The court proceedings for a young teenager accused of the tragic murder of his cheerleader stepsister, Anna Kepner, have been postponed once more.
Sixteen-year-old Timothy Hudson finds his trial date pushed to November 2, following the alleged November Carnival Horizon cruise ship incident, after a Florida judge approved his attorneys’ request for additional preparation time, according to WOFL.
Originally set for June 1, Hudson’s trial was first deferred to September 8 before this latest rescheduling.
Federal public defense lawyer Hector Dopico appealed for the delay, citing the need to complete an in-depth investigation into pertinent issues that could significantly affect the case’s outcome, as revealed by court documents.
Dopico elaborated in the filing that despite substantial time spent examining the evidence and exploring relevant legal angles, the defense team’s review remains incomplete.
The “seriousness of the offenses alleged” and Hudson’s “status as a juvenile” were two factors that influenced the delay motion, according to the court documents.
Hudson is being tried as an adult on murder and aggravated sexual abuse charges – and faces up to life in prison if convicted for allegedly killing Kepner. He has until Oct. 23 to plead guilty to the charges.
Dopico also said the defense needed more time because of “the unique – and very unfortunate – family dynamic that has resulted from the allegations here.”
Prosecutors didn’t oppose the defense’s request and Hudson’s trial was pushed back.
The trial now looks set to get underway almost a year after Hudson allegedly sexually assaulted and killed Kepner on the ship.
Kepner, 18, was strangled to death inside a cabin she shared with Hudson and her 13-year-old brother.
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Kepner was alone with her stepbrother, who is said to have had an obsession with her, between 7:51 p.m. and 11:21 p.m. on Nov. 6 – the day before her body was found.
Her Apple Watch, which monitored her heart rate, stopped working during the three-and-a-half-hour period – a timeframe prosecutors suspect the crime occurred.
Kepner died while the ship was in international waters and FBI agents were unable to find her watch when they boarded the vessel after it docked in Miami.
Hudson allegedly mechanically asphyxiated her in a bar hold and stashed her body under her bed – while her younger brother unknowingly slept mere feet from her corpse.
Kepner had a bruised neck and bruises and blood were also discovered around her ear.
At around 10:13 p.m., Hudson poked his head out of the cabin room to see if anyone was there before leaving, prosecutors said.
He went into the room two more times between 10:23 p.m. and 10:49 p.m.
Hudson then went into the cabin room at 11:31 p.m. before leaving and returning 13 minutes later.
Kepner’s body was found around 12 hours after Hudson returned to the cabin for the final time.
Hudson “did knowingly and unlawfully perpetrate” the “wilful, deliberate, malicious and premeditated killing of [Kepner] with malice afterthought,” a grand jury wrote in its indictment earlier this year.
Kepner, a straight-A student who had aspirations to join the military, was killed just six months before she was set to graduate from Titusville’s Temple Christian School.
Her dad, Christopher, accepted her diploma at the commencement ceremony, which was held in May.