The 16-year-old stepbrother of the Florida high school senior who died this month on a Carnival cruise ship has been identified as a suspect in her death, according to court documents filed by his parents.

The disclosures, contained in motions filed in an ongoing custody dispute, offer the clearest public indication that federal investigators are scrutinisng a member of the victim’s own blended family.

The documents show both parents acknowledging that their middle child, identified in court only by his initials “T.H.,” is under FBI investigation in connection with the death of Anna Kepner, a high school cheerleader from Florida’s Space Coast whose death aboard the ship has drawn international attention and remains shrouded in uncertainty.

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