An 18-year-old Central Florida student was found dead aboard a Carnival cruise ship earlier this month while on vacation with her family.
The family of soon-to-be high school senior Anna Kepner is speaking publicly for the first time about her mysterious death and the loss they are grappling with.
Authorities have released some details. But a death certificate provided to ABC News by her family said Ms. Kepner died of “mechanical asphyxia” and listed the date of injury as November 6.
Ms Kepner was on holiday in the Caribbean with her father, stepmother and three half-siblings when she was found dead in her cabin.
Here's what we know about the case.
Anna Kepner's body was found under the bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered with life jackets, ABC News reported.
The death certificate provided to the network by Anna Kepner's family states that she “was mechanically strangled by another person(s).”
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office did not confirm ABC's report and declined to provide the BBC with any additional information, citing an “active and ongoing investigation.”
The FBI has not named any suspects and no charges have been filed.
Much of what is publicly known about the family's trip comes from an interview Ms. Kepner's grandparents gave to ABC News.
The family was traveling on Carnival Horizon, a family vacation that included Ms. Kepner's father, one of her biological siblings, a brother, her stepmother and her stepmother's children from a previous relationship. Her grandparents were also on board.
“We all had a great time,” said her grandmother, Barbara Kepner. “I couldn’t understand why someone would want to harm my child.”
Her grandparents said she was expected to graduate from high school in May and planned to enlist in the U.S. Navy.
“We couldn't wait for her to grow up,” said her grandfather, Jeffrey Kepner. “It wasn’t the cruise itself that excited me. And the fact that I had to spend another week with my youngest son, his family and all the grandchildren.”
The Kepners stated that the relationship between Anna Kepner and her half-siblings was a happy one, adding that “there is no such thing as steps.”
“It's all family. Yes, it's a blended family, but our family isn't like that,” Jeffrey Kepner said. “Our dynamic is that we’re all just family.”
Barbara Kepner recalled that on the last day she saw her granddaughter alive, the teenage girl complained that her braces were bothering her.
Despite the discomfort, she got dressed and joined her family at the cruise casino, her grandmother said.
Barbara Kepner said her granddaughter told her, “Meemaw, I love you guys, see you later.”
“And after that we never saw her again,” she said.
Her grandparents are now desperate for answers.
“Now I know how she died,” Barbara Kepner said. “It helps a little, but it won’t bring Anna back.”
The cruise line told the BBC it was cooperating fully with the FBI investigation.
