A Florida teen is being prosecuted as an adult in connection with the murder and sexual assault of his stepsister, Anna Kepner, aboard a Carnival cruise ship last year, authorities announced.
In a statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida said a federal grand jury leveled the indictment against the 16-year-old suspect identified as "T.H., 16, of Titusville."
'I couldn't fathom why anyone would hurt my baby.'
T.H. has been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse, the U.S. Attorney's Office stated.
The suspect faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted, according to the statement.
The press release revealed that the defendant was charged as a juvenile on February 2.
U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom ordered the suspect to face adult prosecution, according to the news release.
As Blaze News previously reported, 18-year-old Anna Kepner took a family vacation aboard a Carnival Horizon cruise ship that departed from Miami for a six-day Caribbean trip last November.
Kepner was traveling on the ship with her father, grandparents, stepmother, and her stepmother’s two children, including Anna's 16-year-old stepbrother accused of killing her.
A cruise ship crew member on November 7 discovered Kepner's body under a bed in the cabin the siblings shared on the cruise ship.
At the time of her death, the cruise ship was in international waters and on its way back to port in Miami.
Kepner's death was ruled a homicide.
The U.S. Attorney's Office stated, "T.H. allegedly sexually assaulted and intentionally killed Kepner."
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office determined Kepner's cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation.
In November, a source informed ABC News that Kepner's death may have been caused by asphyxiation from a bar hold — a chokehold maneuver in which the arm is pressed across the neck. The source also noted that there were two bruises on the side of Kepner's neck.
The FBI is investigating the case because the alleged crimes occurred on the "high seas," or international waters, and involve the purported victim as a U.S. national.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement:
Our hearts go out to the victim’s family during this unimaginable loss. A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging serious offenses that allegedly occurred aboard a vessel in international waters. We will present the evidence in court and pursue this case with professionalism and care.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandra L. López is prosecuting the case against the teen defendant.
On February 6, the suspect made his first appearance in federal court in Miami and was then released into the custody of a family member, a law enforcement official informed People magazine.
Christopher Kepner, Anna's biological father, on Monday told WTVJ-TV, "He needs to be arrested at this time. He is now an adult, and he needs to be arrested. That is where the family stands. Justice needs to be served."
The grieving father previously told NBC News, "Our daughter's life matters, and we will continue to speak out to honor her, to seek accountability, and to ensure that her case is not forgotten."
As Blaze News reported in February, court documents show that "social media from the Kepner family has indicated that they want the 'nails in the coffin' of [the minor], and that both the Kepner family and the respondent 'want him buried.'"
Anna's grandmother, Barbara Kepner, told ABC News in November, "I couldn't fathom why anyone would hurt my baby."
"We were looking forward to see her grow," said Anna's grandfather Jeffrey Kepner. "The cruise itself wasn't what made me excited. It was the fact that I was gonna get to spend another week with my youngest son and his family and all the grandkids."
Kepner was described as a "bubbly, funny, outgoing" high school cheerleader who "loved her siblings deeply," according to her obituary.
Kepner's obituary describes her as a Christian whose "faith blossomed as beautifully as her smile."
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A 21-year-old Florida male is accused of fatally shooting a 2-year-old boy in the head as his mother held him amid an argument with the suspect over a phone, according to an arrest report WJXT-TV obtained.
A witness told police that Steven Dodson Jr. and the mother were arguing “about a phone” outside at the Valencia Way Apartments in Jacksonville late Sunday night, the station said, citing the arrest report. Dodson is the mother's boyfriend, WJXT said.
'We is hurting, ‘cause that baby didn’t deserve none of that.'
The witness told police Dodson followed the mother back inside and “into the same room as the children," the station said, citing the arrest report.
The mother told police Dodson locked the bedroom door behind them, got a gun off a shelf in the bedroom closet, and then fired a shot at her as she held her son, 2-year-old A’hmari Robinson, WJXT said.
The bullet struck the toddler, who died after being rushed to Wolfson Children’s Hospital, the station said.
The arrest report indicates Dodson ran from the apartment and was captured on surveillance video throwing the gun into a dumpster, WJXT said.
Authorities including the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Marshals, and the SWAT Unit took Dodson into custody at the Vista Landing Apartments late Monday after a manhunt, the station said.
Police told WJXT that before officers arrived someone retrieved the gun from the dumpster and brought it back to the apartment where police took it into evidence.
Dodson has been charged with second-degree murder, attempted murder, child neglect, tampering with evidence, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Dodson was denied bond Tuesday, the station said.
Court records show Dodson has had prior arrests over the last three years on charges including strong-arm robbery, domestic battery, and other offenses, WJXT said.
His next court date is set for April 15, the station said.
Robinson's family expressed their emotions outside the courtroom, the station said.
“Pain. Anger and pain. Pain, hurt,” one family member told WJXT. “And then we already getting fake pages just texting us and threatening. People want to fight my sister. Y’all don’t even know what she’s going through. Y’all don’t know what she went through.”
Another family member added to the station: “We is hurting, ‘cause that baby didn’t deserve none of that.”
Robinson's aunt started a GoFundMe account to help the family.
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A student-run newspaper has apologized this week but not to the peer who was murdered.
Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman, 18, was shot and killed on March 19 around 1:00 a.m. The Department of Homeland Security said at the time she had been walking in a park with friends.
'We deeply regret these errors, and we're committed to continuing the high standards we hold for ourselves as journalists.'
DHS went on to accuse Jose Medina-Medina, "a Venezuelan criminal illegal alien," of wearing a mask and shooting Gorman as she attempted to run away.
Now Loyola University Chicago's newspaper is apologizing for characterizing the accused as an "illegal immigrant."
In an article published on Sunday, the Loyola Phoenix added an editor's note about language used in an Instagram post on Monday.
The outlet first wrote that its original headline on Instagram, "Immigrant Man Charged in Murder of Sheridan Gorman, DHS Involved," was inappropriate because it caused "harm" to "community members."
"That headline didn't reflect the most important elements in the story, and it was taken down minutes later to prevent any further harm to affected community members," the Loyola Phoenix began.
Then the student-driven paper apologized for using the term "illegal immigrant" entirely.
"In the body of the original post, we described the man who was charged as an 'illegal immigrant,' using language provided by the Department of Homeland Security. That language does not align with Associated Press style, nor does it align with the values of this newspaper," the note said.
"No human’s existence is illegal, and we quickly changed our wording to reflect that."
Associated Press dropped the term "illegal immigrant" in 2013 and currently provides a bevy of alternate terms while declaring one should "use illegal only to refer to an action, not a person: illegal immigration, but not illegal immigrant."
The style guide goes on to say that terms like "immigrants lacking permanent legal status" or "irregular migration" are acceptable substitutes. The guide explicitly says not to use the terms "alien, unauthorized immigrant, irregular migrant, an illegal, illegals, or undocumented," except when quoting people or government documents.
"Many immigrants have some sort of documents, but not the necessary ones," it adds.
Loyola's paper continued, saying it acknowledged the "harm such language can cause and the power and importance of the words we choose to use."
"We deeply regret these errors, and we're committed to continuing the high standards we hold for ourselves as journalists and members of the Loyola, Rogers Park, and Chicago communities," the message concluded.
Blaze News reached out to the article's author, Lilli Malone, who is also listed as the editor in chief of the paper, but did not receive a response.
In its report, DHS said that Medina-Medina was released into the country in May 2023 after being apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol and released again that June after he was arrested for alleged shoplifting in Chicago.
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A notorious abortionist who was serving time for multiple murders, including three infants and a patient, died on March 1 at 85 years old.
Kermit Gosnell was a former West Philadelphia doctor who was convicted in 2013 and was serving multiple life sentences for first-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in connection with disturbing and horrific criminal cases.
'Over the years, there were hundreds of "snippings."'
A jury determined that Gosnell cut the necks of babies who were born alive during illegal procedures and caused the death of a woman who died during an abortion at his clinic. He faced additional charges related to violations at the clinic.
Gosnell repeatedly conducted illegal abortions beyond Pennsylvania's 24-week limit, according to former employees. They alleged that he delivered babies that were still moving, whimpering, or breathing. He referred to the method he used to kill the newborns as "snipping" their spines.
"Over the years, there were hundreds of 'snippings,'" a 2011 grand jury report read. "Most of these acts cannot be prosecuted, because Gosnell destroyed the files."
Gosnell's clinic became known as the "house of horrors."
RELATED: NPR reportedly nixes ad calling Kermit Gosnell an 'abortion doctor.' The reason is sadly comical.
A 2010 investigation revealed that Gosnell had been trafficking prescription drugs from his clinic. Investigators discovered bags and bottles containing fetuses, jars filled with body parts, bloodstained furniture, and unsterilized medical instruments. He later pleaded guilty to 12 federal drug charges related to operating a pill mill, which resulted in an additional 30 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
RELATED: Case of abortionist accused for years of killing born-alive babies now in the hands of the FBI
At the time investigators raided Gosnell's clinic, state authorities had failed to conduct routine inspections of all of its abortion facilities for 15 years.
Gosnell was being held at State Correctional Institution Smithfield in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. He died at a hospital outside of the prison system earlier this month, according to a spokesperson with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. The cause of his death has not yet been revealed.
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Gosnell spent decades butchering late-term and born alive babies. His barbaric practices even resulted in the death of at least one woman.
Moore’s situation is not the first time media have twisted Georgia’s lifesaving law to fearmonger and promote radical abortion narratives.
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