Worcester man sentenced to 28–30 years for kidnapping, strangling, and throwing 7-year-old from I-290 bridge

WORCESTER — A 43-year-old Worcester man, Joshua Hubert, was sentenced to prison today for kidnapping, strangling, and attempting to murder a 7-year-old girl by throwing her off an I-290 bridge over Lake Quinsigamond on August 27, 2017.

According to a statement from Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.’s Office, Hubert was sentenced to serve two 14 -15 year prison sentences for two attempted murder convictions, to run consecutively, and 4 – 5 years in prison for his strangulation conviction, to run concurrently with one of the attempted murder sentences. He was also sentenced to four years of probation on the kidnapping conviction, to begin after he completes his prison terms.

On Sept. 18, 2025, Hubert was found guilty of two counts of attempted murder, one count of strangulation, and one count of kidnapping a child. He was acquitted of one count of aggravated rape of a child with force and another count of aggravated rape of a child with a five-year age difference.

According to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office, on August 26, 2017, Hubert attended a cookout with members of the victim’s family. In the early morning hours of August 27, he kidnapped the girl, strangled her, and threw her from a bridge over Lake Quinsigamond. The child survived the fall, swam to shore, and sought help at a nearby home on the Shrewsbury side of the lake, prompting an investigation by the Shrewsbury and Worcester Police Departments and Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office.

“Today’s sentencing brings a measure of justice for the victim and their family after an unimaginably traumatic event,” Shrewsbury’s Police Chief Kevin Anderson said. “While no outcome can erase the pain caused, we hope this decision reinforces our community’s commitment to safety and accountability.”