Anna Kepner's 16-year-old stepbrother has been charged with murder and aggravated sexual abuse in connection with her death aboard a Carnival Cruise ship in November last year.
An autopsy determined the cause of death to be mechanical asphyxia, a condition in which breathing is obstructed by external force or pressure.
Kepner, an 18-year-old from Titusville, Florida, was a high school senior who hoped to become a cheerleader at the University of Georgia and join the US Navy.
She is survived by her parents, Christopher and Heather Wright, stepmother Shauntel Hudson-Kepner, and seven siblings.
