A sixteen-year-old is facing life in federal prison. A serial killer’s ex-wife is facing a wrongful death lawsuit. Two cases, two legal fights, and two families where the people closest to the accused are now being forced to answer questions they spent years avoiding. Anna Kepner was eighteen years old, a high school senior planning to join the Navy, when she was allegedly killed by her sixteen-year-old stepbrother aboard the Carnival Horizon. He has now been indicted as an adult on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse. Her body was allegedly found concealed under a bed, wrapped in a blanket, covered with life jackets. Ship surveillance reportedly shows no one else in the cabin. And the defense co-signed a waiver putting him in adult court voluntarily. Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty to eight murders. He stood in court and admitted it — calm, clinical, without emotion. His ex-wife Asa Ellerup was in the room. For nearly three decades she shared a home of roughly 1,300 square feet with him. For years she dismissed the evidence. Now a wrongful death lawsuit from the son of victim Valerie Mack is asking whether she knew, concealed, or chose not to see — and going after the reported million-dollar payment she received from a Peacock documentary. Defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis takes both cases apart. Why the Kepner defense volunteered for adult court. What the Ellerup lawsuit can actually prove. And which piece of each case is the hardest to defend. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #AnnaKepner #AsaEllerup #RexHeuermann #CarnivalHorizon #GilgoBeach #EricFaddis #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #CruiseShipMurder #GuiltyPlea