Attempted murder charge for man accused of throwing girl off bridge

WORCESTER, Mass. - A man accused of kidnapping a 7-year-old girl and throwing her off a bridge into a Massachusetts lake now faces an upgraded charge of attempted murder.

A state judge in Worcester on Thursday set bail at $1 million for Joshua Hubert after a warrant alleging the new charge was issued. Hubert denies allegations he kidnapped the girl from her grandparents' Worcester home Sunday morning and threw her off the Interstate 290 overpass into a lake.

CBS Boston reports that Assistant District Attorney Cheryl 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 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.

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., reports the station. After an ambulance took the girl to the hospital, she reportedly picked Hubert out of a photo lineup.

Riddle said 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.