Teen indicted in fatal cruise ship killing of stepsister Anna Kepner

Federal prosecutors have indicted 16-year-old Timothy Hudson as an adult in the killing of his 18-year-old stepsister, Anna Kepner, after a death on the Carnival Horizon that unfolded in international waters and drew the FBI into the case. The charges, murder and aggravated sexual abuse, carry the possibility of life in prison and a $250,000 fine if Hudson is convicted.

Court records and federal filings place the alleged offense between Nov. 6 and Nov. 7, 2025, during a family cruise. Anna Kepner was found dead on the ship on Nov. 7, and reports say her body was discovered under a bed in the cabin she shared with Hudson and her 14-year-old brother while the adults stayed across the hall. Investigators ruled the death a homicide, describing it as mechanical asphyxiation.

The case has become a stark example of how violent crime at sea can complicate accountability. Because the death occurred in international waters, federal authorities took the lead, and prosecutors later sought to present the case to a grand jury in Miami. That jurisdictional shift matters in cases like this, where evidence must be preserved quickly on a moving vessel and witnesses are often traveling together, leaving investigators to reconstruct what happened from a confined space and a narrow time window.

Prosecutors have also pointed to electronic evidence tied to Anna’s cellphone. Court filings and news reports say the phone was found smashed and tossed in a trash can before being recovered from the ship’s lost-and-found, and prosecutors have alleged Hudson tried to destroy evidence. In a case built around a short span of time aboard a cruise ship, those details may be central to proving not only what happened, but whether the accused took steps to conceal it.

The family backdrop has been part of the public record as well. Court filings showed Hudson had been living with a maternal uncle, and Thomas Hudson sought a change in child-support arrangements because the uncle was financially responsible for the teen. The public record also reflects longstanding household strain and custody disputes, issues that could become relevant as prosecutors and defense lawyers examine supervision, access and responsibility within the family structure.

Anna Kepner’s father, Christopher Kepner, accepted her diploma at Temple Christian School in Titusville in May 2026, on what would have been her graduation day. As the criminal case moves forward, the legal questions remain sharper than the family grief: how a death at sea is investigated, how evidence is preserved, and how the law assigns responsibility when a family vacation ends in federal court.