Anna Kepner's younger stepbrother — who is being seen as suspect in her killing — had a creepy obsession with the Florida cheerleader and was once found climbing onto her while she was asleep, according to the father of the 18-year-old's former boyfriend.
Kepner's 16-year-old stepbrother wouldn't never leave her alone, Steven Westin told "Inside Edition," citing conversations he had with his son. He says the teen was "obsessed with her" and kept trying to get close to her even after their families had just come together. "She was scared of him because he always carried around a big knife," the alarmed father told the outlet in an interview that aired Thursday.
Strange Obsession
Westin said that his son, Joshua — who had been dating Kepner at the time — once witnessed something disturbing during a FaceTime chat. He says Joshua saw the stepbrother walk into her room while she was asleep and climb on top of her.
"He's like infatuated, attracted to her like crazy. He always wanted to date her," Westin said of the suspected warped stepsibling.
Westin said Joshua tried to alert Kepner's parents about what he had seen, but they brushed him off. "They didn't want to believe me," his son told him.
Investigators are now questioning the high school senior's stepbrother, after her body was found on Nov. 8 shoved under her bed and covered with life vests inside her cabin. Those details were included in court papers filed by her stepmother, Shauntel Hudson.
Kepner had been on a six-day cruise with her dad, her stepmother, her 14-year-old brother, and her 16-year-old stepbrother. The ship was just about to dock in Port Miami when the grim discovery was made.
A Lot Still in Mystery
Kepner, who was set to graduate this spring from Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida, was pronounced dead on the Carnival cruise ship at 11:17 a.m. on Nov. 7, according to the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner.
Her funeral took place Thursday in Titusville, but her biological mother, Heather Kepner, told Inside Edition she wasn't allowed to attend because of long-standing tensions within the family. Still, she said she's determined to say her final goodbye.
"I'm going to wear a disguise, I'm going to put a wig on and wear some really tall shoes because I'm 4 ft. 9," she said, explaining that nothing would stop her from being there. Heather, who divorced Anna's father 13 years ago, said she hadn't been able to see her daughter regularly after moving to Oklahoma, but remained incredibly proud of her.
She described Anna as a motivated young woman who dreamed of joining the U.S. Navy and, one day, becoming a K-9 police officer.
"She was a really good child. She never really complained about much. She never really cried that much as a baby and as a teenager she was the same. Just always happy," she told FOX 35.
"She was always trying to make everybody smile. An extremely happy child."
Because Anna died while the ship was in international waters, the FBI is now handling the case. So far, investigators haven't released much information and are keeping the details closely guarded.
