(NewsNation) — Anna Kepner’s biological mother tells NewsNation she had to dress in disguise to attend her teenage daughter’s celebration of life.
Heather Wright joined “Banfield” on Friday night, confirming she discovered her daughter had died via Google.
“My ex-husband did not try to contact me at all whatsoever to let me know that my daughter died,” Wright told NewsNation.
After hearing third-hand that Kepner may have died aboard a Carnival Cruise ship, Wright attempted to reach her daughter via phone and TikTok before eventually turning to other measures.
“… I Googled ’18-year-old died on cruise ship,’ and that’s when my daughter’s face popped up all over Google,” she said.
Kepner was found dead under a bed on the ship during a family vacation to the Caribbean, and now, the FBI is said to be looking closely at Kepner’s stepbrother as they continue to investigate.
She was set to graduate next year from Temple Christian School and was remembered as being kind, energetic and someone who loved being on the water.
New court filings reveal that the 16-year-old stepbrother of 18-year-old Kepner is reportedly a suspect. Kepner was on vacation with her stepmother and stepsiblings and during an emergency hearing Thursday, an attorney for the father of the teen stepbrother confirmed that he is now under investigation.
Wright, who resides in Oklahoma, says that upon telling her ex-husband, Christopher Kepner, of her intent to travel to Kepner’s home state of Florida, he replied, “If you step foot in Florida, I will have you arrested immediately for bad child support.”
Nonetheless, Wright attended the funeral, wearing a wig and high heels to avoid being noticed. She claimed Christopher Kepner made it difficult to have a strong relationship with her daughter.
“I would call her on her birthday and holidays,” Wright said of her relationship with Kepner.
Wright says she has not been contacted by the FBI or local police as they continue to investigate the death of her teenage daughter.
NewsNation’s Laura Ingle contributed to this report.