The United States Department of Justice reported on April 13 about the case of a 16-year-old teenager accused of the death of his stepsister on board a cruise ship in Miami.
In addition, the US authorities point to the minor for the crime of aggravated sexual abuse.
The statement from the Department of Justice details that a federal jury presented the accusation against the minor for the death of his stepsister, identified as Anna Kepner.
Both would have traveled with their families on the ship Carnival Horizon last November, while the vessel was in international waters heading to Miami.
US authorities added that the suspect He would have sexually abused the victim and later murdered her.
In turn, the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Kepner’s cause of death was asphyxia due to strangulation.
On February 2, the case It was presented as a youth process.
However, it was transferred so that the minor was prosecuted as an adult, by order of a federal jury.
“The federal grand jury has returned an indictment for serious crimes that occurred aboard a vessel in international waters,” said United States Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida.
Finally, the Department of Justice indicated that investigations continue to determine whether the accused would receive life sentence if convicted.