WORCESTER, MA – A Worcester man is facing the possibility of spending decades in prison after being found guilty of kidnapping and trying to kill his friend’s young daughter, who miraculously survived being thrown from a bridge.
Jurors in Worcester County rendered their verdict Thursday in the case against Joshua Hubert, 43, convicting him of attempted murder by drowning, attempted murder by strangulation, strangulation or suffocation, and kidnapping a child under 16. However, he was acquitted on two counts of aggravated child rape.
The case centers on an incident from August 27, 2017, when prosecutors said Hubert abducted a 7-year-old girl from her grandparents’ home in Worcester. He had been attending a family barbecue that evening, during which he was a guest thanks to his relationship with the girl’s father.
According to court testimony, Hubert snatched the girl while she slept in a chair during the early hours and carried her to his car. The child initially believed it was her grandfather who picked her up, but she awoke to find herself with Hubert. He then drove her around for roughly ninety minutes, during which the attack took place, prosecutors said.
Testimony revealed that Hubert tried to suffocate and drown the girl. He allegedly placed a bag over her head, tied it shut, and then threw her off the Interstate 290 overpass into Lake Quinsigamond. Despite plummeting some 100 yards into deep water, the child managed to escape her restraints, swim to shore, and find help at a nearby house on the Shrewsbury side of the lake.
Surveillance and forensic evidence, alongside the girl’s own account, identified Hubert as the assailant. At trial, the now-teenage survivor described how she pretended to be dead in hopes that her attacker would stop, and expressed slight relief upon landing in the lake, realizing she was out of Hubert’s reach.
In a key moment for the prosecution, the survivor recounted the horrifying ordeal in detail, including how she fought back during the attack and strategized to stay alive. Once ashore, she was helped by a local resident who provided her with warm clothes before she was taken to the hospital.
Police said the girl immediately named “Josh,” her father’s friend, as the individual responsible. Hubert was initially allowed to leave jail on bail in 2018, but was indicted a second time on rape charges in 2022 following additional disclosures from the now-older victim.
The trial, which lasted two weeks, included arguments about forensic evidence. DNA recovered from the girl’s underwear did not match Hubert’s, raising questions the defense pressed on. Additionally, defense attorneys argued that recently acquired phone location data placed Hubert away from the bridge at the time of the attack.
Despite these points, jurors found the evidence of kidnapping and attempted murder persuasive, while ultimately not finding enough proof for the aggravated rape charges. Following the verdict, Hubert’s lawyer has indicated plans to appeal, citing late disclosures of phone data as a significant issue.
Hubert now awaits sentencing, scheduled for October 3, and could face up to 35 years in prison.