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The trial for the baby-faced teen charged with murdering his cheerleader stepsister Anna Kepner has been delayed for a second time.
Timothy Hudson, 16, will now go on trial over last November’s Carnival Horizon cruise ship killing on Nov. 2 after a Florida judge granted a request for a delay, which was made by his lawyers, on Tuesday, WOFL reported.
Hudson was supposed to go on trial on June 1 before the date was moved to Sept. 8.
Hector Dopico, an assistant federal public defender, called for the delay so the defense could “complete their investigation of issues that will likely impact the resolution of his case,” according to court documents seen by the outlet.
“Although defense counsel have spent a significant amount of time reviewing the discovery provided by the government and researching various issues of potential relevance, their preparations are not yet complete,” he said in the filing.
The “seriousness of the offenses alleged” and Hudson’s “status as a juvenile” were two factors that influenced the delay motion, according to the court documents.
Hudson is being tried as an adult on murder and aggravated sexual abuse charges – and faces up to life in prison if convicted for allegedly killing Kepner. He has until Oct. 23 to plead guilty to the charges.
Dopico also said the defense needed more time because of “the unique – and very unfortunate – family dynamic that has resulted from the allegations here.”
Prosecutors didn’t oppose the defense’s request and Hudson’s trial was pushed back.
The trial now looks set to get underway almost a year after Hudson allegedly sexually assaulted and killed Kepner on the ship.
Kepner, 18, was strangled to death inside a cabin she shared with Hudson and her 13-year-old brother.
Kepner was alone with her stepbrother, who is said to have had an obsession with her, between 7:51 p.m. and 11:21 p.m. on Nov. 6 – the day before her body was found.
Her Apple Watch, which monitored her heart rate, stopped working during the three-and-a-half-hour period – a timeframe prosecutors suspect the crime occurred.
Kepner died while the ship was in international waters and FBI agents were unable to find her watch when they boarded the vessel after it docked in Miami.
Hudson allegedly mechanically asphyxiated her in a bar hold and stashed her body under her bed – while her younger brother unknowingly slept mere feet from her corpse.
Kepner had a bruised neck and bruises and blood were also discovered around her ear.
At around 10:13 p.m., Hudson poked his head out of the cabin room to see if anyone was there before leaving, prosecutors said.
He went into the room two more times between 10:23 p.m. and 10:49 p.m.
Hudson then went into the cabin room at 11:31 p.m. before leaving and returning 13 minutes later.
Kepner’s body was found around 12 hours after Hudson returned to the cabin for the final time.
Hudson “did knowingly and unlawfully perpetrate” the “wilful, deliberate, malicious and premeditated killing of [Kepner] with malice afterthought,” a grand jury wrote in its indictment earlier this year.
Kepner, a straight-A student who had aspirations to join the military, was killed just six months before she was set to graduate from Titusville’s Temple Christian School.
Her dad, Christopher, accepted her diploma at the commencement ceremony, which was held in May.
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