Timothy Hudson, who is accused of sexually assaulting and strangling his stepsister Anna Kepner on a cruise ship, has been granted an extension to consider a plea deal. A federal judge in Florida moved the deadline from October 23 to January to give Hudson's legal team additional time to negotiate with prosecutors. Hudson was 16 years old at the time of the alleged incident, which occurred aboard the Carnival Horizon on November 7, 2025. He is being charged as an adult in the federal case.
The defense has requested this extra time, which a judge approved earlier this month. Court filings indicate that Hudson is currently exploring the possibility of reaching a plea agreement. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in April and initially entered a not guilty plea. Since June, a judge has ordered him held in a federal pre-trial detention center, replacing his previous status of being in his family's custody with an ankle monitor.
Anthony Strazza, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor who is not affiliated with the case, noted that the stakes in such federal high-seas murder cases often involve life imprisonment. He stated that the defense may be seeking a guilty verdict where prosecutors drop their recommendation for life without parole. Strazza observed that because Hudson is young, there is a significant difference between a life sentence and a long-term prison term. He explained that even if Hudson were sentenced to decades in prison, he might be released in his 30s, making the distinction between life and a fixed term substantial for a defendant who was 16 at the time of the offense.
Strazza cautioned that any plea deal would not be favorable to the defendant. He said there would not be a sweet deal, regardless of whether Hudson takes a plea, and that the number of years in prison would be large. According to Strazza, federal guidelines typically require a defendant to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence. He added that even with large sentences of 20 or 30 years, Hudson would still be relatively young when he completed that time. The core of the negotiation, Strazza suggested, centers on whether the defendant faces life in prison or a lengthy but finite term.
Hudson's defense attorney, Eric Cohen, declined to comment on the case when reached by Fox News Digital. The case remains active in federal court in Florida, with the prosecution and defense now working toward the new January deadline for any potential plea discussions.