Anna Kepner's Grandma Claims Stepbrother Had ‘Demons' — and Reveals What He Did When Questioned by Investigators

Anna Kepner's grandparents Barbara and Jeffrey were on the Caribbean cruise with her father, stepmother and siblings when she was found dead under a bed

Anna Kepner/Instagram; ABC News

Anna Kepner (left); and Grandparents Jeffrey and Barbara Kepner.

NEED TO KNOW

• Anna Kepner was killed on a Caribbean cruise in early November

• Authorities say she died from asphyxiation

• Her 16-year-old stepbrother, who was sharing a room with her, is under heavy scrutiny but has not been publicly named a person of interest

Anna Kepner's grandmother is opening up about the slain teen's stepbrother, who is now possibly suspected in her killing aboard a cruise while they were on a family vacation.

Kepner, an 18-year-old high school cheerleader from Titusville, Fla., was found dead under a bed on the Carnival Horizon on Nov. 8.

Her death has since been ruled a homicide, according to a death certificate obtained by ABC News.

Authorities have not publicly named a person of interest in the case. But Kepner's 16-year-old stepbrother may be subject to a criminal investigation in connection with her killing, according to court filings by Kepner's stepmother and the woman's ex-husband in an unrelated matter.

As her loved ones reel from Kepner's sudden and mysterious death, her grandparents are opening up about the family, as well as the circumstances surrounding the discovery of her body.

Barbara Kepner and Jeffrey Kepner were aboard the cruise with Anna, her father, her brother, her stepmother and stepsiblings.

Anna and her stepbrother were close, Barbara told ABC News in an interview, describing them as “two peas in a pod.”

Barbara described the 16-year-old as a “very quiet young man” who was also a good student. Jeffrey added he played soccer.

“He had demons, I think, in his past,” Barbara added.

The teen is in the custody of Anna's stepmother, Shauntel Hudson, following a divorce from her ex-husband Thomas Hudson.

Barbara was present for part of the 16-year-old's interrogation by the FBI and said the teen was “an emotional mess.”

“He couldn't even speak,” she said. “He couldn't believe what happened.”

The boy was the only one seen going in and out of the room he shared with Anna and her brother, the grieving grandmother said. He reportedly maintains he could not remember what happened.