Anna Kepner update: Stepbrother 'kept squeezing' stepsister's neck for minutes until death, prosecutor says
MIAMI, Fla. - A teenage suspect arrested in connection to the murder of a Florida girl onboard a Carnival cruise ship last November was back in court this week. During the May 27 appearance of Timothy Hudson, 16 – who is charged as an adult with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse of his stepsister Anna Kepner, 18 – a federal court transcript from February was unsealed, revealing new details about the night Anna was killed.
Anna Kepner,18, died on a Carnival Horizon cruise on Nov. 7. The FBI is conducting an investigation into her death.
What happened the night Anna Kepner died?
What we know:
Timothy Hudson is charged with the murder of his stepsister, Anna Kepner. The two shared a cabin onboard a one-week trip on the Carnival Horizon returning from Cozumel. Anna's half-brother, 13, also slept in the same room.
On the night of Nov. 6, after dinner, Anna returned to her room around 7:38 p.m. – as seen on CCTV footage. This was the last time she was seen alive, prosecutors said.
The 145-page court transcript revealed a minute-by-minute timeline leading up to and following Anna's death.
- Anna's body was found by a cruise line cleaning attendant wrapped in a blanket under the bed and hidden by a box of life vests.
- Timothy was seen on CCTV footage entering the cabin three minutes before Anna on Nov. 6 and not leaving until over two and half hours later, when he scanned the hallway before leaving.
- Anna's cellphone was found in the lost and found after a crew member found the phone in a trash can. By tracking Anna's phone and retracing Timothy's steps through CCTV, investigators say Timothy threw the phone in the trash.
- A medical examiner observed tiny pinpoint red spots on Anna's face and eyes – caused by bleeding from small capillaries. She also had significant bruising on her left ear and bruises on the side and back of her neck.
- Prosecutors said Timothy Hudson's DNA was found inside Anna's body and that she was likely raped before she was killed.
- Test results linked Timothy to a contributor of the DNA found in Anna's body.
Timothy Hudson, 16, appears outside federal court in Miami on May 27, 2026.
FOX 35's Camille Sarabia and Esther Bower have been digging through pages of documents pertaining to the investigation into Anna's death. Here are additional new details learned:
Was Anna drugged?
Toxicology reports summarized in the transcript confirm that Kepner had therapeutic amounts of Butalbital – a prescription sedative used to treat severe tension headaches – in her system. Witness statements from Anna's family said she left dinner, saying she had a stomach ache and her braces were hurting, and returned to the room.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandra Lopez argued that Hudson made a conscious, calculated decision to violate his stepsister's body without her consent.
"That is not a spur-of-the-moment act and it is not an accident," Lopez said. "It is a clear and conscious decision that violates the body of another person."
Lopez confirmed that Anna had already taken a sedative before she was sexually assaulted. Though the medical examiner said the ingested Butalbital did not contribute to Anna's death, side effects of Butalbital include drowsiness, fainting and weakness.
A teen suspect in Anna Kepner's death was in federal adult court with his attorney in Miami on Feb. 6, 2026.
Prosecutors: He ‘kept squeezing’
Anna died from mechanical asphyxiation after being strangled in a chokehold, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors contrasted this situation with that of a shooting from tens of feet away, arguing that choking Anna to death "isn't impersonal," and was done to someone Timothy had lived with for two years.
"He wraps his arm around her neck and squeezed it hard enough that blood was found in and around her ear area and she has significant bruising in the left side of her face and her neck," Lopez told the judge.
CCTV footage on the cruise ship provided a timeline of who was in the room with Anna and at what periods throughout the night. Timothy was in the shared room three minutes before Anna was captured on footage entering on Nov. 6. Timothy didn't emerge from the room until over two and half hours later, scanning back and forth as if to make sure no one was in the hallway, the court transcript said.
Anna was never seen alive again.
Read more: Timeline of events before and after Anna Kepner's death
Though no footage was captured from inside the cabin, Lopez painted a picture of what she claims occurred, saying:
"While she struggled to breathe for minutes, he continued to hold her neck in that manner so that she would die from lack of oxygen. Minutes go by. At any time T (Timothy) could have let that hold go. He could have allowed the victim to breathe. But instead, for minutes, he held that position in order for her to die and kept squeezing."
Lopez called Timothy's alleged actions a "barbaric," "intentional," and a "thoughtful act."
Attorneys for Timothy Hudson argue he should remain free on bond
Attorneys for a Florida teenager accused of raping and killing his stepsister on a cruise ship are asking a judge to allow him to remain free on bond as he awaits trial, according to court filings. Defense attorneys for Timothy Hudson argue he has complied with all bond conditions.
Defense: Concerns about detaining Timothy Hudson
According to Timothy's defense, Federal Public Defender Evan Kuhl, Timothy was good at school, an honor roll student and had never been in trouble before.
Kuhl characterized Timothy as a "child," being "120 pounds soaking wet" and having no history of disciplinary action.
Timothy was allegedly bullied "quite harshly" growing up, Kuhl said.
A general photo of Carnival's Horizon cruise ship. Credit: Carnival Cruise Line/handout
What has Timothy been doing since Anna's death?
Timothy is living with his uncle – his mom's brother – who lives with his wife and their two children, a 10-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter, the defense attorney Evan Kuhl said.
After the cruise ship docked, Timothy was checked into a facility and reportedly has lived with his uncle's family since under GPS monitoring. Timothy's uncle is a U.S. Army veteran who was involved with the chaplain's department and specialized in crisis management, Kuhl said.
"T's mom and stepfather made it abundantly clear that he was no longer welcome in their home. He was essentially abandoned," Kuhl told the judge, the court transcript said.
Timothy's mom, Shauntel Hudson-Kepner, shares custody with Timothy's dad in an 80-20 agreement, Kuhl said.
According to Kuhl, Timothy's uncle didn't have any concern about Timothy being around his family and for the safety of his children.
During this time of living with his uncle, Timothy has been working with his uncle – who flips homes, Kuhl said – by learning how to fix up homes and how to build a deck.
What's next:
Timothy Hudson's jury trial is set for September 8. A judge allowed Timothy to remain in his family's custody at this time.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from a transcript from a February 6, 2026 detention hearing with the United States District Court in the Southern District of Florida.