MIAMI (Court TV) — A 16-year-old accused of killing his 18-year-old stepsister on a cruise ship during a family vacation will remain out on bond, at least for now, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
Timothy Hudson, right, during a May 27 bond hearing in Miami.
Timothy Hudson stands accused of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse in the death of Anna Kepner. On Wednesday, he appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres to determined whether to revoke his bond or allow him to stay with a relative in the Tampa area. Prosecutors argued Hudson should be behind bars while his attorneys argued he should remain free.
Ultimately, Torres sided with the defense, though he said he wanted to speak to someone from the U.S. Marshals Service about the logistics of having him stay in Central Florida as opposed to the Miami area, where the trial is taking place, before making his final decision, according to The Associated Press.
News cameras swarmed Hudson outside the courthouse as he and his legal team walked to their vehicle. They made no comment.
As Court TV previously reported, Hudson was initially charged as a juvenile in February before prosecutors filed charges in adult court.
In court records that remain sealed to the public, investigators reportedly said that Hudson sexually assaulted and intentionally killed Kepner while the ship was in international waters.
“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family during this unimaginable loss,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said in a statement.
Immediately after announcing the indictment, federal prosecutors filed a motion seeking to revoke bond for Hudson. Immediately after the ship docked, Hudson was removed from the family’s home and sent to live with a maternal uncle. At a previous hearing in family court, his mother, Shauntel Kepner, revealed her son was no longer welcome at the home she shares with her husband — Kepner’s father. In filings, Hudson’s father has pledged to support his son.
Torres found there was probable cause for the charges but declined to grant the request for detention at that time.
The medical examiner determined that Kepner died from mechanical asphyxiation. Investigators previously said in court documents that the teenager’s body was found under the bed in the room where she had been staying on the ship.
Kepner, Hudson and their parents were on Carnival Cruise Line’s Horizon ship in November for a family vacation. Kepner and the suspect were sharing a room with Kepner’s biological 14-year-old brother. The teens’ parents, who had recently married, were staying in a room across the hall with their 9-year-old daughters. One floor above, Kepner’s grandparents had their own room.
