Federal prosecutors say 18-year-old Florida cheerleader Anna Kepner died after her 16-year-old stepbrother put her in a prolonged chokehold inside their shared cruise ship cabin last fall, leaving her struggling to breathe for several minutes before she lost consciousness and died from lack of oxygen.
In newly filed court documents and unsealed hearing transcripts, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida allege that the teen, identified in records as Timothy Hudson, wrapped his arm around Kepner's neck in a bar-style chokehold and kept squeezing until she stopped breathing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandra López told a judge that Kepner "struggled to breathe for minutes" while Hudson maintained the hold, saying he could have released her at any time but did not, according to People.
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office determined that Kepner died from mechanical asphyxiation, which prosecutors say is consistent with the chokehold they described in court.
Kepner was found dead on Nov. 7, 2025, under a bed in the Carnival Horizon cabin she shared with Hudson during a family cruise in international waters between the Caribbean and Miami.
Investigators said her body had been concealed and that she had bruising and other injuries consistent with a neck restraint and a violent assault, according to court records and media reports. The FBI is leading the investigation because the killing happened on a U.S.-based ship while it was sailing in international waters.
Read more: Anna Kepner's Step Brother Was 'Emotional Mess' During FBI Interrogation, Grandma Reveals
Federal authorities announced in April that a grand jury had indicted Hudson as an adult on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse in connection with Kepner's death.
Prosecutors allege that between November 6 and 7, 2025, he sexually assaulted his stepsister in the cabin before killing her, and say DNA and other forensic evidence were collected from the scene.
Court filings and news reports describe ruptured eardrums, signs of strangulation, and what prosecutors characterize as a sustained, premeditated attack, Fox35Orlando reported.
The chokehold allegations were laid out in detail in a February detention hearing, where the court considered whether Hudson should be held or remain on supervised release while awaiting trial.
According to that transcript, the judge was asked to decide if the 16-year-old would stay in custody or continue under house arrest at his maternal uncle's home with strict monitoring conditions.
Kepner, a high school senior and cheerleader from Titusville, Florida, was on the Carnival trip with her father, stepmother, and other relatives, and her family had publicly pressed for charges in the months after she was found dead, as per ClickOrlando.
