Judge raises questions about government case in Carnival Horizon death
Timothy Hudson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of eighteen-year-old Anna Kepner aboard the Carnival Horizon.
Anna Kepner was found dead during a family cruise aboard the Carnival Horizon in November. Her cause of death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia. Her stepbrother, Timothy Hudson, was charged with first-degree murder and entered a not-guilty plea.
The judge overseeing the case said from the bench that the government had not presented a strong case. The judge characterized it as a close decision and noted that Hudson had multiple potential defenses.
Prosecutors based their timeline on CCTV footage, phone records and Snapchat activity indicating that Kepner was still posting at eight fourteen in the evening.
An FBI agent stated on the record that he was unaware of DNA directly connecting Hudson to what caused Kepner's death. A transcript also confirmed that a second juvenile male encountered Kepner aboard the ship. The FBI tested that juvenile's DNA and excluded him.