Teen charged with killing Florida stepsister on cruise ship pleads not guilty

Nbcwashington · Apr 21, 2026 · 253 words · By The Associated Press

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/teen-charged-with-kill…

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10 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 7

info Single Source 3

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“A teenager charged with killing his stepsister on a Carnival Cruise ship filed a not-guilty plea Tuesday and waived his appearance at a hearing in Miami federal court.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results confirm that a 16-year-old boy charged with killing his stepsister on a Carnival cruise ship pleaded not guilty and waived his appearance in Miami federal court.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel shaped like a whale's tail, wi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_Cruise_Line

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Carnival Sunrise (formerly Carnival Triumph) is a Destiny-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. As she and her three younger sisters (Carnival Radiance, costa Fortuna, and costa Magica) …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_Sunrise

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Carnival Celebration is an Excel-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. She is Carnival's second vessel of the fleet's Excel class, a subclass of Carnival Corporation & plc's Excellence …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_Celebration

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“The teen has received the indictment and is waiving his appearance at an arraignment scheduled for Wednesday, defense attorney Eric Cohen said in a court filing.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including reports citing the Associated Press and Globalnews.ca, confirm that defense attorney Eric Cohen filed a document stating the teen received the indictment and waived his appearance at the Wednesday arraignment.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The criminal trial in The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump was held from April 15 to May 30, 2024. Donald Trump, the 45th, and later 47th president of the United States was charged …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_trial_of_Donald_Trump…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Michael Dean Cohen (born August 25, 1966) is an American former lawyer who served as an attorney for Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of the United States, from 2006 to 2018. Cohen served as …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Cohen_(lawyer)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump was a criminal case against Donald Trump, a then-former president of the United States. Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying bus…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosecution_of_Donald_Trump_in…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“The teen is being prosecuted as an adult in the death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner”

CORROBORATED

CNN and other news sources confirm the teen (identified as Hudson or T.H.) is being prosecuted as an adult for the death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Anna Harriette Leonowens (born Ann Hariett Emma Edwards; 5 November 1831 – 19 January 1915) was an Anglo-Indian or Indian-born British travel writer, educator, and social activist. She became well kno…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Leonowens

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Carnival Horizon is a Vista-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. She is the 26th vessel in the Carnival fleet and is the second of Carnival's Vista class, which includes Carnival Vista …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_Horizon

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The killing of Anna Marie Kepner occurred on November 7, 2025, during a cruise aboard Carnival Horizon with her family members.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Anna_Kepner

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“whose body was found under a bed in a Carnival Horizon room that she was sharing with him and another teen during a family trip in November.”

CORROBORATED

CNN and Wikipedia confirm Anna Kepner's body was found under a bed in a Carnival Horizon room shared with the defendant and another teen during a November trip.

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web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago · Настя Настя - 404 видео. Все видео пользователя nastiasssssss@mail.ru смотреть онлайн в социальной сети Мой Мир.
https://my.mail.ru/mail/nastiasssssss/video

+ 2 more evidence sources

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“He is charged with murder and aggravated sexual abuse.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including the Southern District of Florida and other news reports, confirm the charges are murder and aggravated sexual abuse.

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web search NEUTRAL — The 16-year-old was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse for the killing that allegedly took place aboard a cruise ship.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/04/13/anna-k…

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web search NEUTRAL — A 16-year-old has been indicted as an adult by a federal grand jury on charges of murder and aggravated sexual abuse in the killing of his stepsister.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/titusville-teen-charged…

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web search NEUTRAL — A Florida 16-year-old is being charged as an adult in the sexual abuse and murder of his stepsister on a Carnival cruise ship last year, authorities said Monday.
https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/florida-teen-charged-as-…

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“He has been free in the care of an uncle since his arrest in February”

SINGLE SOURCE

The Guardian mentions the teen was charged in February and indicted in March, but the specific detail about being 'free in the care of an uncle' is not explicitly corroborated by the other provided search results.

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web search NEUTRAL — Timothy Hudson was initially charged in February and subsequently indicted on 10 March. But the breadth of the case was not known until a seal was lifted Friday, weeks after US district judge Beth Blo…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/13/teenager-sex…

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web search NEUTRAL — A former New York financier who managed money for George Soros has been arrested on charges spanning bank fraud to sex trafficking. Howard Rubin, 70, was taken into custody Friday morning at his home …
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/sex-dungeon-former-soros…

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web search NEUTRAL — There is talk, in his sister's statement, of him having plans to set up his own business. 'He has taken steps to advance his position whilst in prison. He has applied to become a mentor to help those …
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15335705/Moment-man-r…

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“Kepner was a high school cheerleader at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida”

CORROBORATED

Hindustan Times, AOL, and Wikipedia all confirm Anna Kepner was a cheerleader at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. Nota…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Daughters_of_the_Ameri…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses in the United States in 2024 since protests escalated on April 17, beginning with the Columbia University campus occupation. Student p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pro-Palestinian_protes…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“The cause of her Nov. 6 death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided search results for this claim only return dictionary definitions of the word 'cause' and do not provide the medical examiner's report or confirmation of 'mechanical asphyxia'.

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web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago · The meaning of CAUSE is a reason for an action or condition : motive. How to use cause in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cause

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web search NEUTRAL — CAUSE definition: 1. the reason why something, especially something bad, happens: 2. a reason to feel something or…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cause

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web search NEUTRAL — cause (kôz), n., v., caused, caus•ing. n. a person or thing that acts, happens, or exists in such a way that some specific thing happens as a result; the producer of an effect: You have been the cause…
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/cause+

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“U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom granted the government's request to have him prosecuted as an adult.”

CORROBORATED

While the specific 'evidence for claim 8' section was empty, the evidence for claim 5 explicitly mentions 'US district judge Beth Bloom in Miami said he would be prosecuted as an adult'.

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“The case was unsealed on April 10.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The Guardian report in evidence for claim 5 mentions a seal was lifted 'Friday', but the specific date 'April 10' is not explicitly corroborated across multiple sources in the provided text, though it aligns with the timeline of the April 22 plea.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.

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Teen charged with killing Florida stepsister on cruise ship pleads not guilty

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