Cheerleader who died aboard Carnival cruise ship cremated, death certificate reveals

Anna Kepner, the Florida 18-year-old who died aboard a Carnival cruise ship earlier this month, has been cremated, according to a copy of her death certificate obtained by Fox News.

The public document does not include her cause or manner of death, which is only given on the version of the death certificate supplied to her immediate family under Florida law. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

The FBI’s Miami office is handling the investigation into Kepner’s death, which her family said has been ruled a homicide by mechanical asphyxiation in an interview with ABC News Monday.

TEEN FOUND DEAD ON CARNIVAL CRUISE SHIP DIED FROM MECHANICAL ASPHYXIATION, RULED HOMICIDE: REPORT

Anna Kepner was identified by her family as the passenger who died on board the Carnival Horizon. (Instagram/Anna Kepner)

“Mechanical asphyxia just means there is something external to the body that hinders her breathing — her chest or belly can’t expand,” Dr. Priya Banerjee, a board-certified forensic pathologist, explained previously. 

Read the document:

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment and has said little after announcing its investigation two weeks ago.

Kepner’s official time of death is listed as 11:17 a.m. on Nov. 7, a day before the Carnival Horizon cruise liner returned to port in Miami.

North Brevard Funeral Home in Titusville, Florida, Tuesday, November 25, 2025. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)

CHEERLEADER’S CRUISE SHIP DEATH HAS FAMILY POINTING FINGERS

Anna Kepner, her father, stepmother and several siblings in a family photo. (Shauntel Kepner/Facebook)

Family members have said she was found under her bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered in life jackets in a cabin she shared with her stepbrother.

There have been no publicly announced criminal charges in the case, and the FBI has not identified anyone as a suspect.

Anna Kepner’s family said she had dreams of joining the military. (Instagram/Anna Kepner)

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However, according to court documents from a bitter custody battle between the stepbrother’s parents, the 16-year-old is an apparent subject of the FBI’s investigation.