The biological mom of Florida cheerleader Anna Kepner, who was killed on a Carnival cruise ship, has questioned why the teen was sharing a cabin with the stepbrother now reportedly suspected in her death.
Heather Wright, who had been estranged from her daughter for several years, spoke out after authorities formally ruled the girl’s death a homicide.
Wright told Fox News that she wasn’t coping with news of her daughter’s tragic demise — as she bashed the teen’s father, who is her ex, for apparently painting her as a villain.
“Why am I the bad guy?” Wright said. “He put them in the same room together.”
Authorities have released few details about the girl’s Nov. 6 death after her body was found stashed under a bed in the cabin she was sharing with her stepbrother.
As mystery continues to engulf the case, the feds have reportedly been eyeing her 16-year-old stepbrother as a suspect.
The high school senior had been on the ship with her blended family — including her grandparents, father, stepmother, siblings and stepsiblings — when she died.
Wright, who separated from her ex, Christopher Kepner, when her daughter was just a child, quickly accused the dad of keeping her death from her.
She claimed, too, that her ex initially left her out of Kepner’s online obituary and banned her from attending the memorial service — forcing her to go in secret.
“They said I never went, but I did,” said Wright, who lives in Oklahoma.
“I didn’t want to be seen, so I made sure no one seen me — plus they can’t stop me from going anyway, even though Chris said he would have me arrested for back child support.”
Wright insisted she had tried to stay in touch with her daughter over the years but claimed she was prevented from doing so.
“She was my daughter, and I loved her with all of my heart and soul,” she said.
“The song ‘I Am Not Okay’ by Jelly Roll is exactly how I feel.”
