Teen Charged With Murdering Stepsister Anna Kepner On Cruise To Begin Trial In June

A teen charged pinch sexually assaulting and killing his 18-year-old stepsister connected a Carnival Cruise vessel will spell to proceedings successful complete a month, a judge said this week successful an order.

Timothy Hudson's proceedings connected charges of first-degree execution and aggravated intersexual maltreatment will commencement June 1 successful Miami, U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom said successful an bid Monday.

The 16-year-old was initially charged arsenic a juvenile earlier nan lawsuit was transferred to big court. He entered a written plea of not blameworthy past week. Minors are seldom prosecuted successful national court.

His stepsister, Anna Kepner, had been walking connected nan Carnival Horizon vessel successful November pinch her family, including Hudson. Before nan vessel was scheduled to return to Florida, her assemblage was found concealed nether a bed successful a room she was sharing pinch Hudson and different teen, a criminal title said.

The origin of Kepner's Nov. 6 decease was wished to beryllium mechanical asphyxia, which is erstwhile an entity aliases beingness unit stops personification from breathing.

Kepner's father, Christopher Kepner, released a statement, saying nan family was placing “trust successful nan justness strategy to prosecute nan truth pinch attraction and integrity.”

“The business is profoundly achy and analyzable for nan full family,” Kepner said.

Anna Kepner was a precocious schoolhouse cheerleader astatine Temple Christian School successful Titusville, Florida, astir 40 miles (65 kilometers) eastbound of Orlando. At her memorial work successful November, family members encouraged group to deterioration agleam colors alternatively of nan accepted achromatic “in grant of Anna’s agleam and beautiful soul.”