# Teen accused of stepsister’s cruise ship murder buys time to consider plea but won’t get ‘sweet’ deal: expert

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/teen-accused-of-stepsisters-cruise-ship-murder-buys-time-to-consider-plea-but-wont-get-sweet-deal-expert/
- Published: 2026-10-26T10:00:54+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-26T10:23:21+00:00
- Original publisher: Fox News (publisher lean: Far right)
- Original article: https://www.foxnews.com/us/teen-accused-stepsister-cruise-ship-murder-buys-time-consider-plea-wont-get-sweet-deal-expert
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Hudson’s plea deadline has been extended to January.
- He faces adult federal charges over his stepsister’s death.
- A defence attorney says any sentence could still mean decades in prison.

## Summary

Timothy Hudson’s defence has secured more time to consider a possible plea in the federal case over the death of his 18-year-old stepsister, Anna Kepner, aboard a cruise ship. The extension moves the plea deadline from 23 October to January; a defence attorney not involved in the case says any agreement is unlikely to be lenient, given the potential sentence.

Hudson was 16 when Kepner died aboard the Carnival Horizon on 7 November 2025. He is charged as an adult with murder and sexual abuse, has pleaded not guilty and is being held in federal pre-trial detention. The attorney said negotiations could concern whether prosecutors recommend life without parole; he added that federal prisoners generally serve at least 85 per cent of a sentence, meaning a 20- or 30-year term could still leave Hudson relatively young on release.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.