Latest / Crime Stories with Nancy Grace / Charges for Anna Kepner's Stepbrother 'T.H.' Revealed | Crime Alert 04.14.26
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Crime Alart hourly update breaking crime news.
- 0:03Speaker 2: Now, I'm Sydney Silvoni. Federal charges have been unsealed against
- 0:08Speaker 2: the sixteen year old step brother of Anna Kepner, the
- 0:11Speaker 2: eighteen year old cheerleader found dead last November during a
- 0:14Speaker 2: family vacation aboard a carnival cruise ship.
- 0:18Speaker 3: The U. S.
- 0:18Speaker 2: Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida announced Monday
- 0:22Speaker 2: that the teenager, identified in court documents only by his
- 0:25Speaker 2: initials THH, is facing counts of murder and aggravated sexual abuse.
- 0:31Speaker 2: While the motion was initially filed under seal in February,
- 0:34Speaker 2: the case was unsealed Friday, following its transfer to adult prosecution.
- 0:39Speaker 2: The tragedy unfolded on November seven, while the Carnival Horizon
- 0:43Speaker 2: was in international waters. Returning to the port of Miami,
- 0:47Speaker 2: Anna excused herself from dinner. Early surveillance footage showing Anna
- 0:51Speaker 2: entering the room she shared with her brothers. After eating,
- 0:54Speaker 2: The teen boys came to the room before the youngest
- 0:57Speaker 2: sibling ventured out again to explore, leaving Anna and their
- 1:00Speaker 2: stepbrother alone. When he returned, he noted Anna wasn't in bed,
- 1:05Speaker 2: but assumed she got a second wind and was spending
- 1:08Speaker 2: more time with the adults. The next morning, panic ensued
- 1:11Speaker 2: when Anna didn't meet her family for breakfast, as housekeepers
- 1:15Speaker 2: made a horrifying discovery the teen's body wrapped in sheets
- 1:19Speaker 2: and stuffed under her bed. According to the indictment, Thh
- 1:23Speaker 2: allegedly sexually assaulted and intentionally killed Anna. The Miami Dade
- 1:27Speaker 2: Medical Examiner's Office has since ruled the cause of death
- 1:30Speaker 2: as mechanical asphyxiation. Anna's youngest sibling reportedly heard fighting in
- 1:35Speaker 2: the cabin the night of her death, telling her boyfriend
- 1:38Speaker 2: the details.
- 1:39Speaker 3: He heard him yelling at her, like in a harmful
- 1:43Speaker 3: way of like shut the hell up and stuff like that,
- 1:46Speaker 3: Like something was like banging around and stuff, and like
- 1:50Speaker 3: the chairs were getting thrown around in the room.
- 1:52Speaker 2: Joshua too, says Anna was afraid of her stepbrother, but dad,
- 1:56Speaker 2: Chris Kepner, ignored his warnings.
- 1:58Speaker 1: She said that I tried to tell the parents that
- 2:01Speaker 1: this was happening, and they didn't want to believe me.
- 2:04Speaker 1: He's like infatuated attracted her, like crazy, He's always wanted
- 2:07Speaker 1: the dat.
- 2:08Speaker 2: Captain spoke out yesterday, stating simply that justice needs to
- 2:12Speaker 2: be served. He expressed frustration that Thh has been released
- 2:16Speaker 2: into the custody of a guardian rather than being held
- 2:19Speaker 2: in a detention facility. Anna was a high school senior
- 2:23Speaker 2: with dreams of cheerleading for the University of Georgia. Her
- 2:26Speaker 2: family remembers her as a bubbly and reliable sister who
- 2:30Speaker 2: loved her siblings deeply. As for the legal proceedings, the
- 2:34Speaker 2: FBI is leading the ongoing investigation. Lawyers for Thh and
- 2:38Speaker 2: his biological father have not yet responded to requests for comment,
- 2:42Speaker 2: while an attorney for his mother declined to comment. More
- 2:45Speaker 2: Crime and Justice News after this. In another voting related
- 2:51Speaker 2: death investigation, Behavian authorities have released Brian Hooker, who claims
- 2:56Speaker 2: his wife fell overboard from their dinghy on a trip
- 2:58Speaker 2: across Elbow k back to their yacht. The move came
- 3:02Speaker 2: after a seven to twenty pm legal deadline passed without
- 3:05Speaker 2: formal charges being filed. The Royal Bahamas Police Force says
- 3:09Speaker 2: the decision followed a consultation with the Department of Public Prosecutions,
- 3:14Speaker 2: which recommended Hooker be released while the investigation continues. Hooker
- 3:18Speaker 2: had been held since his arrest last Wednesday, April eighth,
- 3:21Speaker 2: as investigators scrutinized the timeline of his wife's disappearance. Lennett
- 3:26Speaker 2: was last seen on the night of April fourth, leaving
- 3:28Speaker 2: the Abaco Inn in a dinghy bound for their Ancred yacht.
- 3:32Speaker 2: According to Brian Hooker's account, the situation turned tragic when
- 3:35Speaker 2: worsening weather and strong winds caused Lynette to fall overboard.
- 3:39Speaker 2: In a phone call to friends they describe as matter
- 3:42Speaker 2: of fact and emotionless, Hooker described the incident as a
- 3:45Speaker 2: series of mistakes, noting the couple was not wearing life
- 3:49Speaker 2: jackets in that the dinghy's ignition key was lost to
- 3:52Speaker 2: the water, leaving him powerless to maneuver the boat.
- 3:55Speaker 1: She basically just bounced off the dinghy in the middle
- 3:59Speaker 1: of a little blow like twenty some not winds that
- 4:02Speaker 1: popped up and on a record half mile maybe tripped
- 4:07Speaker 1: back to the dingey and angle thing failed. Uh, every
- 4:14Speaker 1: single thing. We weren't wearing my jackets, Pipsy. It was
- 4:20Speaker 1: sundown and the sun set like basically ten minutes after
- 4:25Speaker 1: she fell over. Dingy kie were with her because it
- 4:30Speaker 1: wasn't clipped to anything or anybody, and she had the
- 4:33Speaker 1: spare dingey key in her dry bag. Which was with her. Yeah,
- 4:36Speaker 1: it was inflated.
- 4:39Speaker 4: I mean inflated because it was folded.
- 4:41Speaker 1: But the wind blew us apart so fast that I
- 4:46Speaker 1: think I think she tried to swim back to the sailboat,
- 4:49Speaker 1: back to our sailboat, which was probably.
- 4:53Speaker 4: I don't know, balcony yards or something, but the ways
- 4:57Speaker 4: were three foot and I was trying to ship to
- 5:00Speaker 4: oars and one of the pends on the horse broken
- 5:04Speaker 4: A dropped over the side, and I was yelling for
- 5:07Speaker 4: her the whole time, and I yelled to her that
- 5:10Speaker 4: I lost or and I threw.
- 5:12Speaker 1: The anchor out and anchored the dinghy and Jesse, yeah,
- 5:18Speaker 1: I yelled. I couldn't see her anymore. It was the
- 5:22Speaker 1: moon has not raisen.
- 5:22Speaker 2: Yet, he told authorities. He eventually paddled for help after
- 5:26Speaker 2: an exhaustive search in the dark. While Hooker walked out
- 5:29Speaker 2: of the station last night, his legal situation remains in limbo.
- 5:33Speaker 2: His attorney, Terrell Butler, says it's currently unclear if Hooker
- 5:37Speaker 2: still possesses his passport or if he is legally permitted
- 5:41Speaker 2: to leave the Bahamas. Butler criticized the police for the
- 5:44Speaker 2: delay in his release, calling the process unacceptable and says
- 5:48Speaker 2: Hooker is heartbroken and drained by the ordeal. For now,
- 5:52Speaker 2: Hooker has returned to his hotel to reconvene with counsel
- 5:55Speaker 2: this morning, and it's important to note that under Bahamian law,
- 5:59Speaker 2: he could still face arrest in the future as the
- 6:01Speaker 2: investigation remains open. For the latest crime and justice breaking news,
- 6:06Speaker 2: be sure to follow the Crime Alert hourly update on
- 6:08Speaker 2: your favorite podcast app with this crime Alert I'm Sidney
- 6:12Speaker 2: so Money