NEWS / Body of Cheerleader who died aboard Carnival cruise cremated – death certificate

The body of 18-year-old cheerleader Anna Kepner, a resident of the US State of Florida, has been cremated, according to the woman’s publicly available death certificate. Kepner was found dead aboard a Carnival Horizon cruise ship off the coast of Miami, Florida, on November 7. While the public death certificate does not list Kepner’s cause of death, a more expanded version private version of the vital record states that it was caused by “mechanical asphyxia” by “another person,” according to ABC News.

The FBI is also investigating the death, with the woman’s family stating that the death has been ruled a homicide, according to Fox News. Her family members also stated that she had been found under her bed in a cabin that she had been sharing with her 16-year-old stepbrother. She was reportedly wrapped in a blanket and covered in life jackets.

No criminal charges have been announced yet, and the FBI has not identified any suspects in the case. However, according to court documents from a bitter custody battle between the parents of Kepner’s stepbrother, the 16-year-old is currently being investigated by the FBI.