Timothy Hudson turned himself in to federal authorities Monday morning after a judge revoked his pretrial release and ordered him to face trial as an adult in the death of his 18-year-old stepsister aboard a Carnival cruise ship.
The US attorney's office in Miami confirmed Hudson is now in custody. US magistrate Judge Edwin Torres signed the order revoking Hudson's pretrial release the previous Wednesday, though it remained sealed until Monday afternoon. The order directed Hudson to surrender to US marshals at the federal courthouse in Tampa.
The case took a dramatic turn when prosecutors secured Hudson's transfer from juvenile to adult court in April. Until then, in February, Torres had approved Hudson's release to live with an uncle under electronic monitoring. Once the case moved to adult jurisdiction, authorities moved to detain him.
Torres ultimately ruled that detention conditions should apply to Hudson as if he were an adult, with the key caveat that he be held in an approved juvenile facility. The judge wrote that the government had demonstrated "by clear and convincing evidence, that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure the safety of the community going forward."
Hudson faces charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse in the November death of Anna Kepner. He has pleaded not guilty. His federal public defenders have made no public statement on the allegations.
The case landed in federal court because Kepner died in international waters, beyond any state's jurisdiction. Minors rarely face federal prosecution, and their identities are typically protected. Hudson's name became public because he was charged with murder under adult criminal statutes.
Kepner was traveling with family on the Carnival Horizon when her body was discovered concealed under a bed in a cabin she shared with Hudson and another teenager. An autopsy determined the cause of death was mechanical asphyxia. Prosecutors say an autopsy also revealed she had been pinned down and forcibly assaulted, and that it likely took three to five minutes for Hudson to strangle her.
During a May 27 hearing, Assistant US Attorney Alejandra Lopez argued that the severity of the crimes warranted pretrial detention. She stressed that Hudson now faces a potential life sentence as an adult, making him a far greater flight risk than he would have been in the juvenile system, where he would have been released at age 21 regardless of conviction.
Hudson's public defender, Evan Kuhl, countered that the teenager had complied with all release conditions for months without incident. Torres said he wanted to explore holding Hudson in central Florida rather than south Florida, closer to his family while the case proceeded. Hudson left the courthouse after that hearing, remaining free on the conditions set in February.
Kepner, a high school cheerleader at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida, was remembered at her memorial service in November with a request that attendees wear bright colors instead of black, honoring what family members described as her bright and beautiful spirit.
Her father, Christopher Kepner, issued a statement saying the family was placing "trust in the justice system to pursue the truth with care and integrity," acknowledging that the situation remained "deeply painful and complex for the entire family."
Author James Rodriguez: "The judge's decision to detain Hudson as an adult while holding him in juvenile facilities shows how messy these cases get when federal jurisdiction collides with a child defendant."
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