Cruise ship killing: Stepbrother can stay out of jail, judge rules

(FLORIDA) — The 16-year-old boy accused of killing his stepsister on a cruise is allowed to stay out of jail with certain restrictions, a federal judge in Florida ruled.

In February, after the teen was charged as a juvenile, the 16-year-old was permitted to live with his uncle instead of being held in custody. But in April, when the case was moved to adult court, prosecutors said the teen should be detained.

“We do not know what triggered him,” prosecutors argued in court Wednesday. “Who will be the next object he will become fixated on?”

The teen’s lawyers have countered that he’s a child who has been cooperative with the investigation and has shown no indication of hurting anyone in the months since his stepsister’s killing. 

The suspect arrived at court Wednesday with his father and his uncle and was seen wearing an ankle monitor. The judge ruled he’s only allowed to leave his house with his uncle and will be electronically monitored by authorities.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres said Wednesday that U.S. Marshals should examine options for potential detainment in the Tampa area.

Prosecutors allege the teenager “sexually assaulted and intentionally killed” his 18-year-old stepsister, Anna Kepner, during the family’s November vacation on a Carnival cruise. Anna Kepner died from mechanical asphyxiation, officials said. 

The stepbrother has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse. He is set to go on trial in September.

Prosecutors are alleging more details about the night Kepner died from Wednesday’s hearing as well as a newly unsealed transcript from a February detention hearing.

Closed-circuit television on the cruise captured many of the movements of Kepner and her stepbrother, as well as the movements of their 13-year-old sibling who was sharing their room, prosecutors said in the Feb. 6 transcript.

The night Kepner died, the suspect was seen entering their shared cabin around 7:35 p.m., the transcript said. At about 7:38 p.m., Kepner was seen entering the cabin — the last time cameras would capture her alive, prosecutors said. 

At approximately 7:51 p.m., the 13-year-old sibling entered the cabin and quickly exited, prosecutors said.

The suspect was not seen leaving the cabin again until 10:13 p.m., when he is “looking left and right down the hallway, appearing to check if there is anyone in the hallway,” prosecutors said. He’s seen between 10:23 p.m. and 10:49 p.m. “entering and exiting the cabin approximately two more times,” prosecutors said, and he put a privacy sign on the door at 10:53 p.m.

The video showed the 13-year-old and the suspect coming and going a few more times, prosecutors said. At 12:09 a.m., when the 13-year-old tried to get into the room, the suspect prevented him, and made the 13-year-old wait outside for a few minutes, prosecutors said.