Just days before she was found dead on a Caribbean cruise, 18-year-old Anna Kepner posted a haunting TikTok that now feels chillingly prophetic.
The Florida cheerleader filmed herself at home lip-syncing to “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry — a song about a young woman dying before her life truly begins. Kepner smiled, danced, and captioned the Oct. 25 video with “Never knew” and the hashtag “happy.”
@fl.anna18 Never knew💕 #happy #fyp #likeitup #viral ♬ original sound – 😊😊
Less than two weeks later, her body was discovered on Nov. 7, wrapped in a blanket and hidden under a bed in the Carnival Horizon cabin she shared with her siblings.
The TikTok was one of the last posts she shared, followed by a bathroom-mirror selfie about happiness. Since her death, her page has been flooded with emotional tributes, with many commenters struck by the eerie timing of her final videos. “This is so freaking sad,” one wrote, echoing countless similar reactions.
Preliminary findings show Kepner died from asphyxiation caused by a bar hold — an arm lock placed around the neck. Investigators have not publicly identified a suspect, but her 16-year-old stepbrother was questioned by the FBI. The teen allegedly had an unhealthy obsession with Kepner and once climbed on top of her while she slept, according to the father of her ex-boyfriend. The step-siblings reportedly argued the night before her death, and a younger brother claimed he heard yelling and “chairs being thrown.”
Kepner’s celebration of life took place Thursday. In her obituary, loved ones remembered her as someone who “loved the sun, the water, boat days, island days, and beach days — anything that let her soak in the light she so easily radiated to others.”
“She never had a filter, and that was part of her charm,” the tribute read. “She had a big, beautiful heart, often sending random ‘I love you’ messages or gestures that made someone’s day.”
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