Timothy Hudson, the 16-year-old stepbrother of Anna Kepner, has been formally indicted as an adult by a federal grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse in connection with Anna’s death. Anna, 18, died by mechanical asphyxiation aboard the Carnival Horizon in November 2025 while the ship was in international waters.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment on Monday, April 13. The indictment made the aggravated sexual abuse public for the first time. The case had been sealed since Hudson was initially charged as a juvenile in February.
Hudson faces a maximum of life in federal prison if convicted. The death penalty is off the table because of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roper v. Simmons which held it is unconstitutional to impose capital punishment on an individual for crimes committed while under the age of 18.
Despite the severity of the charges, Hudson has been living with an uncle and wearing an ankle monitor since his February arrest.
Prosecutors have filed a motion to revoke his release and detain him pending trial. As reported by the New York Times, prosecutors wrote that Hudson should be held in federal custody because he was involved “in the most serious, egregious and violative crimes one person can inflict upon another. He committed these crimes against a victim with whom he had no apparent relational strife, and whom he was being raised to view as a sibling. Furthermore, he carried out these crimes without any warning he could commit such atrocious acts, and despite an apparent supportive family environment.”
Carnival made a rare statement regarding the incident, “The entire Carnival family expresses our sorrow over the sad circumstances surrounding Anna’s death. We are grateful to the FBI for their thorough investigation, and for the work of our Carnival Horizon and shoreside security teams to support the investigation. We will continue to keep Anna in our thoughts.” Carnival, along with the FBI, have released limited statements regarding Anna’s death and the subsequent investigation.
As we previously wrote, the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) would govern any civil claims Anna’s family makes against Carnival. DOHSA limits financial recovery to lost wages that the victim’s dependents would have received. Anna was a student with no income and no dependents so under DOHSA her family’s recovery would be limited to funeral expenses.
No public reports have identified wrongdoing by Carnival to date.
The criminal case against Hudson will proceed in the Southern District of Florida. We will continue to follow this story.
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