MLB Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley’s daughter avoids jail after abandoning minutes-old baby to freeze in woods
The daughter of Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley has escaped with a suspended sentence for dumping her newborn son in the icy woods.
Alexandra Eckersley, 27, was sentenced to 12 months and six months on various charges on Thursday, but was allowed to return home on the condition she continued to maintain contact with mental health providers.
Prosecutors asked for at least a year in prison followed by probation, and the defense asked for a six-month suspended sentence and that Eckersley continue to adhere to doctors’ mental health recommendations.
Judge Amy Messer said sentencing Eckersley to prison would create a significant chance of derailing the gains and stability she had achieved since her arrest.
Alexandra Eckersley, who was convicted on charges of abandoning her newborn baby in the woods, hugs her mother, Nancy Eckersley, after her sentence was suspended
Her father is Dennis Eckersley, who pitched in the MLB between 1975 and 1998 for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics and St Louis Cardinals
Eckersley did not address the court.
‘Mrs Eckersley, I must tell you whatever your motivation, whether it is your son or whether it is avoiding a period of incarceration, it will be crucial that you continue on the path you are on, Messer said.
“I expect that if you do that, you will be successful.”
The sentences would begin Thursday and end in three years, provided Eckersley continues to provide mental health services. She had to appear in court again on November 14.
The charges Eckersley was convicted of – tampering with physical evidence, endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment – would normally carry a prison sentence of four to eight years. The jury acquitted her of two charges of assault.
Assistant District Attorney Alexander Gatzoulis acknowledged that Eckersley admitted her actions during the trial and worked to turn her life around.
Eckersley was charged with child endangerment, among other crimes, after she gave birth to her now one-year-old son in a wooded area in December 2022.
Alexandra Eckersley, who was convicted on charges of abandoning her newborn baby in the woods, hugs her public defender Kim Cossick
“On the other hand, Ms. Eckersley’s behavior was disturbing and almost resulted in the unthinkable,” he said.
‘Ms Eckersley has not once lied or misled emergency services. She did this repeatedly, for almost an hour, over something as important as concealing the location of a newborn child.”
Her lawyers have said Eckersley, who had been diagnosed with mental health and developmental issues since childhood, did not know she was pregnant and was suffering a medical emergency.
They said she has been sober since her arrest, attends regular therapy and has been living with her son and mother in Massachusetts since earlier this year.
Her mother, Nancy Eckersley, asked the court for leniency, saying her daughter has found happiness, a clear sense of purpose and fulfillment for the first time in her life through her son Teddy.
“Finally at 27, Ally is thriving, Teddy is thriving, even I’m thriving because I have my daughter at home. I finally have her living with me and the three of us are living in what I can only describe as bliss,” said Nancy Eckersley.
Kaitlin Reilly, a friend of Alexandra Eckersley, fights back tears during Alexandra Eckersley’s sentencing hearing in Hillsborough County Superior Court in Manchester, New Hampshire
George Theberge, who was arrested along with Eckersley, was sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty last August to a charge of child endangerment
Eckersley left home when she was about 20 to meet a man she met online, her lawyers said. She has not had any mental health care for years.
She was homeless and living in a tent in Manchester, New Hampshire, when she gave birth on Christmas night 2022 at the age of 25.
She had testified at her trial in July that she believed her son had died after she gave birth.
Prosecutors said her son, who survived, was left alone for more than an hour, suffering breathing problems and hypothermia as temperatures dropped to 15 degrees Celsius.
Prosecutors said Eckersley hid her son’s location and deliberately led first responders in a different direction because she didn’t want to get into trouble. Finally, she told them that she heard the baby crying.
Her lawyers said she called 911 and led them to the baby. They said the police didn’t listen to her at first.
Eckersley’s lawyers said George Theberge, who was in the tent with her, told her the baby had no pulse.
Without a cell phone to call for help, the couple began walking to an ice arena.
According to reports, Eckersley was wearing bloody clothing and was under the influence of drugs
Eckersley claimed she did not know she was pregnant and gave birth in the tent with Theberge present
Along the way, Eckersley experienced an afterbirth, but thought she was having a second child.
She told a 911 dispatcher that she had two children, one died immediately and the other lived less than a minute.
Theberge, who was arrested along with Eckersley, was sentenced last August to a year in prison after pleading guilty to a child endangerment charge.
The Eckersley family released a statement shortly after she was arrested saying they had no prior knowledge of her pregnancy and were in complete shock.
The family said she has suffered from severe mental illness all her life and they have done their utmost to get her help and support.
Dennis Eckersley, who attended part of his daughter’s trial, was drafted out of high school by Cleveland in 1972 and pitched 24 seasons for Cleveland, Boston, Chicago, Oakland and St. Louis.
He won the AL Cy Young and MVP awards in 1992 while playing for the Oakland Athletics. After his playing days, Eckersley broadcast Boston Red Sox games and retired in 2022.