Father, stepmother of 18-year-old found dead on cruise ship set to appear in court over custody battle amid investigation

The father and stepmother of an -year-old Florida woman who was discovered dead on a cruise ship are expected to appear in court over the custody of their other children Court documents filed Thursday by the father of Anna Kepner the Titusville high school senior who was exposed dead on a Carnival Horizon cruise ship further reveal that the victim was discovered asphyxiated under the bed in the room she shared with her younger stepbrother The custody battle pits Anna s stepmother Shauntel against her ex-husband Christopher Kepner The former couple share several children including the -year-old boy who family members stated is a suspect in his stepsister s death Friday morning s hearing in Brevard County is set to address whether the children they share should be removed from Shauntel s care In an interview with ABC News Anna s grandmother Barbara Kepner described how she felt when she learned of her granddaughter s death during their voyage aboard the Carnival Horizon which sailed from PortMiami I screamed I just couldn t stop screaming mentioned Barbara The grieving grandparent shared the last time she saw Anna on the family cruise trip We were playing in the casino She didn t win anything She revealed Meemaw I love you guys I ll see you later And we never saw her again after that she noted Barbara also shared her thoughts on the -year-old stepbrother who shared the room with Anna He was the only one seen coming and going so I can t accuse him because I don t know what happened in that room but the summation would be that he did something she reported In the custody dispute unrelated to Anna s death her father argues Shauntel took her on that cruise without his permission last month Shauntel announced she cannot testify in the event because her own son is a suspect in his stepsister s death Barbara reported she sat in for part of the -year-old s interview with the FBI He was an emotional mess she declared He couldn t even speak He couldn t believe what had happened Barbara commented Anna and her stepbrother were close He was a good aspirant He played soccer Very quiet young man He had demons I think in his past and he was trying to deal with those she revealed Anna s loved ones stated they are hoping for answers and justice for the victim who was nicknamed Anna Banana and described as fun outgoing and full of love I hope that we can heal noted Barbara Whatever happened in that room the only person responsible is the person that was in the room with Anna Anna s father is ordered to appear in court at a m on Friday However according to court documents he did not answer his door when he was served a subpoena