A federal judge says a Florida teen accused of sexually assaulting and killing his 18-year-old stepsister on a Carnival cruise will stay out of jail—for now. US District Judge Edwin Torres on Wednesday refused to detain 16-year-old Timothy Hudson as he awaits trial, keeping him under house arrest with an uncle in Hernando County and subject to electronic monitoring.
Torres noted he "probably would have" jailed an adult under the same circumstances—prosecutors pushed to have Hudson detained after his case was transferred to adult court—but said Hudson's age and the distance between Miami-Dade County, where the trial is taking place, and his family in central-west Florida factored into Wednesday's decision. NBC News reports the judge said he wanted to "know what my options are" regarding potentially detaining Hudson closer to relatives. The AP reports Torres gave no timetable for announcing his decision, and Hudson walked out of the courthouse after the hearing.
Prosecutor Alejandra Lopez called Hudson "a danger to the community," saying in court that an autopsy showed Kepner had been violently raped and was strangled for as many as five minutes before dying. Lopez stressed that two minors live in the home where Hudson is staying and asked, "What is needed to prove a danger? A second dead body?" Public defender Evan Kuhl countered that Hudson has followed all release conditions for months. High school senior and cheerleader Anna Kepner's November 2025 death was ruled a homicide by "mechanical asphyxiation." The trial could start as early as September.
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