Timothy Hudson, who was accused of killing stepsister Anna Kepner during a family vacation, was taken into custody and will remain behind bars until his murder trial begins due to a “level of psychopathy” and his alleged “lack of remorse.”
Hudson, 16, surrendered to U.S. Marshals on Monday, June 15, after Judge Edwin Torres ordered him to turn himself in a week after prosecutors moved to revoke his pretrial release.
Torres wrote in an order that the prosecution’s “case for a forcible rape is beyond clear and convincing,” according to court documents viewed by People. He added that the findings suggest “a level of psychopathy and lack of remorse that by itself raises a serious concern that [Hudson] can snap at any time, despite the well-meaning and serious efforts of his caretakers to make sure that does not happen.”
Torres concluded that Hudson is a “danger” to both himself and others.
The judge made the decision after he previously granted Hudson a pretrial release. He is now being tried as an adult following an April ruling.
Hudson was previously released into the custody of a family member after he appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on February 6. At that time, he was charged as a minor and was released without having to post bail.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida argued that Hudson should be kept in custody when he was initially charged in February. However, the office failed to meet the burden of proof that was required by the Juvenile Detention Act (JDA).
That federal statute states that juvenile defendants should receive rehabilitation instead of punishment, and pretrial detention for minors or conditioning their release on the posting of bail is often discouraged.
Hudson was charged in February after he was accused of sexually assaulting and killing Kepner, 18, while their blended family was on a cruise vacation in November 2025.
Kepner and Hudson shared a room during the trip, and she was last seen entering the room on the night of November 6, 2025.
She was found dead hours later under her bed the following day. An investigation was then launched into the matter, and the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office determined her cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation and her manner of death was homicide.
Hudson has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse in connection to Kepner’s death.
Following Hudson’s court appearance in February, his mother, Shauntel Hudson, and Kepner’s father, Christopher Kepner, issued a statement saying that they believed Timothy should be behind bars.
“At this time, it is deeply painful and disturbing to our family that the person responsible is able to walk freely. This reality adds to our grief and outrage,” they said, per People. “It is devastating to know that while we live every day with the loss of our child, the individual responsible has not yet been fully held accountable.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
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