Christopher Kepner attended the commencement ceremony at Temple Christian School over the weekend, six months after his daughter’s death aboard a cruise ship.

Anna Kepner dad with diploma.Credit : GMA/YouTube

The commencement ceremony at Temple Christian School in Florida paid tribute to a graduating senior who was not there that night: Anna Kepner.

Six months after she was killed aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Horizon, friends, family and classmates honored Anna over the weekend in Titusville.

Among those in attendance were Christopher and Shauntel Kepner, Anna’s father and stepmother.

Christopher accepted his daughter’s diploma during the ceremony, and in video obtained by Good Morning America, was seen wiping tears from his face as the auditorium gave him a standing ovation.

The entire Kepner family attended the celebration, and Christopher as well as Anna’s half-brother both wore shirts with blue butterflies — her favorite — in tribute.

Shauntel also made a senior table for Anna filled with photos of her and her friends from over the years.

“It was hard,” Christopher said of collecting Anna’s diploma. “Being in her place to do that was very hard.”

Christopher and Shauntel also spoke about the upcoming murder trial and their frustration over the fact that the person accused of killing Anna is still not in custody and is instead living with a family member.

T.H., Anna’s stepbrother, who is the 16-year-old son of Shauntel, is set to be tried as an adult later this year on charges of murder and sexual assault.

Christopher and Shauntel previously said that they cut all ties with T.H. after the cruise and are once again asking why a judge granted him pretrial release, given the charges.

The couple said that they were “frustrated and upset” by the decision, according to Good Morning America.

T.H., who prior to the cruise trip had been living in the same home as Christopher, Shauntel and Anna, was sent to live with a family member shortly after returning from the trip. He remains there while on pretrial release.

Anna Kepner.Anna Kepner/Instagram

He was first taken into custody in early February, and was arraigned as a minor on charges of murder and aggravated sexual assault.

A grand jury then indicted him on those same charges, which were then refiled so that T.H. could be charged as an adult.

As a result, he is now facing the possibility of two life sentences if convicted of both crimes.

The grand jury wrote in the superseding indictment that T.H. “did knowingly and unlawfully perpetrate” the “willful, deliberate, malicious and premeditated killing of [Anna] with malice aforethought.”

Further, the grand jury states that this occurred during the “perpetration” of an “aggravated sexual abuse.”

At the time of Anna’s death on Nov. 6, 2025, she was sharing a room with T.H. and 14-year-old half-brother during a family vacation on Carnival Cruise Line’s Horizon.

The public defender representing T.H. entered a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf in court last month and his trial is set for September.

SOURCE: https://people.com/anna-kepner-s-dad-wiped-away-tears-while-accepting-her-diploma-11977612