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Slain cheerleader Anna Kepner’s 16-year-old stepbrother is set to go to trial in a little over a month on charges that he raped and killed her on a family cruise, officials revealed.
Timothy Hudson will go to trial on June 1 in Miami on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse for the killing of his stepsister in November, US District Judge Beth Bloom said in an order Monday.
The teen dodged his Miami federal court appearance earlier this month, instead letting his lawyers enter his plea of not guilty to accusations he had strangled Kepner, 18, on the Carnival Cruise ship Horizon and crammed her body under the bed in the room they were sharing.
Hudson was first charged as a juvenile, and the case had been sealed until it was transferred to adult court earlier this month when a grand jury indicted him.
The alleged twisted stepbrother is still referred to in court papers as T. H. because of his age.
The body of Kepner, a high school cheerleader from Florida, was found wrapped in a blanket and covered in life jackets under a bed the morning of Nov. 7 by a cleaning lady tidying the cabin during the six-day cruise.
Her cause of death was later determined to be mechanical asphyxia, which occurs when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing.
Hudson was reportedly “obsessed” with Kepner and was once caught trying to sexually assault her when he climbed on top of her as she slept, her ex-boyfriend’s dad, Steven Westin, told “Inside Edition” in November.
The teen has been staying with his paternal uncle since he was charged in February, prompting outrage from Kepner’s dad, Christopher Kepner, who is married to Hudson’s mother.
The heartbroken father has since released a statement, saying the family was placing “trust in the justice system to pursue the truth with care and integrity.”
“The situation is deeply painful and complex for the entire family,” Kepner said.
With Post wires
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