The 16-year-old stepbrother accused of killing Florida cheerleader Anna Kepner onboard a cruise ship is set to skip his court appearance on Wednesday as prosecutors fight to put him behind bars.
Timothy Hudson waived his appearance for his arraignment hearing on Wednesday in federal court in Miami, meaning he would not be there while his attorneys file a not guilty plea on his behalf, Fox 35 Orlando reports.
The teenager has been federally charged as an adult with aggravated sexual abuse and first-degree murder in Kepner’s November 2025 death, when she was found dead in a cabin aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship.
Prosecutors have said Hudson was the only one with Kepner, 18, when she died from manual asphyxiation.
Hudson was originally charged as a juvenile in the case, and was released into the custody of an uncle under the condition that he has no contact with anyone under the age of 18 and agrees to GPS monitoring.
But since the case was transferred to adult court, prosecutors are asking for Hudson to be held in custody pending his trial – arguing in court documents that he is a danger to himself and others.
‘The evidence demonstrated the offense conduct the Defendant engaged in involves the most serious, egregious and violative crimes one person can inflict upon another,’ prosecutors argued, according to Florida Today.
The 16-year-old stepbrother of Anna Kepner is (seen arriving in federal court in February) has been unmasked as Timothy Hudson after being charged as an adult in her murder
The high school senior, from Titusville, Florida, was on a six-day Carnival cruise to the Caribbean with her family when she was found dead onboard between Mexico and Florida on November 7
His defense attorneys are fighting those claims.
‘The core disagreement between the parties at this juncture is whether Hudson should be detained before his trial, not because he has violated the terms of the release order but only because the government believes that it can prove by clear and convincing evidence that Hudson is a danger to the community despite his compliance with the release order and the availability of additional restraints on his liberty,’ defense attorneys argued in a motion filed Monday.
They have also filed a motion seeking any pretrial detention hearings to be heard by the judge who allowed Hudson to remain free even after the case was transferred on April 10 to adult status.
If he were to be convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse, Hudson could now face decades behind bars – although mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles were deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2012.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
