Anna Kepner's stepbrother, Timothy Hudson, allegedly destroyed her cell phone on the ship. Notably, the FBI tried to discover two important pieces of evidence during their investigation.
Anna Kepner’s murder case has slowly witnessed new developments. The 18-year-old lost her life on a cruise ship in November 2025. While the cause of death was stated as asphyxiation, Anna’s stepbrother, Timothy Hudson, was charged with murder and aggravated sexual abuse in April 2026. Hudson is expected to face a life sentence, and the FBI has been actively involved in the investigation of the case so far.
Meanwhile, Timothy Hudson’s trial is scheduled for September 2026. But in between that, the case is creating headlines for another reason, where new details about two important pieces of evidence have now emerged. Keep reading to know more!
A testimony from FBI agent, Andrew del Valle, on June 8, 2026 (ET) revealed that, according to Anna Kepner's family members, she never let go of her cell phone, and it was always with her. It was initially believed that Timothy Hudson had reportedly destroyed the device and thrown it somewhere when the investigation started. Shortly after Anna’s death, the FBI agents also could not find the device anywhere inside the ship.
However, Andrew and his agents searched the lost and found, where they finally discovered the device, badly damaged, in a trash can. The FBI was able to get everything from the phone, and the agents also tracked the movement of the phone from Anna Kepner’s cabin to another side of the ship. They even checked the surveillance footage to check the details of all those who were present in the same location.
The footage revealed that the device was linked with four routers within 20 minutes during the morning hours on the day of Anna’s death. Timothy was allegedly present in these spots, and he was near the trash can for some time, following which he returned to his room. Anna’s Apple Watch was also another piece of evidence, and although the FBI agents could not find the device, it stopped recording Kepner’s vitals the previous night.
While Timothy Hudson was a suspect for the FBI when they started investigating Anna Kepner’s murder, they asked for the DNA sample of another teenager, who was also present on the ship. However, the teenager was not a suspect for the FBI.
Although the other individual’s identity remains a mystery, Alejandra Lopez of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida claimed during a hearing in February 2026 that the teenager arrived on the ship as a guest. Furthermore, he did not speak to anyone else except Anna Kepner. Notably, the teenager and Anna did not know each other before the trip, and the person was also not linked to Kepner’s family in any manner.
The results of the DNA test helped the FBI to conclude that Timothy Hudson was allegedly the main culprit. Addressing the DNA results, former judge, Tarlika Nunez-Navarro, claimed that a lot of things remain unresolved for now, and since the FBI did not take any DNA from Anna’s neck, it is impossible to say with conviction that Timothy was involved in the incident. Tarlika continued by saying:
“I’m thinking to myself, as a judge and seeing so many of these cases, I’m thinking this is an end for the defense to say, ‘What is this?’ We have a second minor. We have her having sex with this minor. So what more do we not know?”
What are your thoughts about the latest development in Anna Kepner’s murder case? Let us know.
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