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Anna Kepner’s grieving father wiped away tears as he accepted his slain daughter’s high school diploma — months after she was allegedly sexually assaulted and murdered by her stepbrother on a family cruise.
Christopher Kepner wiped tears from his face and received a standing ovation as he was handed Anna’s diploma at the commencement ceremony at the Temple Christian School in Florida this weekend, according to emotional footage obtained by “Good Morning America.”
“It was hard,” Christopher, 41, said of the heavy moment. “Being in her place to do that was very hard.”
Members of Anna’s family, including her stepmom Shauntel Kepner, attended the ceremony, where Kepner was honored by her school and classmates.
Both parents donned shirts with blue butterflies, her favorite color, in tribute.
Shauntel hosted Anna’s senior table, which was covered with photographs of the teenager and friends over the years.
Anna, a devout Christian who had been baptized just months before her death, had planned on joining the military after she graduated high school, her family said
Anna, 18, was killed — allegedly by her 16-year-old stepbrother and Shauntel’s son, Timothy Hudson — while on a Carnival Cruise in the Caribbean with her family in November, according to federal prosecutors.
The bubbly varsity cheerleader and gymnast was found wrapped in a blanket and covered in life jackets under a bed in a cabin where Anna and Timothy had been rooming together on the six-day excursion.
Officials determined that Anna was strangled to death and had been sexually assaulted.
Hudson — who was reportedly “obsessed” with Anna and was once caught trying to sexually assault her — was first charged as a juvenile before his case was moved to adult court, where a grand jury indicted him.
He will be tried in September for first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse, Fox 35 Orlando reported. He has pleaded not guilty.
Christopher has been outraged that his stepson has been permitted to stay with his paternal uncle since he was charged in February on pre-trial release with an electronic ankle monitor rather than be locked up.
The heartbroken father and Shauntel said they’ve cut off all ties with Hudson.
“The situation is deeply painful and complex for the entire family,” Christopher said last month.
Anna’s father has previously said he will not be attending the trial and re-living the traumatic experience.
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