Lawyers for Timothy Hudson, the teenage stepbrother charged with murdering Anna Kepner aboard a Carnival cruise ship, have secured a delay to his federal trial, citing a "unique – and very unfortunate – family dynamic" that has hampered their investigation. US District Judge Beth Bloom granted the unopposed request, pushing the trial back from September to a two-week window beginning 2 November 2026, with prosecutors not objecting to the postponement.

Hudson, who was 16 when 18-year-old Kepner died in November 2025, is charged as an adult with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse and has pleaded not guilty. His attorneys said they needed more time to complete their inquiry and properly advise him on his options, while remaining deliberately vague given intense media attention. A plea agreement deadline has been set for 23 October, with a calendar call on 27 October and the jury trial due to start on 2 November at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. US Courthouse in Miami; both the defence and federal prosecutors declined to comment further on the possibility of a plea deal.