Teen charged with murder, sex abuse after stepsister slain on cruise ship

Timothy Hudson, 16, to be tried as an adult at request of U.S. prosecutors after incident on Carnival ship

Published Apr 13, 2026  •  Last updated 1 hour ago  •  2 minute read

Anna Kepner Photo by Instagram

A 16-year-old boy will be tried as an adult as he faces charges of murder and aggravated sexual abuse in Florida in the death of his 18-year-old stepsister on a cruise ship, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday.

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Timothy Hudson was charged on March 10, but U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom said he would be tried as an adult at the request of prosecutors.

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Anna Kepner, a high school cheerleader at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Fla., was aboard the cruise ship Carnival Horizon with her family in early November. Before the ship returned to Florida, her body was found hidden under a bed in a room she was sharing with her younger stepbrother and another teenager. The cause of death was determined to be mechanical asphyxiation, which is when someone stops breathing because of an object or physical force.

“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family during this unimaginable loss,” U.S. attorney Jason Reding Quinones said in a written statement. “A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging serious offenses that allegedly occurred aboard a vessel in international waters.”

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It’s rare for teenagers to be prosecuted in a U.S. federal court. Hudson was first charged as a juvenile on Feb. 2 in Miami and pleaded not guilty. His age had previously prevented public disclosures from his lawyers, the government or the court.

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A judge ruled Hudson must wear an electronic tether while living with his uncle. That order was changed to allow him to work with his father for a few days at a landscaping business. Prosecutors didn’t like the decision, saying Hudson is a danger and asked a judge Monday to reconsider it now that Hudson’s being tried as an adult. The entire court file was unsealed on April 10.

Assistant U.S. attorney Alejandra Lopez said in a court filing that Hudson allegedly “committed these crimes against a victim with whom he had no apparent relational strife and whom he was being raised to view as a sibling.”

If Hudson is convicted, he faces life in prison.

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