Anna Kepner’s suspected cruise ship killer carried out ‘barbaric, intentional, thoughtful act’: prosecutors
Content warning: This article includes descriptions of sexual assault that some readers may find distressing.
Anna Kepner spent her final moments fighting for air while her killer kept squeezing, prosecutors said, describing the 18-year-old’s cruise-ship strangling as “a barbaric, intentional, thoughtful act.”
In a newly unsealed transcript, prosecutors laid out their case against Kepner’s 16-year-old stepbrother, identified as Timothy Hudson, who is accused of killing her inside their shared Carnival Horizon cabin in November 2025. If convicted, the teen could face a maximum penalty of life in prison.
“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,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandra Lopez told the court.
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Instead of letting up, Lopez said, Kepner was killed by mechanical asphyxiation after she was sexually assaulted inside cabin 8343 while the ship was sailing back to Miami from Cozumel, Mexico.
“Not an accident, not some sort of brief, weird moment where it sort of happens like an accidental shooting. He made the decision to do that… and he continues to do that until she had breath no more,” Lopez said.
Prosecutors said Kepner returned to the cabin alone around 7:38 p.m. on Nov. 6 after telling her family at dinner that she had an upset stomach and that her braces were hurting her.
Her stepbrother had entered the room minutes earlier, according to surveillance footage described in court.
Her 13-year-old brother briefly entered the cabin around 7:51 p.m. and saw Kepner alive, prosecutors said.
After that, Lopez argued, Kepner and Hudson were alone for roughly three hours, which she said was enough time for him to assault her, strangle her and hide her body.
TEEN FOUND DEAD ON CARNIVAL CRUISE SHIP DIED FROM MECHANICAL ASPHYXIATION, RULED HOMICIDE: REPORT
Her body was discovered the next morning by a cabin attendant, wrapped in a blanket and shoved partly under a bed. Prosecutors said a box of life vests had been moved to help conceal her.
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The medical examiner found bruising on her neck and significant bruising near her left
“At any time T [Timothy] could have let that hold go,” Lopez said. “He could have allowed the victim to breathe. But instead, for minutes he held that position in order for her to die.”
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Prosecutors also pointed to DNA evidence, saying swabs from Kepner’s vaginal canal showed “very strong support” for Hudson as the male DNA contributor.
The medical examiner, prosecutors said, concluded the evidence was consistent with a sexual assault before death.
Investigators also discussed Kepner’s missing cellphone, which her family mentioned that “she was never without it.” The phone was later found smashed in a trash bin near the rear of the ship, prosecutors said.
Surveillance footage and ship Wi-Fi router data allegedly showed Hudson moving through areas of the ship where the phone was also connecting to routers, including near the trash bin where it was later recovered.
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Prosecutors said a rape kit collected during Kepner’s autopsy included vaginal swabs that tested positive for male DNA, and one swab also tested positive for sperm.
According to the transcript, FBI lab testing excluded another sexual partner, and found “very strong support” for Hudson as the male DNA contributor. Prosecutors said FBI lab testing found the DNA mixture was 120 sextillion times more likely if Kepner and Hudson were the contributors than if Kepner and an unknown, unrelated person were contributors.
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“Someone doesn’t accidentally fall into someone’s vagina with their sexual organ. He clearly made the clear, conscious decision…,” Lopez said. “That is not a spur-of-the-moment act and it is not an accident. It is a clear and conscious decision that violates the body of another person.”
The teen was released to his uncle’s custody under strict conditions, including GPS monitoring, home detention, no unsupervised contact with minors and removal of firearms from the home.
On Wednesday, prosecutors once again fought for Hudson to remain behind bars until his September trial.
But the judge ruled that Hudson can remain out of jail and on bond before his trial, with certain restrictions. The U.S. Marshals Office will explore housing options for Hudson in the Tampa area.
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