Spridal Hubiak (Maine State Police) and the store where he allegedly killed Angela Bragg (WGME screenshot)
A 20-year-old Maine man was arrested in Arkansas over the weekend for allegedly killing a 52-year-old woman, fatally stabbing her inside of the liquor store where they both worked before fleeing the state.
Spridal Hubiak was taken into custody on Sunday morning and charged with murder in the slaying of Angela Bragg, authorities announced. According to Maine State Police, officers with the Waterville Police Depaertment at about 4:34 a.m. on Dec. 28 responded to a call about a dead body at Damon’s Beverage Waterville on Jefferson Street. The caller said that they were an employee at the store and had just walked in and found their co-worker dead inside.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders found a deceased woman, later identified as Bragg, who appeared to have suffered multiple stab wounds. Waterville PD then requested the assistance of the state police’s Major Crimes Unit in investigating the murder.
An autopsy conducted by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta, Maine’s capital city, determined that Bragg’s manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was sharp force injury.
Investigators quickly named Hubiak as a person of interest in the case and issued a warrant for his arrest. In a Dec. 28 press release, police said they believed Hubiak, described as a white male in his early twenties with dark hair, had fled the state in a black 2010 Ford Taurus with a Maine license plate.
Hubiak remained on the run for several days until an officer with the Flippin Police Department spotted the black Taurus in a parking lot in the town of Flippin, Arkansas, more than 1,600 miles west of Waterville, Maine. Hubiak was said to be sleeping inside of the car when the officer made contact. A chase ensued.
Flippin Police and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office kept pursuit of Hubiak as he fled west on Highway 412 in the direction of Boone County.
“In response to the situation, Boone County deputies promptly intervened, collaborating with the Arkansas State Police to deploy spike strips. While the spike strips partially disabled the suspect’s vehicle, the pursuit persisted until reaching the intersection of Highway 65 and 412, where the driver pulled into a local private business,” the Boone County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a press release. “Upon exiting the vehicle, the suspect brandished an AR-style rifle, prompting a Boone County deputy to discharge their weapon, striking the suspect. Immediate action was taken as responding officers removed the injured suspect from the vehicle, and emergent first aid measures were initiated on-site.”
Hubiak was transported via ambulance to the North Arkansas Regional Medical Center for treatment. The medical staff was able to stabilize Hubiak, but due to the severity of his injuries, he was transported via Life Flight to a medical facility in Green County, Missouri. Authorities did not release additional details about the shooting or Hubiak’s condition other than to say that he “is expected to live.”
According to a report from Portland-area CBS affiliate WGME, Angela Bragg’s daughter posted a message to social media directed at Hubiak after news about the slaying broke.
“My mother took you under her wing like a son. Brought you muffins, talked highly of you,” she reportedly wrote. “All for you to take her life and leave her there alone at night.”
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