Worcester Man Accused Of Tossing Girl Off Bridge Charged With Attempted Murder
WORCESTER (CBS) - The Worcester man accused of throwing a seven-year-old girl off a bridge into Lake Quinsigamond last weekend is now charged with attempted murder.
Joshua Hubert, 35, was in District Court Thursday for a dangerousness hearing, but Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Riddle withdrew her motion for the hearing and asked that Hubert be held on $1 million bail, which the judge granted.
Hubert pleaded not guilty Monday to a kidnapping charge in the case.
Riddle said Hubert took the girl from her grandfather's home in Worcester around 2 a.m. Sunday, put her in a car, drove around, choked her and then stopped on the I-290 bridge over Lake Quinsigamond.
According to court documents released Thursday, Hubert allegedly picked up the child, who was "wrapped in a blanket," and threw her over the bridge into the lake.
"We have evidence in the form of surveillance video of him at approximately 3:30 in the morning. We have an eyewitness that places him on a bridge, on the 290 bridge eastbound, shortly after that," Riddle told the judge.
The little girl survived, swam to shore, and knocked on the door of Maeve Geary's lakeside home in Shrewsbury at 4:30 a.m. She was soaking wet, in her pajamas, and was injured, with marks on her neck, according to Geary. Riddle said the girl identified Hubert immediately.
Hours later, after an ambulance took the girl to the hospital, she picked Hubert out of a photo lineup.
Riddle revealed Thursday that the girl's father and Hubert are life-long friends, having known each other since fourth grade.
Hubert's lawyer, Richard Welsh, said his client "adamantly denies these charges" and is not doing well.
"A gentleman with no record, has had a great life, has donated a lot of time to (the) community and now he's sitting in a jail cell with, quite frankly, people that he shouldn't be," Welsh told reporters.
Welsh insisted Hubert was not even with the girl that night and did not take her from her from the home.
Hubert will be arraigned on the attempted murder charge in Westboro District Court Tuesday, September 5.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports
