Christine Dunkowski Nabbed By U.S. Marshals, Facing New Charges

A wanted Middletown Township woman was arrested by a federal task force in Philadelphia.

Christine Dunkowski, 48, who was wanted after fleeing during her trial for neglecting her kids, was nabbed Friday around 9:30 a.m. by the U.S. Marshals Service Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force in the 3600 block of Aramingo Avenue.

Dunkowski was found to be panhandling at the time of her arrest and was taken into custody without incident, Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Rob Clark said.

Earlier this week, federal authorities announced a reward for information on Dunkowski’s whereabouts.

Clark said tips from LevittownNow.com readers poured in and helped lead to Friday’s arrest.

“For the second time in the last two weeks, the Bucks County Sheriff’s Office, along with the United States Marshals, were able to bring a dangerous individual into custody. She will be held accountable for the crimes she has committed,” Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran said.

Dunkowski was preliminarily arraigned Friday afternoon before on-call District Judge Kevin Wagner on new charges of default in required appearance and flight to avoid punishment and new theft-related charges filed by county investigators, according to court papers.

Dunkowski is being held until sentencing in the neglect case without bail. Her bail in the charges related to her failed attempt to escape punishment was set at 10 percent of $1 million and 10 percent of $5 million in the new theft case, court documents stated.

No date for Dunkowski’s sentencing has been set in the child endangerment case.

Last week, Dunkowski’s husband – Albert Dunkowski, 54 – was sentenced to nine to 21 years in state prison in the child neglect case.

Christine Dunkowski was first arrested in 2019 and released on bail. The couple were convicted in absentia in October 2021 on three counts each of endangering the welfare of a child, but the two fled on the final day of the trial. Federal officials arrested Christine Dunkowski she fled Bucks County in Wilmington, Delaware in late October 2021.

Shortly after her arrest in Delaware, she was bailed out and disappeared until her capture Friday.

The Dunkowskis were arrested in 2019 after officers found them and four kids – ages 5, 6, 9, and 13 – sleeping in a vehicle at the Woodbourne Train Station in Middletown Township. The family was living in the vehicle and the nearby woods, authorities said.

While the couple objected to medics being called, police requested them because they observed the children “appeared sickly.”

Middletown Township police first arrested the Dunkowskis in 2019 after officers found them and four kids – ages 5, 6, 9, and 13 – sleeping in a vehicle at the Woodbourne Train Station. The family was living in the vehicle and the nearby woods, authorities said.

At the trial, Deputy District Attorney Matt Lannetti said the conditions in the vehicle were so bad that bugs were crawling around, there was trash piled so high the view of one child was obstructed, and there was a strong odor of urine and feces.

An evaluation by a doctor found the kids were malnourished and had urine-soaked pants. The two youngest were in diapers that had not been changed and a girl with cerebral palsy had bed sores all over her body, police said.

Police learned the couple had more kids who weren’t with them in the vehicle at the train station.

One girl was found at a family friend’s home with serious neglect-caused dental problems. She couldn’t chew on one side of her mouth, authorities said.

Another child was located in Falls Township and was malnourished and 30 pounds underweight, authorities said.

Albert Dunkowski told police the family ended up living in the vehicle and in a wooded encampment near the train station after they lost their home following a fight with a family member.

During the trial, prosecutors told the court none of the kids went to school and the family never had contact with social services agencies.

The children are recovering from the neglect after being taken away from their parents, authorities have said.

“Being homeless is not a crime, being poor is not a crime,” Lannetti said during the trial. “Treating your children like this is a crime.”

The Dunkowskis’ marriage license filed with the county stated the two married in 1996. Albert Dunkowski was born in Poland and lived with Bristol-native Christine Dunkowski (then Christine Barber) in Middletown’s Levittown section, according to public records.

Report a correction via email | Editorial standards and policies

---

---