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A federal judge in Miami is set to decide Wednesday whether a 16-year-old accused of murdering and sexually assaulting his 18-year-old stepsister aboard a Carnival cruise ship will remain free while awaiting trial.
Timothy Hudson had previously been allowed to live with an uncle under electronic monitoring after initially being charged as a juvenile. But prosecutors are now pushing to have him locked up after the shocking case was transferred to adult court.
Hudson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse charges. His public defenders have declined to comment.
The horrifying case unfolded aboard the Carnival Horizon during a family cruise in November. Authorities say Anna Kepner was traveling with relatives — including Hudson — when her body was discovered hidden beneath a bed in a cabin shared by the teens shortly before the ship returned to Florida.
Investigators determined Kepner died from mechanical asphyxia — meaning her breathing was cut off by force or an object.
The tragedy stunned loved ones back home in Titusville, Florida, where Kepner was known as a cheerleader at Temple Christian School and remembered for her bright personality.
At her memorial service, mourners were asked to wear colorful clothing instead of black “in honor of Anna’s bright and beautiful soul.”
Her father, Christopher Kepner, previously described the ordeal as “deeply painful and complex” and said the family was placing its “trust in the justice system to pursue the truth with care and integrity.”