Stepbrother Who Killed Anna Kepner on Carnival Cruise Jailed Before Trial

He Had Been Free for Six Months

A federal judge in Miami ordered Timothy Hudson detained on Monday - ending six months during which the teenager accused of killing his 18-year-old stepsister on a Carnival cruise ship had been living with a relative while awaiting trial.

Hudson, 16, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse in the November 2025 death of Anna Kepner aboard the Carnival Horizon. The detention order, filed June 10 by U.S. District Judge Edwin Torres, reversed an earlier ruling that had allowed Hudson to remain free under supervision. He was transferred to U.S. Marshals custody on Monday morning and is expected to be held at Citrus County Jail pending his September 2026 trial.

Anna Kepner Was Going to Study at the University of Georgia

Anna Kepner was 18 years old, a high school cheerleader from Florida’s Space Coast who had hoped to attend the University of Georgia. In May 2026, her father Christopher and stepmother Shauntel attended her graduation ceremony at Temple Christian School to accept her diploma after her death.

She boarded the Carnival Horizon on November 2, 2025, for a six-day family vacation that included her father, stepmother, grandparents, and her stepmother’s children - including Hudson. Because of their similar ages, Anna and Timothy shared a cabin.

On the morning of November 7, a room attendant found Anna’s body stuffed beneath the bed in that cabin, wrapped in a blanket and concealed by life vests. The medical examiner determined she had been sexually assaulted and killed by mechanical asphyxiation. The ship returned to Miami the following day.

‘He Can Snap at Any Time’

Judge Torres wrote in his June 10 order that Hudson ‘presents a danger to himself and to others that no curfew, monitor, or custodial placement can be trusted to contain.’ He cited the nature of the alleged crime - the murder and sexual assault of a stepsister in a shared ship cabin - and used language that drew attention from legal observers.

‘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,’ Torres wrote, according to CBS News.

The ruling came days after federal prosecutors filed sealed evidence under the case docket - a pair of filings entered June 8 that referenced ‘newly disclosed, supplemental information’ supporting their effort to revoke Hudson’s release, according to Fox News. The contents of those filings remain under seal.

Six Months of Waiting

Anna’s father Christopher Kepner had been publicly demanding Hudson’s detention for months. ‘We’re upset that he’s still out,’ Kepner told the Daily Mail before Monday’s ruling. ‘We’re six months in, and he should already have been arrested, and yet he’s free to do whatever he wants right now.’

Hudson had been staying at his maternal uncle’s home since the Horizon docked. He was initially charged as a juvenile; after a federal grand jury indicted him as an adult in April 2026, prosecutors renewed their request for detention. Magistrate Judge Torres agreed.

DNA from a rape kit performed on Anna matched Hudson, according to court documents reviewed by NBC News. Prosecutors also cited data from Anna’s Apple Watch, which tracked her heart rate and stopped registering activity during a specific 90-minute window on the night of November 7 - a window during which, court documents say, Hudson and Anna were alone in the cabin.

September Trial

Hudson has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His attorney has not responded publicly to the sealed filing. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

He is scheduled to be transferred from Citrus County Jail to a Miami facility by July 10. His trial is set to begin in September 2026.

Christopher Kepner released a statement after the detention ruling was made public: ‘I want to see him in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs. He does not need to be free.’

References: Judge orders teen accused of killing his stepsister on a cruise to be held in jail until murder trial | Stepbrother accused of killing Anna Kepner on cruise ship will be held in custody pending trial, judge rules | Cruise ship killing: Judge orders stepbrother into US Marshals custody | Secret evidence filed in Anna Kepner Carnival cruise murder case as feds push to jail accused stepbrother