Anna Kepner: What the Unsealed Federal Records Reveal
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3.3 • 907 Ratings
🗓️ 17 April 2026
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The federal case against Anna Kepner’s sixteen-year-old stepbrother is now unsealed — and the details inside those records raise questions that go well beyond what happened in that cruise ship cabin.
A federal grand jury indicted the accused as an adult on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse. Court documents confirm that the accused signed a written waiver requesting adult prosecution. His defense team co-signed it. That is not a routine move. Defense attorneys do not let a minor volunteer for adult court unless the juvenile alternative carries risks they are unwilling to take. That calculation alone tells you something about the defense’s read on the evidence.
The accused was reportedly admitted to a medical facility after the Carnival Horizon docked in Miami. Text messages from his mother, released through a separate custody proceeding, indicate he repeatedly told her he could not remember anything. His mother also confirmed in court that he takes medication for ADHD and insomnia and had not taken his insomnia medication for two nights on the cruise, including the night Anna was allegedly killed.
Prosecutors are now seeking to revoke his release, calling the charged offenses the most serious crimes one person can inflict on another. Defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis examines what the defense waiver signals, whether the memory claim is a foundation or a liability, and how a family torn apart by this case could shape the trial itself.
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod
This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
#AnnaKepner #CarnivalHorizon #CruiseShipMurder #FederalCase #EricFaddis #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #UnsealedRecords #DefenseStrategy #JusticeForAnna
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | If you're fascinated by true crime, then join us in October 26 for CrimeCon London. Meet the biggest names in True Crime TV, experience live forensic demonstrations and dive deep into the criminal mind with your favourite authors, experts, podcasters and content creators. To secure your place, go to crimecon.com.com.uk now and be part of the UK's biggest true crime community. |
| 0:24.2 | CrimeCon London, partnered by True Crime Channel 3rd and 4th of October, 2026. |
| 0:30.3 | If you're fascinated by True Crime, then join us in October 26 for CrimeCon London. |
| 0:36.5 | Meet the biggest names in True Crime TV, experience live |
| 0:39.8 | forensic demonstrations and dive deep into the criminal mind with your favourite authors, experts, |
| 0:45.6 | podcasters and content creators. To secure your place, go to Crimecon.com.com.com.com |
| 0:51.0 | now and be part of the UK's biggest true crime community. |
| 0:54.8 | CrimeCon London, partnered by True Crime Channel, 3rd and 4th of October, 2026. |
| 1:02.2 | This is Hidden Killers Live with Tony Bruske and Robin Drey. |
| 1:10.0 | The cruise ship murder, Anna Kempner's 16-year-old stepbrother, has been indicted as an adult |
| 1:15.9 | on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated ass abuse. |
| 1:20.5 | But it's what the defense did that nobody is talking about. |
| 1:24.8 | Newly unsealed court record show the accused signed a written waiver requesting to be prosecuted |
| 1:32.2 | as an adult, giving up the right to fight the transfer or appeal it. |
| 1:38.2 | His attorney co-signed it for a teenager now facing life in federal prison. |
| 1:42.6 | That's the picture raises a question. |
| 1:44.9 | I think we deserve an answer to. Why would you volunteer for that? Because it's the right |
| 1:51.9 | thing to do? Is that what's going on here? There's a lot of questions I have about the |
| 1:57.9 | levers that are being pulled in this case. |
| 2:01.9 | Joining us to discuss, of course, my co-host, Robin Drake, retired FBI special agency |
| 2:07.0 | for the Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program. |
| 2:09.8 | And Eric Fattis is with us, defense attorney and former prosecutor. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from True Crime Today, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of True Crime Today and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.