Anna Kepner's teenage stepbrother could walk free in his 30s after shocking potential plea deal twist in horrific Carnival cruise ship sex assault and murder case

Anna Kepner's teen stepbrother is mulling a plea deal that could see him spend just 20 years behind bars for allegedly murdering her in their shared cruise ship cabin, the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal.

Timothy Hudson was 16 when high-school senior Anna, 18, was found raped, strangled and stuffed beneath a bed on board the Carnival Horizon in November last year.

The baby-faced defendant was due to go on federal trial next month for first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse before his lawyers asked for more time to consider a plea. He previously entered a plea of not guilty.

'One pending issue still needs to be addressed before a final decision can be made concerning whether T.H. should plead or proceed to trial,' public defender Eric Cohen wrote to a Miami federal judge.

The coded language hints at a plea deal happening before January's revised trial date, according to David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor who spent a decade in the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.

'I think that it does hint that something is close,' he told the Daily Mail.

'They're essentially saying: We think that we're going to be able to resolve this, we just need you to be a little more patient.'

Weinstein explained how a proposed deal could see Timothy, who turned 17 this week, walk free in his 30s.

Federal sentencing guidelines indicate a range of 24 to 30 years in prison, plus a period of supervised release, if he pleads guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse.

Timothy could shave a further 15 percent off his sentence for good behavior, with the four months he has already spent in custody also deducted.

That would leave him with as little as 20 years and one month to serve.

'If he fights it to the end instead and is found guilty, the recommendation would be life imprisonment,' explained Weinstein.

'The court is then going to look at what a reasonable sentence would look like given the age he was when he committed the crime and other factors.

'He could be lucky to get 40 to 50 years. If I was his lawyer, I would be advising him to try and resolve this by way of a plea.'

Anna, from Titusville, Florida, was found dead on November 7 last year while the Horizon was en route from Mexico to Miami.

Her body had been wrapped in a blanket and covered with life preservers before being pushed under a bed in the room she was sharing with her stepbrother and 14-year-old half-brother.

Prosecutors say the teen cheerleader was choked so violently that her eardrum burst.

Semen taken from the scene linked Timothy to the alleged attack, a previous court hearing revealed.

Timothy, who is being held at a federal detention center in downtown Miami, has until January 15 to enter a plea.

Weinstein said a deal would spare Anna's father, Christopher Kepner, 42, and stepmom, Shauntel Hudson, 37 – Timothy's mom – having to relive her death in court.

'There's going to be some graphic details that are shared with the jury with regard to how their daughter died, and that's something they have to consider,' Weinstein said.

'There's nothing as bad as losing a loved one. Nonetheless, having to go through that again is just overwhelming. These types of cases are shocking and horrible.'

One sticking point in plea negotiations could be where Timothy would spend the first portion of any sentence before he turns 21, the veteran lawyer suggested.

There are only a handful of federal facilities in Florida that can house and provide mental health treatment for juveniles who are not allowed to mix with adult prisoners.

Weinstein, a partner at Jones Walker, can only recall prosecuting a single juvenile in his ten years as a federal prosecutor.

'It's not easily sorted out in the federal system because of its lack of experience in dealing with juveniles,' he said.

'There are relatively few homicides brought in the federal system and few, if any, involving defendants under the age of 18.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to Timothy's lawyer for comment. 

Anna was on a six-day Caribbean getaway with her dad, stepmom, grandparents and step- and half-siblings when she died in international waters and triggered an FBI murder probe.

'The family felt that this defendant and his stepsister, the victim, Miss Kepner, were two peas in a pod, they were just normal stepsiblings,' Assistant US Attorney Alejandra Lopez told an earlier detention hearing.

'They didn't think anything of it, to the point where in order to save money they put them in the same cabin as her younger brother.'

Surveillance footage showed Anna entering the deck eight cabin at about 7.38pm on November 6 and never coming out, Lopez said.

That meant she was left alone with her stepbrother for the next two hours, according to the government. 

Timothy was seen on CCTV leaving the room at 9.52pm before lingering near a trash can for 22 seconds. Anna's phone was later retrieved from a trash bag, according to Lopez.

The court heard that Anna's then-14-year-old half-brother tried to get into the cabin again at 12.09am but Timothy allegedly blocked him from entering. When the younger boy got inside minutes later, he did not see his half-sister.

It was not until the next morning, when the two boys headed to breakfast, that the family realized Anna was missing.

Christopher heard a medical emergency announced over the ship's public address system and raced to Anna's room to find that a cleaning crew had just located her body.

'I checked her pulse. I pulled her out from under the bed. I knew my daughter was dead long before the medical examiner got there,' the heartbroken dad previously told the Daily Mail.

FBI agents swarmed the ship, interviewed the family and scoured CCTV cameras when the Horizon returned to Florida on November 8, 2025. 

Timothy was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse in February but released without bond under the Juvenile Delinquency Act, to live with his uncle.

The secretive federal case was unsealed a month later after Timothy agreed to be tried as an adult in US District Court.

Anna planned to join the US Navy or become a K9 handler with the Titusville Police Department after graduating high school.

'Anna was pure energy: bubbly, funny, outgoing, and completely herself,' relatives wrote in her obituary.