MIAMI — A federal judge refused Wednesday to jail a Florida teenager accused of murdering and sexually assaulting his half-sister, allowing him to remain in the custody of a family member while he awaits trial.
Timothy Hudson, 16, has been free since the murder of Anna Kepner, died November 7, 2025 aboard a Carnival cruise ship. At the time, he was arrested and charged as a minor 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 while awaiting trial.
“If this was a 20-year-old, under the exact circumstances, I probably would have arrested him,” U.S. District Judge Edwin Torres said. “The presumption would be that we just weren’t going to take that risk.”
“It’s a different animal,” Torres said.
Anna Kepner.anna.kepner16 via InstagramTorres took into consideration that holding Hudson in Miami-Dade County — where he was charged — would make it difficult to visit his family, who live hundreds of miles away in Hernando County.
The judge said he wanted to “know what my options were” about detaining Hudson closer to home before deciding to keep him behind bars.
Alejandra Lopez, a government lawyer, argued that Hudson poses “a danger to the community” and questioned how authorities can trust that “this defendant will not act again.”
She noted that two juveniles live at Hudson’s uncle’s home, where he resides.
“What does it take to prove danger? A second corpse?” she asked.
Evan Kuhl, a public defender representing Hudson, argued that his client does not pose a danger to the public or a flight risk because he has complied with the conditions of his release for several months without any incident.
Lopez countered that it took months after Kepner’s death for authorities to charge Hudson because authorities were gathering evidence.
“How is he going to risk fleeing if he doesn’t even know if he’s going to be charged?” she asked. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Hudson is only allowed to leave his house with his uncle or aunt and will be electronically monitored by authorities.
Anna Kepner’s car, decorated by her classmates at Temple Christian School, remained in the Titusville, Fla., school parking lot for weeks after her death. Malcolm Denemark / USA Today Network via ImagnThe November cruise vacation included the victim’s father, stepmother and two of her children, including Hudson. Kepner’s father and Hudson’s mother were married in December 2024.
Kepner’s body was found wrapped in a blanket, bruised and under a bed in his bedroom, concealed by life jackets. His death was ruled a homicide caused by “mechanical asphyxia,” according to the Miami-Dade medical examiner.
The girl and her half-brother shared a room on the cruise, according to Hudson’s father’s lawyer.
The teenager was arrested while the ship was in international waters en route to Miami. He was hospitalized when the ship docked and has been receiving counseling ever since, according to his mother’s lawyer.
The day Hudson’s indictment was made public, Chris Kepner – Anna Kepner’s father and Hudson’s stepfather – said “justice must be served.”
Kepner was a high school senior and cheerleader, with hopes of becoming a cheerleader for the University of Georgia. She was recalled in his obituary for lacking a filter and being “bubbly, funny, extroverted and completely herself”. At the time, her family said that “in true Anna fashion, the family would like everyone to know that there was no GoFundMe” for her funeral. She was scheduled to graduate from high school this spring.
Hudson’s trial could begin in September, Lopez said Wednesday.
