The murder trial of 16-year-old Timothy Hudson, the Florida teen accused of killing his cheerleader stepsister Anna Kepner, has been postponed for a second time.
Hudson is now scheduled to stand trial on Nov. 2 in connection with Kepner’s death aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship last November, after a Florida judge on Tuesday approved a delay requested by his defense team, WOFL reported.
The trial had originally been set to begin June 1 before it was pushed back to Sept. 8.
Assistant federal public defender Hector Dopico asked for the latest continuance, saying Hudson’s lawyers needed additional time to “complete their investigation of issues that will likely impact the resolution of his case,” according to court documents cited by the outlet.
“Although defense counsel have spent a significant amount of time reviewing the discovery provided by the government and researching various issues of potential relevance, their preparations are not yet complete,” Dopico wrote in the filing.
Court filings also pointed to the “seriousness of the offenses alleged” and Hudson’s “status as a juvenile” as key considerations behind the request to move the trial date.
Hudson is being prosecuted as an adult on charges of murder and aggravated sexual abuse. If convicted in Kepner’s killing, he could face a sentence of up to life in prison. He has until Oct. 23 to enter a guilty plea.
Dopico further argued that the defense required more time because of “the unique – and very unfortunate – family dynamic that has resulted from the allegations here.”
Prosecutors didn’t oppose the defense’s request and Hudson’s trial was pushed back.
The trial now looks set to get underway almost a year after Hudson allegedly sexually assaulted and killed Kepner on the ship.
Kepner, 18, was strangled to death inside a cabin she shared with Hudson and her 13-year-old brother.
Kepner was alone with her stepbrother, who is said to have had an obsession with her, between 7:51 p.m. and 11:21 p.m. on Nov. 6 – the day before her body was found.
Her Apple Watch, which monitored her heart rate, stopped working during the three-and-a-half-hour period – a timeframe prosecutors suspect the crime occurred.
Kepner died while the ship was in international waters and FBI agents were unable to find her watch when they boarded the vessel after it docked in Miami.
Hudson allegedly mechanically asphyxiated her in a bar hold and stashed her body under her bed – while her younger brother unknowingly slept mere feet from her corpse.
Kepner had a bruised neck and bruises and blood were also discovered around her ear.
At around 10:13 p.m., Hudson poked his head out of the cabin room to see if anyone was there before leaving, prosecutors said.
He went into the room two more times between 10:23 p.m. and 10:49 p.m.
Hudson then went into the cabin room at 11:31 p.m. before leaving and returning 13 minutes later.
Kepner’s body was found around 12 hours after Hudson returned to the cabin for the final time.
Hudson “did knowingly and unlawfully perpetrate” the “wilful, deliberate, malicious and premeditated killing of [Kepner] with malice afterthought,” a grand jury wrote in its indictment earlier this year.
Kepner, a straight-A student who had aspirations to join the military, was killed just six months before she was set to graduate from Titusville’s Temple Christian School.
Her dad, Christopher, accepted her diploma at the commencement ceremony, which was held in May.
