The 16-year-old stepbrother of Anna Kepner appeared in a federal court in Miami on Feb. 6, a law enforcement source tells PEOPLE.
His appearance comes three months after Kepner, an 18-year-old from Titusville, Fla., was found dead under a bed in her room on the Carnival Horizon on Nov. 7 during a vacation with her family.
The law enforcement source tells PEOPLE that U.S. Marshals escorted the 16-year-old to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where he and his public defender appeared before a magistrate in a closed-door hearing.
A complaint has not yet been released in the case, and it is not clear whether the stepbrother has been formally accused of any wrongdoing, but a court docket obtained by PEOPLE showed a closed door hearing
The stepbrother was referred to as a potential suspect in court filings submitted in a separate civil custody dispute involving the boy’s mother, Shauntel Hudson, who was Kepner’s stepmother, and his father Thomas Hudson.
Both parents had stated in court filings for the custody proceeding that the boy was the subject of a criminal investigation in investigation surrounding Kepner’s death.
Kepner died from asphyxiation from a bar hold, according to court filings submitted in the same case.
“He was a normal kid,” Anna’s father Christopher Kepner exclusively told PEOPLE. “And I would’ve never thought that any of this would’ve happened.’
“I want him to face the consequences,” he added. “I will be fighting to make sure that does happen.”
There were no details available as to whether or not the stepbrother was charged, but WTVJ posted a photo of the minor and his public defender walking from the courthouse to the probation office in the same facility that handles pretrial release. The teen’s father was visible with his son in the photo.
The FBI had been handling the investigation because Kepner’s death occurred in international waters while the cruise ship was returning to Miami following a weeklong trip in the Caribbean.
The FBI declined to comment at this time.
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