A Greensburg couple is facing criminal charges after their infant son was hospitalized with a fractured skull and tested positive for cocaine and marijuana, according to court paperwork filed this week. Danielle Kowalski, 25, and Steven Kopetsky, 32, were both charged with endangering the welfare of children and drug offenses following a welfare check at their College Avenue apartment.
According to court paperwork cited by CBS News, the City of Greensburg Police Department responded to the apartment on July 8 for an infant welfare check. Kowalski told police she had returned home from work and found her son crying on the floor, and said Kopetsky appeared to have passed out while lying in bed with the infant, who had been in his care. The baby was taken to a hospital, where investigators say he tested positive for cocaine and marijuana and was diagnosed with a skull fracture.
Garbage Bag Search Leads to Tampering Charge
When officers returned to search the apartment the next day, police say Kopetsky was carrying a garbage bag that was later found to contain marijuana. Kopetsky told police, per the same report, that he had tried to dispose of the bag after seeing officers arrive, an act that led to an additional charge of tampering with evidence against him. Under Pennsylvania law, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence during an investigation is classified as a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison.
Kopetsky reportedly admitted to buying about a pound of marijuana and told investigators, according to the criminal complaint, that he had been selling marijuana. He also said Kowalski did not know about his marijuana sales — but police say text messages recovered from Kopetsky's cellphone showed exchanges between the couple about drug transactions, evidence that underpins the joint endangerment and drug charges filed against both parents.
What Pennsylvania Law Says About the Charges
Endangering the welfare of a child in Pennsylvania is ordinarily graded as a first-degree misdemeanor, but the charge can be elevated to a third-degree felony — carrying up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine — if a court finds a course of conduct or a substantial risk of serious bodily harm, per Pennsylvania statute detailed by Justia Law. Prosecutors must show that a parent or guardian knowingly violated a legal duty of care, and state sentencing guidelines treat endangerment more severely when a course of conduct can be established rather than an isolated accident.
Court paperwork was filed Tuesday, and police have not provided an update on the baby's current condition. Key questions remain unresolved, including whether Westmoreland County Children and Youth Services has taken temporary custody of the infant and whether additional charges could follow depending on how medical experts interpret the mechanism behind the skull fracture.
County and Statewide Child Welfare Numbers
The case lands amid a heavy caseload for local child welfare authorities. In 2023, the Westmoreland County Children's Bureau received 6,934 total referrals, leading to 1,153 child protective services abuse investigations and 2,877 general protective services neglect assessments across the county, according to the Westmoreland County, PA government. The bureau coordinates with local police departments when child injury or illicit drug exposure is reported.
Statewide, data from the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania shows 32,075 individuals were charged across 36,386 child abuse cases between 2019 and 2023, with child endangerment accounting for 23% of those charges. That same dataset found 56% of defendants charged with child abuse offenses in that period were young adults between 19 and 35 — a bracket that includes both Kowalski and Kopetsky. Separately, a report from PA Partnerships for Children found that infants aged 0 to 2 represent 1 in 3 first-time entries into the state's foster care system, with parental drug abuse identified as the primary reason for removal.
Part of a Pattern in Greensburg
This is not the first time Greensburg police have filed child endangerment charges following a serious injury. Last September, police charged a Greensburg father after a 4-year-old was struck by a car and suffered a fractured femur while in his care. The department has also pursued drug cases in the area, including a March 2025 search warrant executed at a Greensburg motel that turned up fentanyl and cocaine and led to felony possession and distribution charges.
Public records also show that in November 2025, Kowalski and Kopetsky maintained a baby registry listing items such as a bassinet, playard, and bottle warmer, reflecting preparations for an infant expected around late 2025 or early 2026. The registry offers a glimpse of the household in the months before police were called to the apartment this summer.
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