A 16-year-old from Florida charged with sexually assaulting and killing stepsister on a cruise ship

MIAMI (AP) — A 16-year-old lad has been charged with execution and aggravated intersexual maltreatment successful Florida successful the decease of his 18-year-old stepsister connected a Carnival Cruise ship, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.

The teen, identified by the authorities arsenic T.H., was initially charged arsenic a juvenile connected Feb. 2, but the lawsuit was sealed until U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom said that helium would beryllium prosecuted arsenic an big astatine the petition of prosecutors.

Court records amusement his defence lawyers did not object. An email and voicemail seeking remark from T.H.'s attorneys astir the indictment were not instantly returned.

Anna Kepner had been traveling connected the Carnival Horizon vessel successful November with her family. Before the vessel was scheduled to instrumentality to Florida, her assemblage was recovered concealed nether a furniture successful a country she was sharing with 2 different teens, including the younger stepbrother.

The origin of Kepner's Nov. 6 decease was determined to beryllium mechanical asphyxia, which is erstwhile an entity oregon carnal unit stops idiosyncratic from breathing.

Kepner was a precocious schoolhouse cheerleader astatine Temple Christian School successful Titusville, Florida, immoderate 40 miles (65 kilometers) eastbound of Orlando. At her memorial work successful November, household members encouraged radical to deterioration agleam colors alternatively of the accepted achromatic “in grant of Anna’s agleam and beauteous soul.”

Teens prosecuted successful national tribunal are highly rare. T.H. was seen astatine the Miami courthouse successful February, wearing a shot headdress and a hoodie pulled tightly astir his face. But his presumption astatine that clip was not afloat known due to the fact that his property barred nationalist disclosures by his lawyers, the authorities oregon the court.

A justice connected Feb. 6 said T.H. indispensable deterioration an physics tether portion surviving with an uncle. The bid was aboriginal amended to let him to temporarily enactment with his begetter astatine a landscaping business, tribunal records show.

Experts judge the lawsuit is successful national court, and not a authorities tribunal wherever teens are commonly prosecuted, due to the fact that Kepner died successful planetary waters.

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