In what prosecutors called a “thrill kill,” a 21-year-old man in Maine will serve multiple decades in prison for stabbing a 52-year-old woman inside the liquor store where they both worked.
Law&Crime reviewed the records and found that Spridal Hubiak received a 65-year sentence in a state prison on Tuesday for the 2023 murder of Angela Bragg.
In addition to his incarceration, Hubiak was required to pay $3,959 in restitution.
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Prosecutors previously claimed that while Bragg was “like a mother” to the much younger Hubiak, Hubiak became obsessed with her and desired to have a sexual relationship with her.
According to Poland Spring, Maine-based ABC affiliate WMTW. During one hearing, Assistant District Attorney Lisa Bogue allegedly described the crime as a “thrill kill.”
The report also claims that Hubiak’s phone contained a list of Bragg’s favorite things. The device also reportedly revealed that Hubiak spent weeks planning the murder and escape route before carrying it out.
According to surveillance footage, Hubiak locked the doors inside the liquor store before sneaking up behind Bragg and stabbing her in the neck several times.
Speaking about one of the notes found on Hubiak’s phone, Bogue said it was clear that Bragg “hadn’t done anything to provoke” the attack, and Hubiak “just wanted to do it,” according to local NBC affiliate WCSH.
At 4:34 a.m. on December 28, 2023, officers from the Waterville Police Department responded to a report of a dead body at Damon’s Beverage Waterville on Jefferson Street.
The caller stated that they worked at the store and had just walked in to find a coworker dead inside.
When first responders arrived at the scene, they discovered a deceased woman, later identified as Bragg, who appeared to have received multiple stab wounds.
The Waterville Police Department then requested the assistance of the state police’s Major Crimes Unit in investigating the murder.
The Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta, Maine’s capital city, conducted an autopsy and determined that Bragg died as a result of a homicide with sharp force injury.
Investigators quickly identified Hubiak as a person of interest in the case and issued a warrant for his arrest. According to a news release, police suspect Hubiak fled the state in a black 2010 Ford Taurus with a Maine license plate.
Hubiak evaded capture for several days until an officer with the Flippin Police Department in Flippin, Arkansas, a town more than 1,600 miles west of Waterville, discovered the black Taurus in a parking lot. The officer approached, finding Hubiak asleep inside the car. A chase ensued.
Flippin Police and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office pursued Hubiak as he fled west on Highway 412 toward Boone County.
“In response to the situation, Boone County deputies quickly intervened, working with Arkansas State Police to deploy spike strips.
While the spike strips partially disabled the suspect’s vehicle, the pursuit continued until it reached the intersection of Highway 65 and 412, where the driver pulled into a local private business,” the Boone County Sheriff’s Office stated in a press release.
When the suspect exited the vehicle, he brandished an AR-style rifle, prompting a Boone County deputy to discharge his weapon and strike the suspect. The responding officers promptly removed the injured suspect from the vehicle and initiated emergency first aid measures at the scene.
An ambulance transported Hubiak to North Arkansas Regional Medical Center for treatment. Medical personnel stabilized Hubiak, but due to the severity of his injuries, they transported him via Life Flight to a medical facility in Green County, Missouri.
The authorities withheld any further details about the shooting or Hubiak’s condition, only stating that they “expected him to live.”