According to leaked records, federal investigators attempting to establish that a teenage cheerleader was sexually assaulted and killed by her stepbrother while on a vacation also collected DNA evidence from another young person she reportedly had sex with.
Timothy Hudson, 16, is charged with raping and killing his stepsister, 18-year-old Anna Kepner, last November while traveling back to Miami on a Carnival ship from Cozumel, Mexico.
According to the prosecution, he was the only person in the cheerleader’s room when she was strangled to death. Her body was then concealed beneath a bed in the cabin she shared with her 14-year-old half-brother and stepbrother.
However, prosecutors revealed that Kepner had intercourse with another juvenile, known as “minor witness two” in court filings, during the cruise, according to an unsealed 145-page detention hearing transcript that Fox News examined.
As they presented DNA evidence from Kepner’s autopsy, including vaginal swabs from a rape kit, prosecutors made the revelation.
One of them tested positive for sperm, and two of them produced male DNA. The FBI was able to secure a search warrant for Hudson’s DNA and the second minor who was allegedly involved in sex with Kepner as a result of the results.
Prosecutors claim that after comparing the DNA samples to the swabs, it was concluded that Hudson, not the second juvenile, was most likely the contributor.
According to the FBI lab data, Hudson was 1.2 septillion times more likely to have produced the male DNA on the other swab and 120 sextillion times more likely to have produced the DNA on the swab that tested positive for sperm.
On a Carnival cruise in November of last year, Timothy Hudson, 16, is charged with raping and killing his stepsister, Anna Kepner, 18.
Hudson was the only person in the ship cabin with Kepner (above) when she was strangled to death, according to the prosecution.
Additionally, prosecutors revealed that Kepner reportedly had intercourse with another minor while on the vacation, which led to disputes in court regarding DNA evidence.
further than stating that the second kid was a cruise passenger who had interacted with Kepner and that he had no further ties to the family, prosecutors did not provide much information about the second child or how it was discovered that he might have had intercourse with her.
The defense argues that although the evidence clearly indicates that Hudson had intercourse with Kepner just before she passed away, it does not establish that he killed his stepsister.
The prosecution is presuming that the evidence of sexual contact, claimed sexual assault, and murder were all part of the same incident, according to Hudson’s lawyer.
The FBI’s chief case agent was questioned by Hudson’s defense team over the DNA evidence during a hearing last week.
In order to ascertain “who may have strangled her,” the defense questioned the agent about if any DNA had been extracted from the “marks and bruises” on Kepner’s neck.
“I don’t know.” “No, I’m not sure about that,” the agent answered.
The defense then questioned whether the medical examiner could establish that Kepner’s killer was the same individual who had allegedly raped her.
The agent stated, “I don’t think they made that determination.”
DNA evidence that indicates Hudson had sex with Kepner does not prove he killed her, according to Hudson’s defense team. The sixteen-year-old at a hearing is shown above.
To try to establish Hudson killed his stepsister, prosecutors will need to rely on further evidence, such as surveillance film, phone location data, and the timeline of who was in the cabin.
Even if Hudson had sex with Kepner, the defense team wanted to create a reasonable doubt that he was the murderer.
Therefore, in order to establish that Hudson was the killer, prosecutors will need to present the evidence in a more comprehensive manner, integrating the rape kit DNA results with security footage, phone location data, and the timeline of who was in the cabin.
Prosecutors claim that surveillance footage from the cruise ship shows Hudson spending a significant amount of time in the same room as Kepner, who entered the bedroom at 7:38 p.m. and never came out.
They also mentioned that Kepner’s phone followed Hudson’s path later that evening before it was discovered smashed in a garbage can.
The court stated that “various defenses” could be raised and that although the evidence undoubtedly amounted to probable cause, he would not describe the prosecution’s case as strong.
Kepner’s father told the Daily Mail in April that he is certain Hudson killed his daughter and that he poses a “danger” to the public despite the lack of solid proof.
He said that the court’s decision to let Hudson live with a relative rather than keep him up until his federal trial had infuriated his family.
He added that the boy has not yet shown regret or offered an apology.”The fact that he’s still out bothers us. Christopher told the Daily Mail, “After six months, he should have been arrested by now, but he’s free to do whatever he wants right now.”
Christopher Kepner, the father of Kepner (above, holding hands with his wife, Shauntel), stated that he thinks Hudson killed his daughter.
“I want to see him in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs,” Christopher stated, adding that he and his wife haven’t spoken to Hudson since he was placed in the custody of his paternal uncle in Central Florida. He doesn’t have to be free. The father said, “He doesn’t need to be in the general public, around any kids or women in general.”
Christopher claimed that since the boy was given to a paternal relative in Central Florida in December, he and his wife, Shauntel, Hudson’s mother, have not communicated with him. To track his whereabouts, he has a GPS ankle monitor on.
On February 2, the 16-year-old was accused as a juvenile; however, on April 10, the case was moved to an adult court, enabling the unsealing of court records.
Hudson is not eligible for the death penalty since the alleged crimes were committed when he was a juvenile, but he may receive a life sentence if found guilty of his first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse charges.
September is when Hudson’s trial is set to start.
