In a discreet move, federal prosecutors have introduced fresh evidence, sealed from public view, in the legal proceedings against Timothy Hudson. Hudson stands accused of the sexual assault and murder of his 18-year-old stepsister, Anna Kepner, aboard a Carnival Cruise ship.
On June 8, in federal court in Miami, prosecutors filed documents indicating they have accessed “recently revealed, additional information” that bolsters their bid to cancel Hudson’s release. In the documents, Hudson is referred to as T.H.
This development arises as Hudson remains free in anticipation of his September 2026 trial for murder. Previously, in April, a federal grand jury charged Hudson as an adult with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse following Kepner’s death in November 2025. The incident occurred inside a cabin on a Carnival cruise ship heading towards Miami.
Anna Kepner, aged 18, tragically lost her life on November 7 while on a family holiday aboard a Carnival cruise ship.
The prosecution’s sealed filing reportedly includes details about “examinations or tests” conducted, which they urge the court to evaluate as part of their argument to detain the teen suspect until his trial commences.
The new evidence, however, does not identify what kind of examinations or tests were conducted or what they showed as the order was immediately placed under seal and the court granted the request.
A federal judge ruled that Timothy Hudson can remain out of jail and on bond before his trial, with certain restrictions. The U.S. Marshals Office will explore housing options for Hudson in the Tampa area. (Matthew Symons for News Media)
The evidence was submitted as part of the government’s ongoing “Motion for Review and Revocation of Order of Release Pursuant to the Bail Reform Act,” which is their effort in overturning the teen’s release and placing him back into custody before trial.
At the time he was arrested he was charged as a juvenile and allowed to live with an uncle because of his age. But in April a federal grand jury indicted him as an adult, introducing the possibility that he could be jailed as he awaits trial.
But on May 27, a judge ruled that the accused teen could continue to remain free pending his murder trial with certain restriction.
“If it were a 20-year-old under the exact circumstances I probably would have detained,” U.S. District Judge Edwin Torres said. “The presumption would be we were just not going to take that chance.”
“This is a different animal,” Torres said.
Chris Kepner, Shauntel Kepner, and Jeffrey Kepner arrive at a courthouse in Melbourne, Fla., on Dec. 5, 2025, for an emergency custody hearing amid a dispute involving Shauntel Kepner and her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson. (Mark Sims/News Media)
Kepner’s parents have voiced their outrage that Hudson is not jailed pending his trial.
“We’re upset that he’s still out. We’re six months in, and he should already have been arrested, and yet he’s free to do whatever he wants right now,” Christopher Kepner told the Daily Mail. “That’s our problem. He’s been able to do whatever he wants and go where he wants, but the family’s been sitting here unable to do anything.”
If convicted, the teen could face a maximum penalty of life in prison.
“I want to see him in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs. He does not need to be free. He does not need to be in the general public, around any kids or women in general,” Christopher Kepner said.
Anna Kepner’s 16-year-old stepbrother walks outside a federal court building in Miami, Florida, on Feb. 6, 2026, accompanied by his attorney. He was charged in connection with the death of his stepsister on a Carnival Cruise in November 2025. (Fox News)
Prosecutors say Kepner left dinner because she wasn’t feeling well, saying that she had mouth pain from her braces and an upset stomach, and returned alone to cabin 8343.
CCTV allegedly shows Hudson entering the cabin.
CCTV allegedly shows Kepner entering the same cabin. Prosecutors say she was never seen leaving again.
Kepner’s 13-year-old brother briefly entered the cabin and later told investigators he saw her alive.
Prosecutors say Kepner and Hudson were alone in the cabin for roughly three hours.
Prosecutors say Hudson exits the cabin and looks left and right down the hallway.
Prosecutors say Hudson places the privacy sign on the cabin door and goes back inside.
Anna Kepner was identified by her family as the passenger who died onboard the Carnival Horizon. (Facebook)
Kepner’s younger brother returns briefly to the cabin. He later tells investigators he did not see her inside.
The brother returned again. Prosecutors say Hudson blocked him from entering, told him he was changing and made him wait outside for a couple of minutes.
The brother said the bathroom and closet doors were open, and the cabin lights were on.
Prosecutors say Kepner’s phone, which was missing from the cabin, was tracked by ship Wi-Fi/router data moving along the same path as Hudson.
Prosecutors say CCTV and router data placed Hudson, and allegedly Kepner’s phone, near the jogging track, smoking area and later near the trash-bin area where the phone was found.
Cabin attendants discovered Kepner’s body, prosecutors say, wrapped in bedding and partially hidden under a bed, with a box of life vests positioned to obscure it.
