Lawyers for Timothy Hudson, the 16-year-old charged with the rape and murder of his stepsister Anna Kepner aboard a Carnival cruise ship, have asked for his trial to be delayed, citing the "unique and very unfortunate family dynamic" surrounding the case. Assistant Federal Public Defender Hector Dopico told the court his team needed more time to review evidence and had struggled to gain access to certain family members to aid their investigation, a request the prosecution did not oppose.

Kepner, 18, was found dead, wrapped in a blanket and hidden under a bed, in the cabin she shared with Hudson and her 14-year-old brother during a six-day Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Horizon in November 2025. Hudson, who is being tried as an adult and faces life imprisonment if convicted of murder and aggravated sexual abuse, was due to stand trial on 8 September, but Judge Beth Bloom has now pushed the date back to 2 November.