How Anna Kepner and Stepbrother Under FBI Investigation Came to Share a Room on Cruise: 'They Were Best Friends' By Chris Spargo

Anna Kepner and the stepbrother currently under investigation in her death were “best friends,” according to her stepmother.

Shauntel Hudson appeared in court on Friday for an emergency custody hearing after her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, petitioned the court to remove his youngest daughter from her mother’s residence and grant him custody.

He filed that petition after learning that his 16-year-old son was under investigation by the FBI in the death of Anna, who “was found asphyxiated under the bed in the room which she shared with [his teenage son],” according to a court filing obtained by PEOPLE.

Shauntel testified in court about the family’s time on the cruise and how Anna came to share a room with her stepbrother and 14-year-old half-brother.

She said that the three teenagers shared a room on the advice of a travel agent, and that she and Christopher Kepner shared a room across the hallway with the two younger girls. Anna’s grandparents, Jeffrey and Barbara Kepner, were staying two floors above their rooms, Shauntel said in court.

Shauntel testified that the three teenagers “wanted to stay together” in the room.

“Yeah, the three of them are, like, the three amigos,” Shauntel said. “They are best friends.”

However, Anna’s ex-boyfriend told reporters outside her memorial service on Nov. 20 that she did not enjoy spending time with her stepbrother.

Shauntel said that she last saw Anna at around 6:30 p.m. on the night of Nov. 6, and her son just before 7 p.m., adding that the two told her they were going back to their room.

She said that she went back to her room across the hallway just before 7:30 p.m. and went to bed.

Anna’s body was discovered on the morning of Nov. 7 in her cabin aboard Carnival Horizon.

The close relationship Anna had with her half-brother can also be seen in posts to her social media accounts, which included photos with him.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

The stepbrother is now residing in an undisclosed location known only to his mother, father and law enforcement, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

No charges have been filed, and the FBI has not named a suspect, but Shauntel’s attorney, Millicent Athanason, strongly suggested that charges would be filed. The attorney also said that the FBI was determining whether to turn over the evidence in the case to state or local authorities. When asked to confirm this, an FBI spokesperson declined to comment to PEOPLE.

On Friday, Judge Michelle Studstill denied Thomas’s request for an emergency motion to remove the couple’s 9-year-old daughter from Shauntel’s custody.

Thomas will be back in court on Dec. 17 for a contempt hearing after filing a motion alleging that his wife did not have his permission to take their two children out of the country on the cruise.

He also said he had been blocked from seeing his two younger children for the past 18 months, and described a recent incident in which Christopher and his parents allegedly interfered with a custody exchange between him and Shauntel, leading to a verbal altercation, according to a filing obtained by PEOPLE.

Thomas wrote in his emergency motion: “The sixteen-year old’s future has been put in jeopardy because of the choices made by [his mother].”

He went on to state that he “has not been allowed input into the children’s lives and his lack of involvement has negatively impacted the children.”