'LAST DANCE' TEEN GIRL DEAD ON CRUISE, SPOTTED ON VIDEO JUST BEFORE MURDER
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline
4.2 • 8.1K Ratings
🗓️ 30 January 2026
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It's been close to three months since the death of high school cheerleader Anna Kepner, who also excelled in her academics.
Anna was found strangled and stuffed under a bed on a Carnival Cruise, and still no arrests have been made. Custody court battle documents between Shauntel Hudson and ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, point to their son, Anna’s stepbrother, as a suspect, but he still lives with relatives in an undisclosed location.
Just days before the teen's gruesome murder, footage captured on board the cruise ship shows Anna happy and enjoying line dancing with her grandparents.
Nick Giddens, a passenger on the ship, learns about the murder after returning home, and while looking through all his videos, he spots Anna dancing on the cruise ship five days before she was killed. While looking through all his videos, he spots Anna dancing on the cruise ship 5 days before she was killed.
The heartbreaking video captures a high-spirited teen gleefully participating in the Carnival Horizon Sail Away Party.
Texts submitted as evidence in the custody battle over Shauntel and Thomas Hudson’s youngest daughter reveal the family’s attempt at “damage control” in the hours after they’re told their son is a suspect in his stepsister’s murder.
Joining Nancy Grace:
- Spencer Aronfeld - Trial Lawyer and Founder of Aronfeld Trial Lawyers, Author of Illustrated Children's Book, "Sara Rose, Kid Lawyer;" Facebook: Aronfeld Law, Instagram: Aronfeld_Trial_Lawyers
- Dr. Sue Cornbluth - Doctor of Clinical Psychology and Relationship Expert, Owner of Doctor Sue & You, Author of “Building Self-Esteem in Children and Teens Who Are Adopted or Fostered;" YouTube: DrSueAndYou
- Joseph Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University, Author of "Blood Beneath My Feet," and Host: "Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan;" X @JoScottForensic, Instagram @JoScottForensic
- Michelle Spitzer - Florida News Reporter for USA Today Co.
- Nick Giddens - Captured video of Anna Kepner dancing on the cruise ship 5 days before she was killed
- Sydney Sumner- Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories'
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.3 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:04.7 | Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. |
| 0:10.6 | The last dance, a beautiful young teen cheerleader, found dead on a cruise ship. |
| 0:18.7 | We learned tonight spotted on video dancing just before her murder. And tonight |
| 0:26.8 | does the infantile way her body was hidden, covered in life vest and crammed under a bunk point directly to her killer. |
| 0:40.3 | Amidst claims her family is giving off bad optics, |
| 0:45.3 | that they're more concerned with covering for her stepbrother suspect |
| 0:50.3 | than about their dead daughter. I'm Nancy Grace. This is crime stories. I want to thank you for being with us. |
| 0:58.4 | The teen stepbrother is the main suspect in Anna's chokehold asphyxiation. There are so many |
| 1:05.9 | confusing details about this case. When is something going to happen? When is there going to be an arrest? |
| 1:10.9 | When are the answers going to come out? |
| 1:14.0 | Tonight, joining us in addition to an all-star panel of experts, is the man who captured |
| 1:20.5 | video of Anna Ketner, the teen cheerleader, found stuffed dead. We still don't know whether |
| 1:27.1 | she was clothed or |
| 1:28.2 | unclothed, crammed under a bunk on a cruise line. There she is. Obscured by life vests. |
| 1:38.8 | And her body there for hours and hours before anyone even notices she's missing? |
| 1:44.1 | Where were the parents for Pete's sake? |
| 1:47.0 | Nobody knows she's not at breakfast. |
| 1:49.0 | Nobody notices she doesn't turn up for lunch. |
| 1:51.0 | Nobody checks on her the night before. |
| 1:54.0 | How long had she been stuffed under that bunk? |
... |
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