CLEARFIELD – Felony charges were filed Monday against a Clearfield couple in relation to a one-year-old child who suffered two skull fractures in August.
Abigail Faye Bumbarger, 27, and Franklin James Minicucci, 31, are both charged with two counts of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children, all felonies, as well as misdemeanor simple assault.
Bumbarger is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 21 with bail set at $75,000, unsecured. Minicucci’s case is listed as inactive in online court documents.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, on Aug. 30, police were alerted to the child’s condition by a doctor at Penn Highlands DuBois’s Emergency Department who said the boy had two skull fractures above his left ear and a brain bleed.
The couple who brought him to the hospital for treatment had no explanation for the injuries and only took him to the hospital because they were concerned about swelling in his face.
The child was flown to the Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh for additional treatment.
Investigators spoke with the boy’s grandfather on Sept. 1. He told them his daughter said she did not know what happened and he felt she “was covering up for Miniccuci.” He last saw the child on Aug. 27.
In his interview with police on Sept. 1, Minicucci explained he had been dating Bumbarger for seven months during which he was “like a father figure for the victim.” He confirmed only he and Bumbarger had contact with the victim after a party on Aug. 27.
He claimed he noticed the child’s ear was rolled forward and appeared to be black between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Aug 30. They were at the hospital in DuBois at 4:30 p.m.
When asked what happened, he stated “we have been to the point of fighting with each other trying to figure out what happened.” He agreed the injuries were more serious than what would be caused by a simple fall.
Minicucci reportedly said everyone was blaming him because he tested positive for methamphetamine. He admitted to snorting some meth after stopping at a gas station in Punxsutawney on the way home from Pittsburgh on Aug. 27, police said.
Bumbarger was questioned on Sept. 6 when she explained that the child had sustained five broken ribs in April of 2023. His biological father, James Daniel Lockett, 29, Grassflat was charged for the injury. She stated that her relationship with Minicucci began after that incident.
Court records indicate felony endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy charges were withdrawn in that case, which is pending with Lockett still facing simple assault charges.
She confirmed the victim’s father has not had contact with him since that assault.
During her interview, she stated that on Aug. 29 they took the child with them to pick up laundry from Minicucci’s mother’s home.
On that trip, she claimed the car seat was not strapped into the vehicle properly and when Minicucci stopped short, the boy flew forward and hit his forehead on the back of the seat in front of him.
When Minicucci’s mother was questioned, she said they were not at her home on Aug. 29. The doctor who treated the child in Pittsburgh reportedly said this was not an explanation for the type of injuries suffered by the boy.
Bumbarger allowed police to search her phone. Police say they discovered conversations between her and Minicucci showing they were in a relationship since February 2023 and indicated both were using methamphetamine.
The doctor treating the boy disclosed that she was concerned about the child returning to the same environment because he could suffer “further injury and possibly death.” She noted that there were multiple bruises on the child in various stages of healing.
In her report, she stated that the injuries were the result of physical child abuse.
After Bumbarger and her father questioned whether the boy may have an undiagnosed bone density disorder, tests were done, which showed there were no underlying issues, which would explain the injuries to the victim, according to the criminal complaint.