WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — The trial of a Massachusetts man charged with kidnapping his friend’s 7-year-old daughter and throwing her off a bridge and into a lake has been postponed until October.

Joshua Hubert, 37, of Worcester has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, kidnapping a child under 16 and strangulation or suffocation.

Hubert attended a cookout with the girl’s family on Aug. 26 2017, according to prosecutors. Early the next morning, he kidnapped the girl, choked her, and threw her off an Interstate 290 overpass into Lake Quinsigamond, prosecutors said. They have not disclosed a motive.

The girl swam about 100 yards (91 meters) to shore and sought help at a home on the Shrewsbury side of the lake.


The trial had been scheduled to start March 30 in Worcester Superior Court.

But the prosecutor in the case requested a continuance on Thursday, telling Judge James Reardon Jr. that the results of forensic testing that is being conducted would not be available by the scheduled March trial date, according to The Telegram & Gazette.

Judge Reardon thus rescheduled the trial for Oct. 19.

Hubert is free on $50,000 cash bail with GPS monitoring. His attorney has said that his client maintains his innocence.