A cruise vacation in the Caribbean took a tragic turn for the family of Titusville’s Anna Marie Kepner, as the 18-year-old was found deceased in November 2026.
After the liner reached land the next day, the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office declared Anna’s passing a homicide caused by mechanical asphyxiation. It was later found that she had been violated as well.
Highlights
- 16-year-old Timothy Hudson was charged with the homicide and violation of his 18-year-old stepsister, Anna Kepner, but was allowed to stay at home.
- A US judge recently ordered Timothy to be detained before his trial, saying his alleged crime showed “levels of depravity and psychopathy.”
- Anna’s ex-boyfriend previously revealed that Timothy had acted inappropriately with her and that she was scared of him.
On February 2, her stepbrother, Timothy Hudson, 16, was charged with the case as a juvenile, but was later indicted as an adult. However, he had been allowed to live with his family members on supervised release until now.
On June 10, US Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres ruled that Timothy was to be held in custody before and during his trial, citing the gravity of the charges, overturning his previous decision not to do so.
“The strength of the evidence here points strongly in favor of detention,” Judge Torres said in his filing.
Trigger Warning: This article contains details of a homicide and a juvenile suspect. Viewer’s discretion is advised.
Timothy Hudson is possibly facing two life sentences for the homicide of Anna Kepner
Image credits: anna.kepner16
Anna Kepner was a high school senior and cheerleader at Temple Christian School and wanted to attend the University of Georgia after graduating.
On November 2, 2025, Anna boarded Carnival Cruise Line’s Horizon in Miami, Florida, with her father, Christopher Kepner, stepmother, Shauntel Kepner (Hudson), paternal grandparents, two half-siblings, and two step-siblings.
Anna reportedly shared a cabin with Timothy on the trip, which many netizens found “weird.”
Image credits: Romain Maurice/Getty Images
On November 7, a steward found her body while cleaning, wrapped in a blanket and concealed by life vests under a bed. Autopsy reports determined that her life had been taken the night before.
Her father called her a “beautiful, bright young girl” who “had so much life ahead of her, so many dreams, milestones, and moments that were taken far too soon.”
Upon Horizon’s return to Miami, Timothy was hospitalized for psychiatric observation after showing signs of severe emotional distress in reaction to Anna’s demise.
The FBI later investigated him as the prime suspect once Anna’s demise was ruled a homicide.
Surveillance footage allegedly captured Timothy entering and leaving the cabin multiple times the morning after Anna's demise, including just before her body was discovered.
Image credits: Shauntel Kepner
He was initially charged as a juvenile on February 2, 2026, after his DNA matched the evidence found on his stepsister. The case remained sealed until U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom ordered it transferred for adult prosecution.
Timothy pleaded not guilty to the charges of first-degree m*rd*r and aggravated s*x**l ab*s*. He is now facing the possibility of two life sentences if convicted of both charges.
Evidence of “psychopathy and lack of remorse” forced a US judge to lock Timothy Hudson up before trial
Image credits: ABCNews
Despite being charged as an adult, Judge Edwin Torres initially refused to jail him before his trial at a May 2026 hearing, saying he wanted to know his options before potentially detaining Timothy in Miami-Dade County, hundreds of miles from where his family lives in Hernando County.
Alejandra Lopez, a prosecutor, argued that Timothy was “a danger to the community” and questioned how the authorities were sure he “won’t act again.”
Timothy was living with his uncle at the time, who had kids living in the same residence, Lopez pointed out.
Image credits: HustleBtch_
Judge Torres changed his mind in February after reviewing the prosecution’s case “for a forcible r**e” which he found “beyond clear and convincing.”
“Indeed, it suggests a level of psychopathy and lack of remorse that by itself raises a serious concern that Defendant can snap at any time, despite the well-meaning and serious efforts of his caretakers to make sure that does not happen,” Torres said on June 10.
Image credits: Shauntel Kepner
“Had Defendant only been charged with that serious offense when he was 18 or older, he would have been likely detained on that basis alone.”
“The level of depravity and psychopathy involved in the commission of that brutal offense would be too hard for most jurists to ignore,” the judge added.
Prosecutor Lopez previously described the crime as “a barbaric, intentional, thoughtful act.”
Image credits: fl.anna18
Hudson was booked into Citrus County jail to undergo a mental health evaluation and will be transferred to Miami by July 10.
He will remain in the facility's juvenile section and will be allowed to receive visits and use the internet to communicate with family members, according to court filings. His trial is scheduled to begin in September.
An ex-boyfriend told the FBI that Anna was “a little bit afraid” of Timothy
Image credits: fox35
On November 21, 2025, a day after Anna Kepner’s memorial service, her ex-boyfriend told Fox News that he had previously witnessed Timothy act inappropriately with her and he felt “uncomfortable” around him.
“When I was on FaceTime with her, and she was lying down, and her brother tried to go on top of her,” he told the outlet. He said he had reported the incident to Anna’s parents.
At a February 2026 court hearing, FBI agent Andrew del Valle testified that he had heard the same story from the ex-boyfriend during his investigation, adding that Anna was sleeping at the time and Timothy “ran out of the room” after the ex-boyfriend yelled at him.
Del Valle also learned that Anna “felt that [Timothy] was a little weird and that he had quite a few knives, so she was a little bit afraid of him.”
Image credits: anna.kepner16
In a November 2025 interview, Anna’s grandmother, Barbara Kepner, said that Anna and Timothy were “just like brother and sister” and used to be “two peas in a pod.”
“He was an emotional mess,” Barbara said, revisiting Timothy’s reaction to the discovery of Anna’s body. “He couldn't even speak. He couldn't believe what had happened.”
Timothy’s step-grandmother and Shauntel’s stepmother, Sonya Ziske, who claimed to have helped raise the teen, blamed the parents in an interview with CBS News: “The lack of parental supervision on a floating city… Putting three teenagers, two boys and a girl in a room together that were not raised together, it's just a recipe for disaster.”
Sonya suggested that the parents might have allowed the children to drink on the cruise, therefore enabling the horrific crime, a possibility that had surfaced before during the investigation. Shauntel’s legal team had dismissed it, citing surveillance videotapes.
“I'm not saying he did, or he did not. I'm saying it's not his character,” Sonya continued about Timothy. “Everybody's out there saying how he's walking free. He is not free. His life is over, whether he is innocent or guilty.”
Anna’s father, Christopher, told People Magazine in November 2025 that he did not “stand behind” Timothy’s actions: “I want him to face the consequences ... I will be fighting to make sure that does happen.”
"Why was he allowed to stay home?" Netizens reacted to Timothy Hudson's pretrial detention for Anna Kepner's homicide
