Judge’s Order: A teen accused of killing his stepsister on a cruise ship will remain behind bars until his murder trial

The 16-year-old defendant “presents a danger to himself and to others that no curfew, monitor, or custodial placement can be trusted to contain,” the judge wrote.

A federal judge in Florida ordered a teenager to remain behind bars until his trial in the sexual assault and murder of his stepsister aboard a cruise ship last year, according to court records unsealed Monday.

The order reverses an earlier decision that allowed Timothy Hudson, 16, to live with an uncle while awaiting trial in the Nov. 7, 2025, killing of Anna Kepner, 18.

In the June 10 order, U.S. District Judge Edwin Torres wrote that Hudson, who was indicted as an adult earlier this year, “presents a danger to himself and to others that no curfew, monitor, or custodial placement can be trusted to contain.”

He has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse. If convicted, he faces a possible life sentence.

While Hudson has no prior criminal history and has complied with the conditions of his release, Torres wrote, the allegations suggest “a level of psychopathy and lack of remorse that by itself raises a serious concern that Defendant can snap at any time, despite the well-meaning and serious efforts of his caretakers to make sure that does not happen.”

Hudson’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kepner’s father and Hudson’s mother married in December 2024. Hudson is accused of killing Kepner 11 months later during a vacation on a cruise ship.

Anna Kepner takes a selfie in a mirror — Anna Kepner.anna.kepner16 via Instagram

Kepner’s body was found in the room she was sharing with her stepbrother. She was found under the bed, wrapped in a blanket and concealed by life vests.

The medical examiner concluded she had been sexually assaulted and asphyxiated, according to the judge’s decision.

According to NBC South Florida, Hudson was booked into Citrus County jail and has until July 10 to be transferred to Miami. His trial is scheduled to begin in September.

Kepner was a high school senior and cheerleader who’d hoped to attend the University of Georgia. Her father called her a “beautiful, bright young girl” who “had so much life ahead of her, so many dreams, milestones, and moments that were taken far too soon.”

Judge’s Order: A teen accused of killing his steps...

Judge’s Order: A teen accused of killing his stepsister on a cruise ship will remain behind bars until his murder trial

Related Articles

I sent money home every month so my family could care for my daughter… but when I came back on leave, my parents calmly said they had never received a cent — then I checked the records and froze

On Mother’s Day, a wealthy daughter threw her elderly mother’s handmade gift onto the table and humiliated her in front of the whole family… until a 10-year-old boy stood up and exposed the lie she had been hiding for years

For two years, I sent $200 home every month without fail… but when I came back unexpectedly during my vacation, I found my parents and my son eating leftovers. Then I discovered where all the money had really gone

My bride humiliated my mother in front of 260 people and waited for me to take her side… but as the room sat in stunned silence, I reached into my coat and pulled out the one envelope she prayed I would never open

They were still laughing after humiliating me at my sister’s wedding, but everything stopped when my 8-year-old daughter took the DJ’s microphone and played a video that exposed a shocking secret

My former mother-in-law arrived at the wedding in a Porsche to humiliate me, but one photo made her face go pale and sent her silently walking away

She had barely enough to eat, yet gave her only hamburger to a sad little boy—without knowing his father was one of the richest billionaires in town

After five months in Italy, I came home to find my daughter eating plain rice while my sister’s kids enjoyed lobster and pizza, and when I asked about the $5,000 I had been sending home, Mom simply said, “Ask your sister”

For months, the old farmer secretly collected discarded wind turbine blades from abandoned Nebraska farms, and when he finally opened his barn at winter’s end, the shocking truth left his neighbors speechless