The teenager accused of taking Anna Kepner’s life aboard a Caribbean cruise ship will remain free as he awaits trial in connection with his stepsister’s passing.
Timothy Hudson, 16, was labeled by prosecutors as a “danger to others,” but Judge Edwin Torres decided not to place him behind bars.
Hudson was sharing a cabin with Kepner, 18, during a family cruise trip aboard the Carnival Horizon last November. The girl’s body was found beneath a bed in their room, concealed with a blanket and life vests.
Highlights
- Timothy Hudson, who is accused of fatally asphyxiating his stepsister, Anna Kepner, inside their cruise cabin, remains free.
- The 16-year-old was charged in connection with the crime in February.
- He is set to stand trial this September and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Image credits: Getty/Romain Maurice
Kepner had gone to bed early the night of the crime, telling her family at dinner that her braces were hurting. Inside the cabin, she was left alone with Hudson.
A third occupant of the cabin, reported to be Kepner’s half-brother, returned later that evening and did not realize his sister's body was hidden beneath her bed.
The family noticed Kepner was missing the following day when she did not join them for breakfast.
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The body was discovered by a cleaning worker on November 8. A medical emergency was subsequently announced over the cruise ship's public address system.
An investigation into the teenager’s passing followed, which included FBI agents swarming the ship, interviewing family members, and reviewing CCTV footage.
The official cause of passing was determined to be asphyxiation caused by a bar hold, suggesting the attacker pressed their arm across the victim’s neck.
The autopsy further revealed that the 18-year-old had been r*ped.
Timothy Hudson, the victim’s stepbrother, has been charged in connection with the crime
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Image credits: Getty/Romain Maurice
Hudson, who maintains his innocence, was arrested in February and charged as a juvenile with first-degree m*rder and aggravated s*xual ab*se.
He was released without bond under the Juvenile Delinquency Act. Judge Torres ruled that the suspect could live with an uncle while being electronically monitored.
But after the case was transferred to adult court, prosecutors asked for Hudson to be jailed until a verdict is reached.
Image credits: Getty/Romain Maurice
During a hearing on Wednesday (May 27), Judge Torres said he had not yet made a final decision.
He explained that he wants to assess juvenile detention facilities that could house Hudson close to Florida's Hernando County, where his family resides.
The judge said he wanted to “know what my options are” regarding potentially detaining Hudson closer to his home.
Hudson is living with his uncle despite being labeled a “danger to the community”
Image credits: shauntel.kepner
For the time being, the teenager will remain in the custody of his uncle. The court has also allowed him to temporarily be released into his father's care from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Lawyer Alejandra Lopez argued that Hudson is “a danger to the community” and questioned how authorities could trust that “this defendant won’t act again.”
“What is needed to prove a danger? A second d*ad body?” she warned, noting that two minors live in Hudson’s uncle’s home.
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Hudson has pleaded not guilty to both charges of first-degree m*rder and aggravated s*xual ab*se. He is set to stand trial on September 8.
Kepner's father, Christopher, stated that the family is placing "trust in the justice system to pursue the truth with care and integrity."
"The situation is deeply painful and complex for the entire family," Kepner said.
“At the same time, we are deeply troubled that, despite the seriousness of the charges, he has not been taken into custody.”
Kepner’s ex-boyfriend recalled an incident that allegedly made the victim feel “uncomfortable” around her stepbrother
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In an interview in Good Morning America, the victim’s grandmother, Barbara, said the teen stepsiblings had a very close relationship.
“They were like brother and sister,” she said. “Two peas in a pod.”
However, Kepner’s ex-boyfriend said Hudson once tried to get on top of her, which made her feel "uncomfortable.”
“When I was on FaceTime with her and she was lying down, her brother tried to go on top of her," the ex-boyfriend recalled, adding that he reported the alleged behavior to Kepner’s parents.
According to the victim’s grandmother, Hudson broke down while he was being questioned by investigators.
“I heard him say in his own words that he does not remember what happened,” she said of the 16-year-old.
“I heard him say in his own words that he does not remember what happened,” she said of the 16-year-old.
The victim’s grandmother believes the 16-year-old is guilty
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Barbara described his police interview as an “emotional mess,” noting that Hudson “couldn’t speak” and “couldn’t believe what happened.”
“I can’t accuse him because I don’t know what happened in that room, but the summation would be that he did something,” the grandmother concluded.
After the cruise docked in Miami, the victim’s stepbrother was hospitalized for psychiatric observation.
Hudson, whose mother Shauntel was married to Anna’s father Christopher, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted on both charges.
Anna Kepner was a high school senior and a cheerleader at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida.
At her memorial service in November, the teenager’s family encouraged people to wear bright colors instead of black "in honor of Anna's bright and beautiful soul.”
"I don't think he should be walking free," a netizen wrote
