Anna Kepner told her boyfriend she was afraid of stepbrother before cruise death

Anna Kepner had reportedly harboured concerns about her stepbrother, Timothy Hudson, well before the two embarked on the family cruise that ended in her death and his indictment on charges of murder and aggravated sexual abuse.

Testimony reveals disturbing prior incident

At a February court hearing to determine whether Timothy, 16, should be held in custody or released ahead of his criminal trial, FBI Agent Andrew del Valle testified about a troubling incident involving Anna and her stepbrother that had come to light during the investigation into her death.

Del Valle told the court that investigators had conducted multiple interviews with Anna's friends following her death, as well as with her former boyfriend.

The ex-boyfriend allegedly told investigators he had personally witnessed a "strange moment" between Timothy and Anna, according to a transcript of the hearing obtained by People.

Del Valle testified that Anna and her ex-boyfriend had maintained regular contact throughout their relationship and would often fall asleep whilst on FaceTime together. During one such call, the ex-boyfriend noticed something alarming.

"During one of those FaceTime conversations, he recalls that [Anna] had fallen asleep and he was doing some work in his garage or something, but he noticed or he heard a noise coming from [Anna's] phone," del Valle testified.

"He looked and he states that he had seen [Timothy] trying to get into bed with [Anna]."

The ex-boyfriend "was kind of surprised and shocked by it," del Valle said, adding that he "yelled at [Timothy]" through the phone, at which point Timothy "apparently ran out of the room." Anna slept through the incident but was informed about what had occurred the following day.

Anna expressed fear of her stepbrother

Despite learning what had happened, Anna told her ex-boyfriend that she "had been hesitant about saying anything to the father," according to del Valle's testimony.

The ex-boyfriend further alleged that Anna "felt that [Timothy] was a little weird and that he had quite a few knives, so she was a little bit afraid of him."

These accounts stand in stark contrast to the picture painted by Timothy's mother and Anna's stepmother, Shauntel Kepner, who had previously described the pair as "best friends."

Shauntel made that claim during an emergency custody hearing after her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, petitioned the court to remove his youngest daughter from her mother's home and grant him custody — a move he made after learning his 16-year-old son was under FBI investigation in connection with Anna's death.

Anna "was found asphyxiated under the bed in the room which she shared with [his teenage son]," according to a court filing obtained by People.

During a separate family court appearance in December, Shauntel testified that Anna had chosen to share a room with Timothy and their 13-year-old half-brother of her own accord. "Yeah, the three of them are, like, the three amigos," Shauntel said at the time. "They are best friends."

Pretrial custody and adult trial

Timothy was arraigned in a Florida federal courtroom in February on charges of sexual abuse and murder, before being released into the custody of a maternal relative.

He had been living with that relative since November of last year. On 27 May, a judge ruled that the conditions of Timothy's pretrial release would not be amended, despite the fact he is now being tried as an adult.

Court documents filed in Brevard County as part of an ongoing custody dispute between Shauntel and her ex-husband reveal that she severed all contact with Timothy as soon as the cruise returned to port on 8 November, and has not spoken to her son since. Beyond her December court appearance, Shauntel has not spoken publicly about Timothy.

The night of Anna's death

Timothy stands accused of sexually assaulting and killing Anna during what was the blended family's first cruise together, following the marriage of his mother Shauntel to Anna's father, Christopher Kepner.

Anna was last seen on the evening of 6 November 2025, returning to the stateroom she shared with Timothy and her half-brother just after 7:30 pm, according to court filings.

She was discovered dead beneath her bed just before noon the following day. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office subsequently determined her cause of death to be mechanical asphyxiation, ruling her manner of death a homicide.

Timothy's mother has stated that she believes her son should be held in custody.