Anna Kepner’s mom questions why teen daughter was made to share cabin with stepbrother now eyed in her death

After the authorities officially classified Anna’s passing as a homicide, Wright, who had been estranged from her daughter for several years, chose to speak out publicly.

During a Fox News interview, Wright explained that she was still mourning her daughter’s sudden demise and accused Anna’s father, her ex‑husband, of portraying her as a bad character.

“Why am I the bad guy?” Wright said. “He put them in the same room together.”

Authorities have yet to disclose many details about the circumstances surrounding Anna’s death on November 6, after her body was discovered beneath a bed in the shared cabin.

As the case remains shrouded in uncertainty, federal investigators are allegedly pointing a finger at the teen’s 16‑year‑old stepbrother as a possible suspect.

The high‑school senior had been aboard the ship with her blended family—including aunts, grandparents, her father, stepmother, siblings and step‑siblings—when she passed away.

Wright, who divorced Christopher Kepner when Anna was young, immediately blamed the father for withholding crucial information about the tragedy.

She also claimed that the dad intentionally left her out of the online obituary and denied her permission to attend the memorial, forcing her to attend in secret.

“They said I never went, but I did,” Wright, who now resides in Oklahoma, insisted. “I didn’t want to be seen, so I made sure no one saw me — plus they can’t stop me from going anyway, even though Chris said he would have me arrested for back child support.”

Wright maintained that she had tried to stay in touch with her daughter throughout the years but claimed she had been blocked from doing so.

“She was my daughter, and I loved her ‘with all my heart and soul,’” she said. “The song ‘I Am Not Okay’ by Jelly Roll is exactly how I feel.”