Miami — A teenager is accused of sexual assault and murder His 18-year-old sister Aboard a Carnival cruise ship, he will be arraigned in more than a month, the judge said in an order this week.
Timothy Hudson’s trial on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual assault will begin June 1 in Miami, U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom said in an order Monday.
The 16-year-old was initially charged as a juvenile before the case was transferred to adult court. He entered a written plea of not guilty last week. Minors are rarely tried in federal courts.
His sister, Anna Kepner, He was traveling On the Carnival Horizon ship in November with her family, including Hudson. Before the ship was scheduled to return to Florida, her body was found hidden under a bed in a room she shared with Hudson and another teen, a criminal complaint said.
Kepner’s cause of death on Nov. 6 was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, which is when an object or physical force prevents a person from breathing.
Kepner’s father, Christopher Kepner, issued a statement saying the family places “trust in the justice system to pursue the truth carefully and fairly.”
“The situation is very distressing and complicated for the entire family,” Kepner said.
Anna Kepner was a high school cheerleader at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Orlando. At her memorial service in November, family members encouraged people to wear bright colors rather than the traditional black “in honor of Anna’s bright and beautiful spirit.”