The father of a cruise ship murder victim says he will skip his stepparent’s trial
The father of the child who was allegedly killed by his illegitimate son on a cruise, pleaded not guilty to the June murder charge, saying he could not “go through” the trauma of finding the girl’s body in his house again.
“Unless you ask me to be there, neither my wife nor I will go,” Christopher Kepner, 41, told the Daily Mail.
“I heard all the evidence. I saw it myself. They have everything they need. It will be very painful to remember it all again.”
Kepner’s 16-year-old son, Timothy Hudson, will go on trial June 1 in Miami federal court on murder and aggravated sexual assault charges in the Nov. 7 slaying. Timothy has pleaded not guilty.
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The 16-year-old stepfather, identified as TH in court documents, is accused of sexually assaulting and killing 16-year-old Anna Kepner on the Carnival Cruise Line’s Horizon ship. (Shauntel Kepner/Facebook)
In a harrowing account, Kepner described the moment his family’s vacation turned into a living nightmare.
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“I checked his pulse. I pulled him out from under the bed,” Kepner said. “I knew my daughter died long before the inspector came. I don’t want to go back to that room.”
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Authorities later ruled his death a the death was caused by “mechanical asphyxiation,” according to documents reviewed by Fox News Digital.
According to detectives, she was found under the bed in her bedroom, wrapped in a blanket and covered with it life jackets. The cabin was shared with a stepparent.
The stepmother of 16-year-old Anna Kepner walks outside the Federal Court building in Miami, Florida, on Feb. 6, 2026, accompanied by his lawyer. He was charged in connection with the death of his adopted sister on a Carnival Cruise in November 2025. (Fox Stories)
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Now, a family is working to remember the 18-year-old Central Florida cheerleader affectionately known as “Anna Banana.”
“We celebrate Anna for keeping everything to herself and doing the things she loves,” said Kepner. “We want to remember Anna how she lived – not how she died.”
Anna Kepner has been identified by her family as the passenger who died on the Carnival Horizon. (Facebook)
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If convicted, the youth faces a maximum prison sentence.
“I want to see him in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs. He doesn’t need to be free. He doesn’t need to be in public, around any children or women in general,” Kepner previously said.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Timothy Hudson’s attorney for comment.
“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family during this incredible loss,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “A federal judge has returned a writ of serious charges that allegedly took place on a ship in international waters. We will present the evidence in court and proceed with this case diligently and carefully. As in all cases, the accused is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
