The death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner aboard a cruise ship has left behind a trail of conflicting stories — and at the center of it is a blended family dynamic that now looks very different depending on who’s doing the talking. Parents and grandparents describe harmony, closeness, and three teenagers who were “the three amigos.” Yet teens who actually lived inside that home describe something else entirely: aggression, chokeholds, tension, and behavior reframed by adults as “just playing.”

On today’s episode of Hidden Killers, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott joins us to break down what these contradictions reveal about denial, family image-management, and the difference between outside perception and lived experience.

Shavaun explains why teens often have a more accurate read on the emotional temperature of a home than parents do — especially in blended families where adults may be overly invested in a narrative of unity. She walks us through the psychology of minimizing aggression, why “roughhousing” becomes the excuse of choice, and the gender dynamics that shape which behaviors get dismissed and which get flagged.

We also look at why an outsider — in this case, Anna’s ex-boyfriend — might actually provide a more reliable account than adults with emotional or reputational skin in the game. And how cabin assignments made by a travel agent, not the kids themselves, may speak volumes about parental blind spots.

This segment is a deep dive into credibility, emotional truth, and the patterns families cling to long after red flags have been waving in plain sight.

#AnnaKepner #HiddenKillers #ShavaunScott #TrueCrimePodcast #FamilyDynamics #BlendedFamilies #CruiseShipCase #TonyBrueski #PsychologicalInsight #TeenPerspective

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