A teenager accused of the sexual assault and murder of his 18-year-old stepsister aboard a Carnival Cruise ship turned himself in on Monday. This followed a federal judge’s reversal of his earlier decision on pretrial release, as the teen now faces charges as an adult.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami reported that Timothy Hudson is now in custody. The order to revoke Hudson’s pretrial release was issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres last Wednesday but remained sealed until Monday afternoon. This order required Hudson to surrender to U.S. Marshals at the federal courthouse in Tampa on Monday morning.
Earlier in February, Judge Torres had permitted the then-16-year-old to stay with an uncle under electronic monitoring. However, once the case was moved to adult court in April, prosecutors argued for Hudson’s detention.
After reconsideration, the judge decided that Hudson’s pretrial detention should be managed under adult court guidelines, although he will be held in a suitable juvenile facility.
Judge Torres stated, “The Government has established, by clear and convincing evidence, that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure the safety of the community going forward.”
Hudson has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse in the death of Anna Kepner. His federal public defenders have declined to comment on the charges.
Minors are rarely prosecuted in federal court, and this case landed there because Kepner apparently died in international waters, outside any state’s jurisdiction.
Kepner had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship in November with her family, including Hudson. Before the ship was scheduled to return to Florida, her body was found concealed under a bed in a room she was sharing with Hudson and another teen, a criminal complaint said.
The cause of Kepner’s Nov. 6 death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, which is when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing.
Attorneys for the prosecution and the defense made arguments for and against Hudson being jailed until his trial during a May 27 hearing, but Torres said he wanted to speak with the Marshals Service about the logistics of detaining Hudson in central Florida, closer to his family, rather than South Florida, where the trial is taking place. Hudson walked out of the courthouse after that hearing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandra Lopez argued at the hearing that the crimes Hudson is accused of are so serious that the court shouldn’t risk another violent attack. An autopsy determined that Kepner had been pinned down and forcibly raped, the prosecutors said. She also noted that it likely took 3-5 minutes for Hudson to allegedly strangle Kepner until she was dead.
The prosecutor also argued that Hudson was a much greater flight risk because he now faces a possible life sentence if convicted of the adult charges. As a juvenile, he would have been released at age 21, regardless of what counts he was found delinquent on.
Evan Kuhl, with the Federal Public Defender’s office, told the judge during the hearing that Hudson has abided by the conditions of his release for months without issue.
Kepner’s father, Christopher Kepner, previously released a statement, saying the family was placing “trust in the justice system to pursue the truth with care and integrity.”
“The situation is deeply painful and complex for the entire family,” Kepner said.
Anna Kepner was a high school cheerleader at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Orlando. At her memorial service in November, family members encouraged people to wear bright colors instead of the traditional black “in honor of Anna’s bright and beautiful soul.”