne (47:11)

Of life for Anna, which would have been her funeral. So it seems like people who were close to Anna have the same story, whether it's true or not.

Heath (47:20)

Yeah, I mean, they. They feel like in their minds, they know. They know who was responsible for this.

Daphne (47:26)

Well, something that's really interesting, just the fact that Martin said, you know, if you're speaking out about this, the stepmom is going to ban you from the funeral, which of course, already happened. Obviously, he posted what Heath just before the funeral occurred. But it's interesting because I was reading a lot about that. People saying that Chantel is kind of pushing them away if they're speaking out against her or against T. Yeah.

Heath (47:53)

So it does appear that Chantel is being very protective over T. And that kind of. Right now, certain. Certain family members are clashing, whether they're extended family, step family, whatever.

Daphne (48:05)

Yeah. Because there's a lot of people like, of course Chris's ex wife and Anna's stepmother, Tabitha, wants justice for Anna. And so there's other members in her family that are not close to Chantal. They don't know Chantal. And they're like, hey, are you trying to, like, get in the Way of Anna's justice.

Heath (48:23)

Yeah. And I know that this all sounds very complicated, but it is. It's a very complicated web of family and extended family.

Daphne (48:32)

Well, regarding this, there's something else that I found very interesting during my research, and it's how Anna's obituary has changed. Now, we don't know who wrote the obituary. Clearly somebody in her family. Just based on all the information and the wording and the length of it, like it was a very personal obituary. They were calling her Anna Banana. They're talking about her as a kid. We actually included most of the information from it in the beginning of this episode, but originally it listed Tabitha Kepner as her mother, and then there was no mention of her real mom, Heather. I say real mom as in her biological mom, Heather, because as we know, Tabitha was her stepmother, but was her mom figure for many, many years. The obituary also previously and originally listed the, quote, Christopher and Christina Donahue family, which would include Martin Donahue, who we just discussed in that quote. Christopher and Christina Donahue are Tabitha's parents, which would then be Anna's step grandparents. But, you know, they were her grandparents for her life. Right now at this point in time, all of them are removed from the obituary, and her mother is now listed as Heather Wright, with no mention of Tabitha or the Donahues. So there's a lot of talk that they were removed after they spoke out against Chantel and kind of her potentially protecting her son who could be involved in Anna's death. So I just thought that was really interesting, finding a screenshot of the original obituary and then comparing it to the one that is out now. Because also, by the way, you know who else was removed in her list of siblings? It had originally listed T along with six other siblings, but his name has also been removed. Like when I was originally piecing this story together and I was reading her obituary, I didn't see T's name in there. So I was like, that's weird. Maybe the. The news got his name wrong and they're misreporting and it's actually one of these other boys in the family. But then when I saw the screenshots online of the original obituary and I saw T's name listed there, I'm like, holy. They took it out.

Heath (50:53)

Yeah, they took it out. Possibly again in an attempt to protect him.

Daphne (50:57)

Yeah. And so we know that the Donahue's, including Anna's step grandfather Christopher, step grandmother Christina, and stepmother Tabitha were very disturbed by the fact that Anna and T were sharing a room and they really want justice in her case. Of course, there are cameras all over this cruise ship. It is 2025, and the FBI is still reviewing hours of surveillance footage. And between these and DNA evidence, this case feels extremely solvable.

Heath (51:32)

In fact, it probably will be solved quite soon.

Daphne (51:35)

You know, and we were saying the same thing about the Celeste Rivas and David case, which there have been updates that we've been posting on our socials, so hopefully that doesn't happen in this case where it gets pushed off and then justice doesn't get served.

Heath (51:49)

Yeah. And it just gets dragged out because.

Daphne (51:51)

It feels like we're really onto something here. Like, there is so much that the FBI is pouring over. I do want to mention, too, there is a fake clip going around that is not real security footage. It's being passed around on social media and TikTok mostly. It's like a black and white video of a woman being snatched by somebody in a hotel hallway. So, sadly, it feels like people are using this fake clip as clickbait to talk about the surveillance angle of this case. But right now, no footage has been released.

Heath (52:22)

So just know that if you're out there on the Internet and you're kind of looking into Anna's case, it is not real. It's not. It has nothing to do with Anna Kepner's case.

Daphne (52:30)

When I saw that, I was like, holy shit. She's literally being taken. And then I'm like, wait, this doesn't look like her. And then I'm digging more. I'm like, oh, my God. All these, like, tiktokers are using this to be, like, surveillance release in Anna Kaepernick's case. And it's, like, totally for clickbait. That's not real. It's so messed up.

Heath (52:46)

It's just misinformation. So disregard that altogether.

Daphne (52:49)

But at this point, the FBI is working so hard on the case right now, and they're looking for any information that could be helpful. So if you were on the cruise, you happen to witness something, please submit a tip online@tips.FBI.gov and if you don't have anything to report, make sure you share this episode or Anna's story as more awareness in Anna Kepner's case could lead to answers. Thank you so much, everybody, for listening to this episode of Going West.

Heath (53:30)

Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. We will keep you guys updated when new updates are released. And if you want to see photos from this case, head on over to our socials. We're on Instagram @going west podcast. We're on TikTok and we're also on Facebook.

Daphne (53:46)

Yeah. For any small updates that come in the case, we will post those on our socials like he said. But if there are big updates in the case, we'll definitely do an update episode as soon as possible. As of the moment that this episode is released, all of this is the most up to date information. So yeah. Thank you guys so much for tuning into this story. Thank you to everybody who emailed us over the last couple weeks about this case.

Heath (54:12)

Oh yeah, there was a lot of you guys that recommended today's case.

Daphne (54:15)

Yeah, Heath and I really love Happening now cases, as we call them, because it's just a way that we can help spread awareness to stories that need attention. I know so many people already know about this story, but as we highlighted in this episode, there is a lot of fake news out there, a lot of fake information that we wanted to help clear up with our hours, hours and hours and hours of deep diving into this story. So hopefully there will be resolution soon. Appreciate you guys tuning in. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and week with your family if you celebrate and if you're gonna be with family and we will see you guys on Friday for an all new episode.

Heath (54:53)

All right guys. So for everybody out there in the.

Daphne (54:55)

World, don't be a stranger.

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